Postural Stability: The Role of Auditory Input in Normal Hearing Individuals and Older Adults with Hearing Loss.

Introduction: Balance integrates sensory and motor functions through the visual, somatosensory, and vestibular systems. Auditory inputs also contribute to spatial orientation, aiding postural control and stability. Exploring the effects of auditory stimuli on postural stability may reveal their therapeutic potential. So, current study is undertaken to study effect of auditory stimuli in maintaining postural stability in healthy young and older adults with age-related hearing loss.

Materials and methods: A total of 70 participants were divided into two groups: Group I consisted of 35 individuals aged 18-35 years with normal hearing, and Group II comprised 35 older adults aged 50-80 years with mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss. Pure Tone Audiometry was performed, followed by a Modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction and Balance (mCTSIB) protocol and tandem gait on static postural stability, under four conditions (quiet, speech, natural environmental sounds, white noise), both with and without auditory stimuli.

Results: Postural stability improved with natural sounds compared to quiet and other auditory stimuli in both young and older adults with age-related hearing loss. Healthy young adults consistently showed better postural stability than older adults in both quiet and auditory conditions.

Conclusion: Auditory stimuli can effectively enhance postural stability in both young adults and older adults with age-related hearing loss, with more pronounced effect observed in older adults. Therefore, auditory stimuli can be effectively used to enhance postural stability, suggesting their potential utility in therapeutic interventions aimed at improving balance in individuals with age-related hearing impairments.