Imagine your brain as a vast network of interconnected pathways, like bustling city streets. Well, in the case of age-related hearing loss (ARHL), those streets become a chaotic mess. ARHL, a common condition where speech perception declines due to hearing loss at high frequencies, disrupts the topological organization of resting-state functional brain networks. A recent study used graph theory to investigate the effects of ARHL on the brain’s structure and function. The findings reveal that individuals with ARHL have an overactive local efficiency and clustering coefficient within their small-world brain networks. Moreover, they displayed decreased connectivity and efficiency in the left inferior occipital gyrus, a region crucial for vision processing. It seems that ARHL not only affects our ears but also rewires the internal highways of our brains! These discoveries highlight the importance of early diagnosis and intervention for ARHL patients, preventing further disruptions in brain function and topology.

PurposeAge-related hearing loss (ARHL), associated with the function of speech perception decreases characterized by bilateral sensorineural hearing loss at high frequencies, has become an increasingly critical public health problem. This study aimed to investigate the topological features of the brain functional network and structural dysfunction of the central nervous system in ARHL using graph theory.MethodsForty-six patients with ARHL and forty-five age, sex, and education-matched healthy controls were recruited to undergo a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan in this study. Graph theory was applied to analyze the topological properties of the functional connectomes by studying the local and global organization of neural networks.ResultsCompared with healthy controls, the patient group showed increased local efficiency (Eloc) and clustering coefficient (Cp) of the small-world network. Besides, the degree centrality (Dc) and nodal efficiency (Ne) values of the left inferior occipital gyrus (IOG) in the patient group showed a decrease in contrast with the healthy control group. In addition, the intra-modular interaction of the occipital lobe module and the inter-modular interaction of the parietal occipital module decreased in the patient group, which was positively correlated with Dc and Ne. The intra-modular interaction of the occipital lobe module decreased in the patient group, which was negatively correlated with the Eloc.ConclusionBased on fMRI and graph theory, we indicate the aberrant small-world network topology in ARHL and dysfunctional interaction of the occipital lobe and parietal lobe, emphasizing the importance of dysfunctional left IOG. These results suggest that early diagnosis and treatment of patients with ARHL is necessary, which can avoid the transformation of brain topology and decreased brain function.

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