Age-related hearing loss is more than a sensory deficit; it is a primary risk factor for accelerated cognitive decline and memory impairment.
A recent double-blind, sham-controlled trial demonstrates that non-invasive neuromodulation can directly counteract these neurological deficits.
Researchers applied transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) to 48 older adults for 30 minutes daily over a four-week period.
The quantitative results were significant: the taVNS group achieved an 18% increase in auditory digit span and a 22% improvement in n-back accuracy.
fMRI analysis confirmed the underlying mechanism: taVNS upregulates locus coeruleus-noradrenergic activity and strengthens prefrontal-hippocampal connectivity.
With effect sizes reaching d=0.89, this protocol offers a precise, non-pharmacological method for stabilizing and "re-tuning" fading neural networks in the aging brain.