NCT04049643

Brief Summary

This is a pilot study with the aim of evaluating the feasibility of the procedures of a future clinical trial that will help determine the impacts of hearing aid interventions on older patients with Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias (ADRD). In this pilot study individuals with mild or moderate cognitive impairment, as well as their caregivers, will be recruited. Participants will be randomly assigned to three intervention groups: Audiologist-Based Intervention, Service-Only Group, and Device-Only Group. Outcome data will be collected on the how hearing loss and hearing aid impact their lives and caregiver burden 6-week post hearing aid intervention.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
17

participants targeted

Target at below P25 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Dec 2019

Longer than P75 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

2 active sites

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

August 6, 2019

Completed
2 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

August 8, 2019

Completed
4 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

December 1, 2019

Completed
4.9 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

November 7, 2024

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

November 7, 2024

Completed
5 months until next milestone

Results Posted

Study results publicly available

April 17, 2025

Completed
Last Updated

April 17, 2025

Status Verified

March 1, 2025

Enrollment Period

4.9 years

First QC Date

August 6, 2019

Results QC Date

March 18, 2025

Last Update Submit

March 31, 2025

Conditions

Keywords

PresbycusisHearing aidAlzheimer DiseaseMild Cognitive Impairment

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

  • Hearing Aid Benefit as Measured by the International Outcomes Inventory for Hearing Aids (IOI-HA)

    The IOI-HA is a questionnaire designed to assess the benefits of hearing aids from the user's perspective. The score ranges from 1 (less benefit) to 5 (more benefit).

    6 weeks after the first day participants started using hearing aids.

  • Change of Daily Activity as Measured by the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (IADL)

    The IADL was developed to assess independent living skills, such as feeding, dressing, and food preparation. The score ranges from 0 (low function) to 8 (high function). Participants complete this measure pre-intervention and at 6 weeks post-intervention. The change in scores between pre- and post-intervention are reported, with score changes ranging from +8 (indicating a benefit from hearing aids) to -8 (indicating a detrimental effect of hearing aids).

    Immediately before hearing aid use and 6 weeks after the first day of hearing aid use

  • Change of Caregiver Burden as Measured by the "Zarit Burden Interview" (ZBI)

    Caregiver burden will be measured using the ZBI, which is a 22-item questionnaire. The ZBI measures self-reported burden in terms of the degree (from 'never' to 'almost always') to which the caregiver experiences physical, psychological, emotional, social and financial problems as a result of their care-giving role. The score ranges from 0 (little or no burden) to 88 (severe burden). This measure is completed pre-intervention and at 6 weeks post-intervention. The change in scores between pre- and post-intervention are reported, with score changes ranging from -88 (indicating a benefit from hearing aids) to +88 (indicating a detrimental effect of hearing aids).

    Immediately before hearing aid use and 6 weeks after the first day of hearing aid use

Secondary Outcomes (3)

  • Change of Hearing Handicap Measured by Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (HHIE) or Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults (HHIA)

    Immediately before hearing aid use and 6 weeks after the first day of hearing aid use

  • Change of Quality of Life as Measured by the Alzheimer's Disease-Related Quality of Life (ADRQL)

    Immediately before hearing aid use and 6 weeks after the first day of hearing aid use

  • Change of Depression as Measured Using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)

    Immediately before hearing aid use and 6 weeks after the first day of hearing aid use

Study Arms (3)

Audiologist-Based

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

In this group, the audiologist-based fitting will be used to provide hearing aids.

Device: Audiologist-based fitting

Service-Only

EXPERIMENTAL

In this group, hearing aids that have minimum amplification will be fitted by audiologists.

Device: Service-only Fitting

Device-Only

EXPERIMENTAL

In this group, hearing aids will be provided with minimum services from audiologists.

Device: Device-only fitting

Interventions

Hearing aids will be fitted by audiologists using established procedures.

Audiologist-Based

This intervention group is designed to explore the contribution of amplification devices in hearing aid intervention, which consists of devices and services. In this intervention group, audiological services plus hearing aids that provide minimum amplification will be provided. Specifically, patient participants in this group will receive audiological services (e.g., counselling and education), except that the hearing aids will be set to provide no amplification other than what is needed to overcome any sounds that are dampened by the earpieces.

Service-Only

This intervention group is designed to explore the contribution of amplification devices in hearing aid intervention, which consists of devices and services. The patient participants in this intervention group will have minimum services regarding the pre-fitting, selection, and orientation of the hearing aids. The participants will have a hearing evaluation, including pure-tone audiometry. The audiologist will select the amplification characteristics and non-custom ear piece based on the audiogram. The audiologist will then briefly orient the participant on how to use the hearing aids and counsel on how to optimize their performance.

Device-Only

Eligibility Criteria

Age55 Years - 85 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score lower than 25 points
  • Adult-onset mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss

You may not qualify if:

  • Non-native English speaker
  • Prior hearing aid experience

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (2)

University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa, 52242, United States

Location

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Nashville, Tennessee, 37232, United States

Location

Related Publications (8)

  • Uhlmann RF, Larson EB, Rees TS, Koepsell TD, Duckert LG. Relationship of hearing impairment to dementia and cognitive dysfunction in older adults. JAMA. 1989 Apr 7;261(13):1916-9.

    PMID: 2926927BACKGROUND
  • Palmer CV, Adams SW, Durrant JD, Bourgeois M, Rossi M. Managing hearing loss in a patient with Alzheimer disease. J Am Acad Audiol. 1998 Aug;9(4):275-84.

    PMID: 9733237BACKGROUND
  • Palmer CV, Adams SW, Bourgeois M, Durrant J, Rossi M. Reduction in caregiver-identified problem behaviors in patients with Alzheimer disease post-hearing-aid fitting. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 1999 Apr;42(2):312-28. doi: 10.1044/jslhr.4202.312.

    PMID: 10229449BACKGROUND
  • Mamo SK, Reed NS, Price C, Occhipinti D, Pletnikova A, Lin FR, Oh ES. Hearing Loss Treatment in Older Adults With Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2018 Oct 26;61(10):2589-2603. doi: 10.1044/2018_JSLHR-H-18-0077.

    PMID: 30304320BACKGROUND
  • Loughrey DG, Kelly ME, Kelley GA, Brennan S, Lawlor BA. Association of Age-Related Hearing Loss With Cognitive Function, Cognitive Impairment, and Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2018 Feb 1;144(2):115-126. doi: 10.1001/jamaoto.2017.2513.

    PMID: 29222544BACKGROUND
  • Livingston G, Sommerlad A, Orgeta V, Costafreda SG, Huntley J, Ames D, Ballard C, Banerjee S, Burns A, Cohen-Mansfield J, Cooper C, Fox N, Gitlin LN, Howard R, Kales HC, Larson EB, Ritchie K, Rockwood K, Sampson EL, Samus Q, Schneider LS, Selbaek G, Teri L, Mukadam N. Dementia prevention, intervention, and care. Lancet. 2017 Dec 16;390(10113):2673-2734. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31363-6. Epub 2017 Jul 20. No abstract available.

    PMID: 28735855BACKGROUND
  • Hopper T, Slaughter SE, Hodgetts B, Ostevik A, Ickert C. Hearing Loss and Cognitive-Communication Test Performance of Long-Term Care Residents With Dementia: Effects of Amplification. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2016 Dec 1;59(6):1533-1542. doi: 10.1044/2016_JSLHR-H-15-0135.

    PMID: 27973661BACKGROUND
  • Adrait A, Perrot X, Nguyen MF, Gueugnon M, Petitot C, Collet L, Roux A, Bonnefoy M; ADPHA study group. Do Hearing Aids Influence Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia and Quality of Life in Hearing Impaired Alzheimer's Disease Patients and Their Caregivers? J Alzheimers Dis. 2017;58(1):109-121. doi: 10.3233/JAD-160792.

    PMID: 28269769BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

PresbycusisCognitive DysfunctionAlzheimer Disease

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Hearing Loss, SensorineuralHearing LossHearing DisordersEar DiseasesOtorhinolaryngologic DiseasesSensation DisordersNeurologic ManifestationsNervous System DiseasesSigns and SymptomsPathological Conditions, Signs and SymptomsCognition DisordersNeurocognitive DisordersMental DisordersDementiaBrain DiseasesCentral Nervous System DiseasesTauopathiesNeurodegenerative Diseases

Limitations and Caveats

This study faced challenges in recruiting subjects for the Service-Only and Device-Only groups. Since blinding was not feasible, some potential participants chose not to provide consent after learning their group assignment.

Results Point of Contact

Title
Dr. Yu-Hsiang Wu
Organization
The University of Iowa

Study Officials

  • Yu-Hsiang Wu, PhD

    University of Iowa

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

PI is Sponsor Employee
No
Restrictive Agreement
No

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
SINGLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

August 6, 2019

First Posted

August 8, 2019

Study Start

December 1, 2019

Primary Completion

November 7, 2024

Study Completion

November 7, 2024

Last Updated

April 17, 2025

Results First Posted

April 17, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-03

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

The proposed research will include data from participants with hearing loss recruited State of Iowa, State of Tennessee and surrounding areas. The final dataset will include self-reported demographic and behavioral data (e.g., questionnaire). Contact the principle investigator for data access.

Time Frame
The date will be available starting 6 months after publication of the main findings of the trial.
Access Criteria
Even though the final dataset will be stripped of identifiers prior to release for sharing, there remains the possibility of deductive disclosure of subjects with the survey data being collected. Thus, we will make the data and associated documentation available to users only under a data-sharing agreement that provides for: (1) a commitment to using the data only for research purposes and not to identify any individual participant; (2) a commitment to securing the data using appropriate technologies; and (3) a commitment to destroying or returning the data after analyses are completed.

Locations