hearing health for korean american older adults with mild cognitive impairment

Conditions: Age-related Hearing Impairment; Personal Communication; Mild Cognitive Impairment

Summary: the objective of this study is to develop and assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a community-delivered, affordable, and accessible hearing care intervention tailored to the needs of community-dwelling korean american (ka) older adults with mild cognitive impairment (mci) and their care partners that integrates a low-cost over-the-counter amplification device and hearing rehabilitation through a randomized controlled pilot study. each dyad will consist of the study participant and their care partner.

the study consists of three phases: 1) phase 1: development of the intervention through exploratory focus groups and/or semi-structured interviews and prototyping via open-labeled trial 2) phase 2a: randomized, controlled pilot study with study participants randomized to an immediate treatment group, versus a 6-month delayed treatment group of an intervention specific for individuals with mci, 3) phase 2b: a non-randomized pragmatic-focused trial of community-dwelling older kas with hearing loss but without mci, and 4) phase 3: qualitative evaluation of the experience and supplemental feedback through exploratory focus groups and/or semi-structured interviews.

Eligibility criteria:
participant inclusion criteria for phase 2a: mci-pilot trial * age ≥ 60 years * self-identified as first-generation korean american * self-reported ability to read and speak korean * hearing loss identified by screening audiometry pure-tone-average (pta) 1, 2, 4 kilohertz \> 25 decibel hearing loss in better hearing ear * mild cognitive impairment (cdr=0.5 and/or korean montreal cognitive assessment (moca-k) \<23) * report not currently using a hearing aid * has a care partner able to participate in the study * stable medication regimen. stable (for 2 weeks or longer) dosing of medication (e.g. antidepressants, antipsychotics) for neuropsychiatric symptoms participant inclusion criteria for phase 2b: ka older adult-focused trial: * age ≥ 60 years * self-identified as first-generation korean american * self-reported ability to read and speak korean * hearing loss identified by screening audiometry pure-tone-average (pta) 1, 2, 4 kilohertz \>= 35 decibel hearing loss in better hearing ear * report not currently using a hearing aid * has a care partner able to participate in the study care partner inclusion criteria (same for both phase 2a and 2b) * age 18 years or older * able to read and speak korean * lives in the same household with the participant or has at least daily interactions * aural-oral verbal communication as primary communication modality * able to accompany participant to all study visits exclusion criteria (same for both phase 2a and 2b) participant exclusion criteria * residence in an assisted living facility (alf) or nursing home (nh) * medical contraindication to use of amplification device (e.g., draining ear) * currently using a hearing aid or listening device care partner exclusion criteria • individuals who do not fulfill inclusion criteria