Variability In Hearing Aid Outcomes In Older Adults

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The goal of this project is to find out if the way a hearing aid processes a sound signal should be determined in part by an individual's cognitive characteristics. We anticipate that the outcome of this work will be a battery of assessments that will guide hearing aid processing for older patients with hearing loss.

Detailed Description
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Response to hearing aids is highly variable, with some individuals reporting much more benefit than others. Preliminary work by our laboratory and others suggests that patient factors-including cognition-may contribute to differences in how individuals respond to altered speech cues, such as those alterations introduced by hearing aid processing. The long-term goal of this work is to improve hearing aid outcomes by optimizing hearing aid processing for each individual.

Official Title
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Characterizing Variability in Hearing Aid Outcomes Among Older Adults

Conditions
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Hearing Loss, Presbycusis

Intervention / Treatment
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* Device: Hearing Aid Fitting A
* Device: Hearing Aid Fitting B


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Sensorineural Hearing loss with pure-tone thresholds 25-70 dB HL at octave frequencies between 250 and 4000 Hz, 4 frequency PTA of ≥ 30 dB HL Non hearing aided wearer within the previous year Participants will be in good health (self-report) Normal or corrected to normal vision(≤20/50) Exclusion Criteria: Conductive, or asymmetric hearing loss Hearing loss exceeding the limits that can be successfully aided with hearing aids (i.e., profound hearing loss) Hearing loss remediated with a cochlear implant (cannot wear hearing aids) Significant history of otologic or neurologic disorders Non English speaking participants Score of 23 or below on Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE) Score of 22 or below on Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) Any clinically significant unstable or progressive medical condition Any condition which, in the opinion of the investigator, places the participant at unacceptable risk if he or she were to participate in the study. Participants will be divided into low and high working groups based upon the results of their Lunner working memory reading span test. Once either high or low working memory group is filled (approximately 25 participants) we will selectively enroll participants to fill the other category.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 54 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Crossover Assignment
Masking: Double


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: Hearing Aid Fitting Order A<br>High level of signal manipulation for 6 weeks, followed by a low level of signal manipulation for 6 weeks. | Device: Hearing Aid Fitting A<br> <br> * Other names: Hearing Aid;Device: Hearing Aid Fitting B<br> <br> |
| Active Comparator: Hearing Aid Fitting Order B<br>Low level of signal manipulation for 6 weeks, followed by a low level of signal manipulation for 6 weeks. | Device: Hearing Aid Fitting A<br> <br> * Other names: Hearing Aid;Device: Hearing Aid Fitting B<br> <br> |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Speech Intelligibility Score | Participants listen to sentences in a background of noise and repeat the sentence heard. The outcome is percentage of correctly repeated words. | 6 weeks | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Effectiveness of Aural Rehabilitation (EAR) | The listener rates the extent to which hearing has improved with the hearing aid (0=least improved, 100=most improved). | 6 weeks | 
| Speech and Spatial Qualities of Hearing (SSQ) Questionnaire | Listener rates her/his perceived ability. Each question describes a different situation, such as listening to one talker in quiet. Test is scored from 0 to 10, with 10 = best score. | 6 weeks | 
| Adherence | Average number of hours per day the hearing aid was worn. | 6 weeks | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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hearing aid