The promising results of the pilot study from UCL found that a personalised hearing intervention led to a significantly higher hearing aid use among people with mild cognitive impairment, who would be particularly vulnerable to cognitive decline.
The study, called Treating Auditory impairment and Cognition Trial (TACT) delivered four personalised sessions with participants to focus on getting the most benefit from their hearing aids. The results showed that 75% of participants receiving personalised hearing support used their hearing aids daily, compared to just 22% following standard care. This increase in hearing aid use is particularly significant because hearing loss is a major modifiable risk factor for dementia.
Chief Investigator of the study, Professor Sergi Costafreda, Professor of Psychiatry of Ageing at UCL, said:
“Our pilot study shows that we can recruit and retain people with mild memory problems in a study like this, and that the intervention was acceptable to patients – with three-quarters of patients in the intervention group using their hearing aids daily. There were indications in our study that people in the intervention group performed better in a cognitive test, but we now need a larger trial where we can properly test this.”
Patients from mental health trusts in North London were part of the pilot study including North London NHS Foundation Trust (previously Camden and Islington NHS foundation Trust and Barnet, Enfield and Haringey NHS Mental Health Trust), Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, and East London NHS Foundation Trust.
Please read the full announcement on the UCL News site: Personalised hearing support shows promise in protecting brain health in older adults
The journal article is published in Age and Aging from Oxford Academic: Early detection and management of hearing loss to reduce dementia risk in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: findings from the treating auditory impairment and cognition trial (TACT)
Image: Mark Paton