Age-related Hearing Impairment, Community-dwelling Seniors, Hearing Impairment, Hearing Loss, Korean, Personal Communication
Conditions
Brief summary
The objective of this study is to test the effect of a community-delivered, affordable, and accessible hearing care intervention on improving communication function and health-related quality of life among older Korean Americans (KA) and the older Korean American's care partners that integrates a low-cost over-the-counter amplification device and hearing rehabilitation in comparison to a 6-month delayed treatment group through a cluster randomized controlled study.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALK-HEARS Intervention
Tailored aural rehabilitation for participant and care partner
Tailored fitting and programming of a personal sound amplifier. This will be accompanied by a component of aural rehabilitation.
Sponsors
Johns Hopkins University
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
PARTICIPANT CRITERIA Participant inclusion criteria * Self-identified as first-generation KA in the target region * Age 60 years or older * Has a communication partner who lives in the same household or has at least weekly interactions * Screening audiometry Pure-tone audiometry (PTA)1,2,4 kilohertz (kHz) \>25 decibel (dB) hearing loss (HL) in better ear * Hearing handicap as measured by HHIE-S score \>=8 Participant
Exclusion criteria
* Current use of hearing aid * Medical contraindications to use amplification device (e.g., draining ear) * Plan to move from the area within 6 months * Active treatment for a terminal illness or in hospice COMMUNICATION PARTNER CRITERIA Communication Partner inclusion criteria * Age 18 years or older * Able to read and speak Korean * Lives with the older adult or has at least weekly interactions Communication Partner
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (HHIE-S) score | Baseline, 6 months post-intervention (Immediate Group). 6 months post-baseline (Delayed Group) | Score range 0-40. 0-8 suggests no hearing handicap 10-24 suggests mild-moderate hearing handicap 26-40 suggests significant hearing handicap. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Third Party Disability as assessed by the Significant Other Scale for Hearing Disability (SOS-HEAR) | Baseline, 6 months post-intervention (Immediate Group). 6 months post-baseline (Delayed Group) | Third-party disability will be measured in communication partners using the Significant Other Scale for Hearing Disability (SOS-HEAR). Score range 0-104, with higher score more disability. |
| Relationship Quality as assessed by the Mutuality Scale | Baseline, 6 months post-intervention (Immediate Group). 6 months post-baseline (Delayed Group) | Relationship quality will be measured using the Mutuality Scale among participants and communication partners. Score range 0-60, with higher score better relationship quality. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORHae-Ra Han, PhD,RN
Johns Hopkins University
Outcome results
None listed