Early intervention as a determinant of hearing aid benefit for age-related hearing loss: Results from longitudinal cohort studies

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a highly prevalent chronic condition and is associated with poorer psychosocial well-being, communication, and cognitive function. Evidence that hearing aid (HA) use mitigates negative consequences of ARHL is inconclusive because, in part, longitudinal population-based studies of hearing with sufficient follow-up times are rare and few have considered the extent to which earlier intervention with HA improves long-term HA outcomes and reduces the wide-ranging consequences of ARHL. The long- term objective is to reduce impacts of ARHL by maximizing overall HA benefit. The specific objective is to holistically assess benefits of HA use on psychosocial well-being, communication, and cognitive outcomes that capture general and hearing-specific health and determine the extent to which earlier intervention for ARHL is a determinant of HA benefit. To achieve this objective, two specific aims are proposed. Aim 1 will use longitudinal data from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Longitudinal Cohort Study of ARHL to determine benefits of HA use and assess contributions of early intervention and test hypotheses that a) use of HA will be associated with better general health aspects of psychosocial well-being, cognition, and communication, and b) earlier intervention with HA will be associated with greater HA benefit as determined by these outcomes. Aim 2 will use cross-temporal data to determine benefits of HA use and assess contributions of early intervention using historic and newly collected data from participants in the MUSC Longitudinal Cohort Study of ARHL to test hypotheses that a) use of HA will be associated with better hearing-specific psychosocial well-being and communication outcomes, and b) earlier intervention with HA will be associated with greater HA benefit as determined by these outcomes. Results from this project will positively impact public health research and clinical practice. Specifically, results can inform future epidemiological research and/or clinical trials aiming to determine effects of early intervention on HA benefit, optimal timing of HA interventions, and the appropriate age to begin screening for ARHL. This project and line of research directly addresses the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2016) recommendation to improve prospective population-based evidence on impacts of ARHL and its treatment and aligns with NIDCD’s strategic plan on secondary and tertiary prevention and health promotion for individuals with ARHL. That is, this proposal aims to determine importance of early intervention for ARHL (secondary prevention) and benefits of HA use (tertiary prevention) on general and hearing-related measures of psychosocial well-being, communication, and cognition. This project and training plan will provide rigorous mentored training in new methods focused on epidemiological and public health research in audiology, grantsmanship, teaching, and career/professional development, and will support the applicant’s long-term goals of being an independent, NIH-funded clinician-researcher.