The Baltimore HEARS Pilot Study: An Affordable, Accessible, Community-Delivered Hearing Care Intervention

Abstract

Purpose of the study: Age-related hearing loss negatively affects health outcomes, yet disparities in hearing care, such as hearing aid use, exist based on race/ethnicity and socioeconomic position. Recent national efforts highlight reduction of hearing care disparities as a public health imperative. This study a) describes a community engagement approach to addressing disparities, b) reports preliminary outcomes of a novel intervention, and c) discusses implementation processes and potential for wide-scale testing and use.

Design and methods: This was a prospective, randomized control pilot, with a 3-month delayed treatment group as a waitlist control, that assessed feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a community-delivered, affordable, and accessible intervention for older adults with hearing loss. Outcomes were assessed at 3 months, comparing immediate and delayed groups, and pooled to compare the cohort's pre- and 3-month post-intervention results.

Results: All participants completed the study (n = 15). The program was highly acceptable: 93% benefited, 100% would recommend the program, and 67% wanted to serve as future program trainers. At 3 months, the treated group (n = 8) experienced fewer social and emotional effects of hearing loss and fewer depressive symptoms as compared to the delayed treatment group (n = 7). Pooling 3-month post-intervention scores (n = 15), participants reported fewer negative hearing-related effects (effect size = -0.96) and reduced depressive symptoms (effect size = -0.43).

Implications: The HEARS (Hearing Equality through Accessible Research & Solutions) intervention is feasible, acceptable, low risk, and demonstrates preliminary efficacy. HEARS offers a novel, low-cost, and readily scalable solution to reduce hearing care disparities and highlights how a community-engaged approach to intervention development can address disparities.

Keywords: Age-related hearing loss; Community engagement; Disparities; Hearing health care; Hearing loss; Implementation; Intervention development; Minority health.

© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Figures

Figure 1.

Flow chart of study participants.

Figure 2.

Change in hearing handicap vs baseline hearing handicap score by treatment group. Change in hearing handicap was measured as the change from baseline to 3-month follow-up in the immediate treatment group and from baseline to 6-month follow-up, 3 months after receiving the intervention, in the delayed treatment group.

Figure 3.

Change in depressive symptoms vs baseline depression score by treatment group. Change in depressive symptoms was measured as the change from baseline to 3-month follow-up in the immediate treatment group and from baseline to 6-month follow-up, 3 months after receiving the intervention, in the delayed treatment group.