Efficacy of Hearing Aids on the Cognitive Status of Patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Hearing Loss: A Multicenter Controlled Randomized Trial

Abstract

Background/objective: This study evaluated the cognitive benefit of hearing aids (HA) in older patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and hearing loss (HL) after a 6- and 12-month period of utilization.

Methods: A multicenter double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial was conducted in patients aged more than 65 years. A group was equipped with active HA for 6 months (active group) and a second group had placebo HA for 6 months (placebo group) followed by a secondary activation phase for a further 6 months (semi crossover procedure). Both groups were retested after a 12-month period. The primary endpoint was the change from baseline of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale (ADAS Cog) after a 6-month period in both groups and after 6 months of secondary HA activation in the placebo group. A smaller cognitive decline should be obtained with HA use; an increase in ADAS Cog score of less than 6 points was defined a success.

Results: Fifty-one patients aged 68 to 99 years were included; 38 attended the 6-month visit: 18 in the active group and 20 in the placebo group. At 6 months, 14 (82.4%) successes were noticed in the active group, and 15 (88.2%) in the placebo group (p = 1.0); delta ADAS Cog in the active group was 1.8±5.3 and 1.3±5.3 in the placebo group (p = 0.8). In the placebo group, after the secondary HA activation, no significant improvement was observed.

Conclusion: No significant effect of HA use was observed after 6 months of follow-up in patients with AD and HL.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00488007.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; hearing aids; hearing loss; non-pharmacological treatment; randomized controlledclinical trial.