Abstract
Background: Effective screening programs should not merely detect presence of disease, but also lead to long-term benefit. We describe the rationale and design of the first randomized clinical trial to study the long-term effects of routine screening for hearing loss. We also describe the baseline characteristics of the randomized cohort. Methods: We randomized 2305 veterans age 50 years or older to a control arm without screening, or to screening with: physiologic testing (AudioScope), a self-administered questionnaire (Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly-Screening version [HHIE-S]), or both tests. The primary outcome measure will be hearing aid use one year after screening. We will also study a number of secondary outcomes, including appointments made with and visits to an audiologist, cases of aidable hearing loss, hearing aids dispensed, self-rated communication ability, and hearing-related quality of life. Results: Baseline demographic and health status measures were evenly distributed across the screening arms. The percentage of patients who screened positive for hearing loss was 18.6%, 59.2%, and 63.6% for the AudioScope, HHIE-S, and combined screening arms, respectively. Implications: Long-term results are needed to gain insight into whether the AudioScope is associated with high rates of false negative screening, the HHIE-S is associated with high rates of false positive screening, or a combination of both. Identifying the best screening program will depend on determining which strategy leads to successful hearing aid use.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 303-315 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Contemporary Clinical Trials |
Volume | 28 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2007 |
Funding
This work is supported by a grant from the Health Services Research and Development Service of the Veterans Health Administration (IIR 99-377). Dr. Yueh was also supported by a career development award from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Health Services Research and Development Service (#CD-98-318). The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Keywords
- Depression
- Hearing aids
- Hearing loss
- Patient compliance
- Patient outcome assessment
- Quality of life
- Randomized controlled trials
- Rehabilitation of hearing impaired
- Screening
- Treatment effectiveness
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pharmacology (medical)