Identifying untreated hearing loss in MCI
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A feasibility study for a randomised controlled trial of hearing aids treatment in patients with mild cognitive impairment
IRAS ID
215165
Contact name
Sergi Costafreda-Gonzalez
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2016/11/73, UCL Data Protection
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
It is a new finding that hearing loss is a major risk factor for subsequent dementia. Previous studies recruited people aged 50 to 70 years old without dementia, measured their hearing, and followed them for up to 20 years. People with hearing loss developed dementia at double the rate of people with unimpaired hearing. Hearing loss increases dementia risk more than lacking education, being diabetic or depressed or having a poor diet.
Untreated hearing loss may be a missed opportunity to delay and prevent dementia in a substantial number of people, but we need research to find out if treating hearing loss is effective.
In order to plan a large scale randomised controlled trial that will examine the efficacy of hearing aid treatment to prevent dementia in people with mild cognitive impairment, it is essential to conduct this feasibility study and clarify whether potential participants for the future trial can be identified and recruited. We will identify 12 patients with MCI and untreated audiometric hearing loss meeting criteria for the future trial. This project will also allow us to find out about practical issues needed for the trial (such as acceptability of schedule of assessment and audiological assessment with a portable test) as well as other potential obstacles to recruitment that are difficult to anticipate unless we actually run the study and recruit people.REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/WM/0518
Date of REC Opinion
23 Dec 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion