TY - JOUR
T1 - Hearing Care Intervention for Persons with Dementia
T2 - A Pilot Study
AU - Mamo, Sara K.
AU - Nirmalasari, Olivia
AU - Nieman, Carrie L.
AU - McNabney, Matthew K.
AU - Simpson, Allison
AU - Oh, Esther S.
AU - Lin, Frank R.
N1 - Funding Information:
Supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH)/NIDCD grant K23DC011279 (to FRL), grant NIDCD/T32DC000027 (to CLN), NIH/National Institute on Aging grant K23AG043504 (to ESO), the Roberts Fund (to ESO), the Ossoff Family Fund (to ESO), the Eleanor Schwartz Charitable Foundation (to FRL and SKM), and Johns Hopkins Alzheimer's Disease Research Center grant P50AG005146 (to FRL and SKM). This publication was made possible, in part, by the Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, which is funded in part by UL1TR001079 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), a component of the NIH and NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the Johns Hopkins ICTR, NCATS, or NIH.
PY - 2017/1/1
Y1 - 2017/1/1
N2 - Objective Hearing loss is a commonly unmet need among adults with dementia that may exacerbate common dementia-related behavioral symptoms. Accessing traditional audiology services for hearing loss is a challenge because of high cost and time commitment. To improve accessibility and affordability of hearing treatment for persons with dementia, there is a need for unique service delivery models. The purpose of this study is to test a novel hearing intervention for persons with dementia and family caregivers delivered in outpatient settings. Methods The Memory-HEARS pilot study delivered a 2-hour in-person intervention in an outpatient setting. A trained interventionist provided hearing screening, communication strategies, and provision of and instruction using a simple over-the-counter amplification device. Caregivers (N = 20) responded to questionnaires related to depression, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and caregiver burden at baseline and 1-month postintervention. Results Overall, caregivers believed the intervention was beneficial, and most participants with dementia wore the amplification device daily. For the depression and neuropsychiatric outcome measures, participants with high symptom burden at baseline showed improvement at 1-month postintervention. The intervention had no effect on caregiver burden. Qualitative responses from caregivers described improved engagement for their loved ones, such as laughing more, telling more stories, asking more questions, and having more patience. Conclusion The Memory-HEARS intervention is a low-cost, low-risk, nonpharmacologic approach to addressing hearing loss and behavioral symptoms in patients with dementia. Improved communication has the potential to reduce symptom burden and improve quality of life.
AB - Objective Hearing loss is a commonly unmet need among adults with dementia that may exacerbate common dementia-related behavioral symptoms. Accessing traditional audiology services for hearing loss is a challenge because of high cost and time commitment. To improve accessibility and affordability of hearing treatment for persons with dementia, there is a need for unique service delivery models. The purpose of this study is to test a novel hearing intervention for persons with dementia and family caregivers delivered in outpatient settings. Methods The Memory-HEARS pilot study delivered a 2-hour in-person intervention in an outpatient setting. A trained interventionist provided hearing screening, communication strategies, and provision of and instruction using a simple over-the-counter amplification device. Caregivers (N = 20) responded to questionnaires related to depression, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and caregiver burden at baseline and 1-month postintervention. Results Overall, caregivers believed the intervention was beneficial, and most participants with dementia wore the amplification device daily. For the depression and neuropsychiatric outcome measures, participants with high symptom burden at baseline showed improvement at 1-month postintervention. The intervention had no effect on caregiver burden. Qualitative responses from caregivers described improved engagement for their loved ones, such as laughing more, telling more stories, asking more questions, and having more patience. Conclusion The Memory-HEARS intervention is a low-cost, low-risk, nonpharmacologic approach to addressing hearing loss and behavioral symptoms in patients with dementia. Improved communication has the potential to reduce symptom burden and improve quality of life.
KW - Age-related hearing loss
KW - Amplification
KW - Communication
KW - dementia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85004073452&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85004073452&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jagp.2016.08.019
DO - 10.1016/j.jagp.2016.08.019
M3 - Article
C2 - 27890543
AN - SCOPUS:85004073452
VL - 25
SP - 91
EP - 101
JO - American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
JF - American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
SN - 1064-7481
IS - 1
ER -