RCT: Self-Affirmation Intervention to Promote Hearing Aid Use.V 1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Randomised Controlled Trial of a Self-Affirmation Theory-Based Intervention to Promote Hearing Aid Use.
IRAS ID
274086
Contact name
Christopher J. Armitage
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
NCT04382703, Clinical. Tails .gov website
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 20 days
Research summary
Summary of Research
Out of an estimated 2 million people who are supplied hearing aids about 0.6 million are expected to give up using their hearing aids altogether. Research also shows there to be great variability regarding how often the 1.4 million regular users wear their hearing aids. Some will wear their hearing aids for 8 hours, or more, everyday but others wear them sporadically, sometimes for as little as 1 hour per day. This variability and non-usage wastes NHS resources and literature has shown that if hearing loss is not treated it leads to higher risks of cognitive decline and a poorer quality of life as hearing aids are seen as a protective measure against these negative outcomes.
Therefore, the current research aims to improve hearing aid usage by attempting to increase the length of time individuals wear them for and to lessen the likelihood of individuals not wearing their hearing aids at all. This will be achieved by a psychological intervention targeting individuals’ anxiety towards ageing because receiving hearing aids is seen as a sign of getting older potentially deterring individuals using their hearing aids effectively.
The study will take place within a NHS audiology clinic involving current hearing aid wearers, or those recently prescribed them, who are 18+. The procedure is questionnaire based so willing participants will be allocated into one of two randomised groups. Both groups will be asked to complete a questionnaire, but one group will have an extra item which is the intervention procedure. After 10 weeks participants will return to the clinic, where their audiologist will download their usage-data directly from their hearing aids and complete an almost identical questionnaire to the first. Six months after this second appointment they will be contacted and asked if they would be willing to fill in an optional questionnaire .Summary of Results
Originally the study was going to be face to face but due to COVID-19, amendments were made for the study to become postal and online which were subsequently approved. However, the study was stopped early due to problems with recruitment.REC name
North West - Greater Manchester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/NW/0288
Date of REC Opinion
28 Jul 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion