Effect of Hearing Intervention Versus Health Education Control on Fatigue: A Secondary Analysis of the ACHIEVE Study

Sarah Y Bessen; Wuyang Zhang; Alison R Huang; Michelle Arnold; Sheila Burgard; Theresa H Chisolm; David Couper; Jennifer A Deal; Sarah P Faucette; Adele M Goman; Nancy W Glynn; Theresa Gmelin; Lisa Gravens-Mueller; Kathleen M Hayden; Christine M Mitchell; James S Pankow; James R Pike; Nicholas S Reed; Victoria A Sanchez; Jennifer A Schrack; Kevin J Sullivan; Josef Coresh; Frank R Lin; Pablo Martinez-Amezcua; ACHIEVE Collaborative Research Group

doi:10.1093/gerona/glae193

Effect of Hearing Intervention Versus Health Education Control on Fatigue: A Secondary Analysis of the ACHIEVE Study

J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2024 Nov 1;79(11):glae193. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glae193.

Authors

Sarah Y Bessen^{1

2}, Wuyang Zhang^{2

3}, Alison R Huang^{2

3}, Michelle Arnold⁴, Sheila Burgard⁵, Theresa H Chisolm⁴, David Couper⁵, Jennifer A Deal^{2

3}, Sarah P Faucette⁶, Adele M Goman⁷, Nancy W Glynn⁸, Theresa Gmelin⁸, Lisa Gravens-Mueller⁵, Kathleen M Hayden⁹, Christine M Mitchell², James S Pankow¹⁰, James R Pike¹¹, Nicholas S Reed^{2

11}, Victoria A Sanchez¹², Jennifer A Schrack², Kevin J Sullivan⁶, Josef Coresh¹¹, Frank R Lin^{1

3}, Pablo Martinez-Amezcua^{2

3}; ACHIEVE Collaborative Research Group

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
² Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
³ Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
⁴ Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA.
⁵ Department of Biostatistics, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
⁶ Department of Medicine, The MIND Center, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USA.
⁷ School of Health and Social Care, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK.
⁸ Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
⁹ Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
¹⁰ Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
¹¹ Optimal Aging Institute, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
¹² Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA.

PMID: 39093692
PMCID: PMC11402025 (available on 2025-08-02)
DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glae193

Abstract

Background: Fatigue is a common complaint among older adults with hearing loss. The impact of addressing hearing loss on fatigue symptoms has not been studied in a randomized controlled trial. In a secondary analysis of the Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) study, we investigated the effect of hearing intervention versus health education control on 3-year change in fatigue in community-dwelling older adults with hearing loss.

Methods: Participants aged 70-84 years old with untreated hearing loss recruited across 4 study sites in the United States (Forsyth County, North Carolina; Jackson, Mississippi; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Washington County, Maryland) were randomized (1:1) to hearing intervention or health education control and followed for 3 years. Three-year change in fatigue symptoms was measured by 2 instruments (RAND-36 and PROMIS). We estimated the intervention effect as the difference in the 3-year change in fatigue between intervention and control groups using a linear mixed-effects model under the intention-to-treat principle.

Results: Participants (n = 977) had a mean age (SD) of 76.8 (4.0) years, were 53.5% female and 87.8% White. Over 3 years, a beneficial effect of the hearing intervention versus health education control on fatigue was observed using the RAND-fatigue score (β = -0.12 [95% CI: -0.22, -0.02]). Estimates also suggested beneficial effect of hearing intervention on fatigue when measured by the PROMIS-fatigue score (β = -0.32 [95% CI: -1.15, 0.51]).

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that hearing intervention may reduce fatigue over 3 years among older adults with hearing loss.

Keywords: Fatigue; Hearing loss; Randomized controlled trial.

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Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial
Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Fatigue* / prevention & control
Fatigue* / therapy
Female
Health Education / methods
Hearing Loss* / prevention & control
Hearing Loss* / rehabilitation
Humans
Male
United States

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding