Hearing loss (HL) imposes a substantial burden on families and society and is the largest modifiable risk factor for dementia. As a practical and non-invasive approach to managing HL, hearing aid use has been associated with a reduced risk of incident dementia and global cognitive decline....
This is a published protocol, not results — no actionable change to practice yet; await trial outcomes before modifying hearing aid counselling approaches for dementia-risk patients.
If family-supported behavioural interventions improve hearing aid adherence in dementia-risk populations, it could establish a scalable, low-cost model linking hearing care to dementia prevention pathways.
- 01SOUND is an RCT protocol testing a family-supported hearing aid use behaviour intervention in older adults at high dementia risk.
- 02Primary goal is to determine whether the intervention improves hearing aid adherence and related outcomes.
- 03Family members are actively incorporated as behaviour-change supporters, not just bystanders.
- 04Published in BMJ Open; this paper describes the study design, not findings.
- 05Links hearing aid uptake to dementia-risk management, a high-priority research agenda.
Family-supported behavioural interventions may improve hearing aid use in older adults at high risk for dementia.
studyunclear- PMID
- 42156151
- DOI
- 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-109839.
- Journal
- BMJ Open
- Publication type
- study_protocol
- Evidence level
- 1b
- Population
- Older adults at high risk for dementia with hearing loss
- Intervention
- Family-supported hearing aid use behaviour intervention
- Comparator
- Control arm (standard care or active comparator, details per protocol)
Primary outcomes
Hearing aid use adherence; Cognitive and functional outcomes; Quality of life