Hearing aids could help reduce falls among older adults, results from clinical trial suggest
New Delhi: Providing
hearing aids
to older adults, along with counselling their families, were found to reduce falls by nearly 30 per cent over a three-year period, according to a study published in The Lancet Public Health journal. Falls -- a leading cause of injury and major health concern among the elderlies -- have been linked with hearing loss, among other factors, including a decline in physiological responses, mobility and cognitive skills.
Researchers, including those from Edinburgh Napier University, UK, provided hearing aids and counselling to family members of half of 977 adults in the US, aged 70-84, with untreated hearing loss and without substantial cognitive impairment. The other half -- 487 participants -- were the 'control group' and given health education.
Results from the 'ACHIEVE' trial revealed that the average number of falls over three years among those receiving hearing interventions -- hearing aids and counselling -- was 1.45, compared to 1.98 in the control group.
"The intervention group had a 27 per cent reduction in the mean number of falls over three years compared with the control group," the authors wrote.
The team said that evidence from previous studies that examined the link between using hearing aids and falls has been contradictory.
The
ACHIEVE trial
is the "first large-scale" randomised control trial that has explored the potential effect of hearing intervention on falls, the researchers said.
Findings from the trial suggest that hearing aids and counselling may reduce
falls among older adults
with hearing loss, even as further research is required to examine the longer-term effects of hearing intervention on falls.
A study, published in 'The Evidence' journal in March 2024, found that prevalence of falls among older adults in India (aged 60 and above) was 11.43 per cent. Data of 28,710 participants from the Longitudinal Aging Study of India (LASI), collected during 2017-2019, was analysed.
The study attributed the risk of falling to chronic conditions, such as diseases of bones and joints, and vision problems. Self-reported poor health emerged as a strong predictor for falls, emphasising the interplay of physical health and self-perception in risk of falling, it said.
Further, women were found to be at a 31 per cent higher risk of falling, compared to men.
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