The Effect of Hearing Augmentation on Cognitive Assessment Scales at Admission to Hospital

• Published in: The American journal of geriatric psychiatry 2012-04, Vol.20 (4), p.355-361
• Main Authors: MacDonald, Allan A., M.B.Ch.B, Joyson, Anu, B.Sc, Lee, Rebecca, M.B.Ch.B, Seymour, David G., M.D, Soiza, Roy L., M.B.Ch.B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged, 80 and over; Cognition; Female; Geriatric Assessment - methods; Geriatric Assessment - statistics & numerical data; Hearing Aids - psychology; Humans; Internal Medicine; Male; Neuropsychological Tests - statistics & numerical data; Patient Admission
• ISSN: 1064-7481; 1545-7214
• DOI: 10.1097/JGP.0b013e3182107e88

Objectives The aim was to assess how the use of a commercially available hearing augmentation device affected performance on cognitive assessment scales on admission to hospital. Design This was a randomized controlled trial. Setting The study was conducted on all of the acute assessment wards in a department of medicine for the elderly. Participants All patients admitted to the department from December 1, 2007, until February 28, 2008, were considered for admission to the study. Patients with delirium were excluded. Intervention A commercially available device provided hearing augmentation in the intervention group on the second day. Measurements All participants had cognitive assessments using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Abbreviated Mental Test (AMT) on two consecutive days. Results A total of 192 patients (60.4% women, mean [±SD] age 82.4 [±7.0] years) were recruited and randomized into control (N = 58) or intervention groups (N = 134). Paired and unpaired t-tests were used to compare mean improvements in scores within and between groups, respectively. The mean improvement in MMSE scores was 2.00 (p