HEARING LOSS AND COGNITIVE DECLINE—OBSERVATIONAL RESULTS AND EMBEDDING OF A RANDOMIZED TRIAL IN ARIC

Hearing loss (HL) is independently associated with accelerated cognitive decline and an increased risk of incident dementia. The Aging, Cognition, and Hearing Evaluation in Elders (ACHIEVE) randomized trial is being planned to determine if hearing loss treatment versus a successful aging control intervention can reduce the risk of cognitive decline in older adults. This trial will be nested within ARIC, and a pilot study was recently completed that established trial feasibility and intervention efficacy. In this 6-month pilot study of 40 individuals aged 70–84 years, the hearing intervention demonstrated a clear efficacy signal on communication and social functioning (domains hypothesized to mediate downstream effects of HL on cognitive decline). Estimated changes in standardized (z-score) outcomes were qualitatively different by intervention assignment for all measures, including perceived handicap due to hearing loss (HHIE, p