Kariya City Board of Education

Hearing loss in older adults is a risk factor for depression, cognitive decline, frailty, and other conditions, and it has various negative physical and psychological effects. Hearing loss care requires the support of medical professionals; however, most hearing care education is targeted at professionals working in hospitals and care facilities, with few interventions aimed at visiting nurses. To address this gap, we developed the "Hearing Loss Care Education Program for the Older Adults" to improve visiting nurses' skills in managing hearing loss. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. This cluster randomized controlled trial was registered in the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000053337) and conducted across 22 visiting nursing stations: 11 in the intervention group (60 visiting nurses) and 11 in the control group (42 visiting nurses). The intervention consisted of on-demand lectures and technical exercises, followed by a 3-month follow-up period. The primary outcome was the "implementation of hearing care," whereas the secondary outcomes were "knowledge of hearing care" and "confidence in implementing hearing care." Between-group differences were analyzed using generalized estimating equations. As part of the primary outcome, a significant increase in the implementation of "hearing screening" was observed in the intervention group (odds ratio 8.35, 95% confidence interval 3.60-19.34, p < 0.001). Additionally, the intervention group demonstrated significantly higher "knowledge of hearing care" and "confidence in implementing hearing care." These findings suggest that the program effectively enhanced visiting nurses' knowledge and confidence in hearing care and supports the integration of hearing screening into their routine practice.

AimThis study aimed to reestimate the prevalence of hearing loss based on the updated World Health Organization hearing loss classification and investigate whether existing hearing screening criteria could efficiently screen for frailty or cognitive deficit.MethodsData collected from community dwellers aged 40–91 years included 2325 samples. Health checkup hearing screening used were as follows: (A) 30 dB both at 1 and 4 kHz and (B) 30 dB at 1 kHz and 40 dB at 4 kHz were used. For participants aged ≥60 years, frailty according to the modified Cardiovascular Health Study criteria and cognitive deficit defined by a Mini‐Mental State Examination score <28 were assessed. Logistic regression was performed to obtain odds ratios for frailty and cognitive deficit.ResultsThe rates of hearing loss using the updated World Health Organization classification in men were 8.6, 24.1, 54.2, 79.0 and 96.0% in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s and 3.7, 12.7, 36.4, 72.1 and 90.4% in women, respectively. Failing hearing screening using criterion A was associated with an increased risk of frailty, a sex‐adjusted odds ratio of 4.136 (95% confidence interval, 2.182–7.838) and an increased risk of cognitive deficit: 1.753 (95% confidence interval, 1.346–2.283). After adjusting for age and sex, the effects on frailty and cognitive deficit were no longer significant. The results were similar when criterion B was used.ConclusionBecause of the high prevalence of hearing loss and the ability to utilize existing devices and methodologies, hearing screening for the elderly should be reviewed. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2025; 25: 504–510.