ArticleJournal of the American Geriatrics Society2023
Consistent hearing aid use is associated with lower fall prevalence and risk in older adults with hearing loss.
Article in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Economic Evaluations of Hearing Interventions in Older Adults: A Systematic Review of Evidence and Methods.Advances in therapy · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effects of executive function training on balance and auditory-cognitive dual-task performance in adults with and without hearing loss.PloS one · 2026Trial
- Effects of hearing intervention on falls in older adults: findings from a secondary analysis of the ACHIEVE randomised controlled trial.The Lancet. Public health · 2025Trial
- Effectiveness of the active communication education program in improving the general quality of life of older adults who use hearing aids: a randomized clinical trial.BMC geriatrics · 2024Trial
- Increased risk of frailty and falls in older persons with hearing loss.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2026Article
- Audiology's Nomenclature and Taxonomy Under the Law: Implications for Access and Coverage of Audiology Services.Seminars in hearing · 2026Review
- Determining the Association Between Hearing Disability and Injury Risk in Older Adults Using Propensity Score Matching: Quasi-Experimental Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2026Article
- Cost-Effectiveness of Hearing Aids in South Korea: A Multistate Markov Model Analysis.Clinical and experimental otorhinolaryngology · 2025Article
- A fall risk prediction model based on the CHARLS database for older individuals in China.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Associated factors and gender differences of falls in older adults with hypertension: a national cross-sectional survey.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Age-related hearing loss and balance disorders: analysis of interactions and clinical implications in older persons. Systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in aging · 2025Review
- Realistic dual-task listening-while-balancing in older adults with normal hearing and hearing loss with and without hearing aids.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Advances in Research on the Association between Age-Related Hearing Loss and Risk of Falls and Fractures.Noise & healthReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFalls and their sequelae cost more than $50 billion every year. Older adults with hearing loss are at 2.4 times greater risk of falls than their normal hearing peers. Current research is inconclusive about whether hearing aids can offset this increased fall risk, and no previous studies considered if outcomes differed based on the consistency of hearing aid use.
methodsIndividuals 60 years and older with bilateral hearing loss completed a survey consisting of the Fall Risk Questionnaire (FRQ) and questions about hearing loss history, hearing aid use, and other common fall risk factors. In this cross-sectional study, fall prevalence, as well as fall risk (based on FRQ score), was compared between hearing aid users and non-users. A separate group of consistent hearing-aid users (at least 4 h daily use for more than 1 year) was also compared with inconsistent/non-users.
resultsResponses from 299 surveys were analyzed. Bivariate analysis found 50% reduced odds of experiencing a fall for hearing aid users compared with non-users (OR = 0.50 [95% CI: 0.29-0.85], p = 0.01). After adjusting for age, sex, hearing loss severity, and medication usage, those who reported any hearing aid use still had lower odds of falls (OR = 0.48 [95% CI: 0.26-0.90], p = 0.02) and lower odds of being at risk for falls (OR = 0.36 [95% CI: 0.19-0.66] p < 0.001) than non-users. Results for consistent hearing aid users demonstrate an even stronger association of lowered odds of falling (OR = 0.35 [95% CI: 0.19-0.67], p < 0.001) and lower odds of being at risk for falls (OR = 0.32 [95% CI: 0.12-0.59], p < 0.001), suggesting a potential dose-response relationship.
conclusionsThese findings suggest that use of hearing aids-especially consistent hearing aid use-is associated with lower odds of experiencing a fall or being classified as at risk for falls in older individuals with hearing loss.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.