A New Brunswick nursing home teaming up with other organizations to research the impacts of hearing loss on older people.
The NB HEARS research project which brings together Baycrest Hospital, John Hopkins University, the Hearing Foundation of Canada and Loch Lomond Villa in Saint John.
Researchers are looking for 400 participants for the study.
Kate Ellis of Loch Lomond Villa said hearing loss can be a predictor of dementia and one idea is called cognitive load theory.
“If your brain is focusing so hard to interpret a message that it can’t quite process correctly that takes up so much bandwidth in the brain that other parts of your brain that may deal with memory might be impacted as well,” Ellis said.
Kate Ellis said the study is open to anyone over the age of 60, who can complete a consent form in English and doesn’t currently use a hearing device.
“They would come and they would have a hearing test and if we do find that they having hearing loss we’d ask them a whole bunch of questions on how hearing kind of impacts their life. We will provide them with a hearing amplification device and some strategies on how to help communicate better,” Ellis said.
Have you heard about our NB HEARS Study? We are currently looking for participants who are over the age of 60 with hearing loss, who do not already use a hearing aid! More details below! #HealthResearch #NB #HealthEquity #HearingLoss pic.twitter.com/RP4c3kJDEV
— Loch Lomond Villa Research (@ResearchLLV) October 29, 2020
Ellis said the interest level is high in the study with the next several weeks already booked up for hearing tests.
We asked what they plan to do with the results of this study.
“In a perfect world, if we see that this program is really beneficial and that’s its helping people, we’d like to turn it into a permanent program in New Brunswick,” Ellis said.
The research is being funded by the Healthy Seniors Pilot Project initiative.
The aim of NB HEARS (Hearing Equity through Accessible Research and Solutions) is to examine the impact of amplification devices and communication strategies on the overall health and quality of life of older people with hearing loss.
People interested in participating in this study should call the research team at Loch
Lomond Villa at (506) 643-7175 extension 6914.