Hearing aids reduce daily-life fatigue and increase social activity: a longitudinal study

People with hearing loss experience fatigue, and it is unknown whether this is alleviated by treatment with hearing aids. The objective of this study was to address this issue, and to investigate the possible concomitant effect of hearing-aid fitting on activity levels. An intervention group (n=53) who were due to be fitted with their first ever hearing aid(s) and a control group (n=53) who had hearing loss but no change in hearing aid status completed a battery of self-report outcome measures four times: once before fitting, and at two weeks, three months and six months post fitting. Self-report outcome measures at each assessment captured fatigue, listening effort, hearing handicap, auditory lifestyle, social participation restrictions and work, social and physical activity levels. Hearing-aid fitting led to a significant reduction in listening-related fatigue, but not general fatigue, in the intervention group compared to the control group. Additionally, social activity level increased and social participation restriction decreased significantly after hearing aid fitting in the intervention group compared to the control group. No significant interaction was found between working status and change in listening-related fatigue score. This study is the first to make longitudinal measurement of fatigue before and after first-ever hearing aid fitting and to identify an increase in social activity level after hearing aid fitting. These findings have important implications for future research and the clinical practice of hearing aid fitting.