Benefits of Choir for Older Adults With Unaddressed Hearing Loss (WP2)

Summary

Unaddressed age-related hearing loss is highly prevalent among older adults, typified by negative consequences for speech-in-noise perception and psychosocial wellbeing. There is promising evidence that group singing may enhance speech-in-noise perception and psychosocial wellbeing. However, there is a lack of robust evidence, primarily due to the literature being based on small sample sizes, single site studies, and a lack of randomized controlled trials. Hence, to address these concerns, this SingWell Project study utilizes an appropriate sample size, multisite, randomized controlled trial approach, with a robust preplanned statistical analysis.

The objective of the study is to explore if group singing may improve speech-in-noise perception and psychosocial wellbeing for older adults with unaddressed hearing loss.

The investigators designed an international, multisite, randomized controlled trial to explore the benefits of group singing for adults aged 60 years and older with unaddressed hearing loss. After undergoing an eligibility screening process and completing an information and consent form, the investigators intend to recruit 210 participants that will be randomly assigned to either group singing or an audiobook club (control group) intervention for a training period of 12-weeks. The study has multiple timepoints for testing, that are broadly categorized as macro (i.e., pre- and post-measures across the 12-weeks), or micro timepoints (i.e., pre- and post-measures across a weekly training session). Macro measures include behavioural measures of speech and music perception, and psychosocial questionnaires. Micro measures include psychosocial questionnaires and heart-rate variability.

The investigators hypothesize that group singing may be effective at improving speech perception and psychosocial outcomes for older adults with unaddressed hearing loss-more so than participants in the control group.

Conditions

• Hearing Loss, Age-Related
• Speech Intelligibility
• Psychosocial Functioning

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Group Singing

12 week choir program consisting of 1.5 hours of in-person instruction per week.

BEHAVIORAL

Audiobook Club

12 week audiobook club program consisting of 1.5 hours of in-person discussion per week.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Memorial University of Newfoundland

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Groningen

  collaborator OTHER

• Flinders University

  collaborator OTHER

• Concordia University, Montreal

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Southern California

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Oldenburg

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Nottingham

  collaborator OTHER

• The Bionics Institute of Australia

  collaborator OTHER

• Toronto Metropolitan University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Frank Russo, PhD · Toronto Metropolitan University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

60 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-04-15

Primary Completion

2026-09-30

Completion

2026-09-30

Countries

• United States
• Australia
• Canada
• Germany
• Netherlands

Study Locations