Exercise to Improve Balance in Older Adults With Hearing Impairment - a Proof-of-concept Study

Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL)

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Balance; Distorted; Gait, Unsteady; Hearing Loss; Old Age; Debility

Treatments: Other: Virtual reality exercise; Other: Vestibular rehabilitation exercise; Other: Control

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04283279

2019/FO243016

Details and patient eligibility

About

Hearing impairment is common in older adults, and recent research points to associations between hearing impairment and balance/mobility. The association may be due to more attentional resources being used to compensate for the sensory loss, with less resources available for maintaining balance. The aim of this projects is therefore to investigate whether an exercise program with focus on motor-cognitive tasks is feasible for older adults with hearing impairment. The study is meant as a proof-of-concept study, where trialling will be evaluated, and results will be used to inform the design of a larger and adequately powered study.

Full description

Study design:

This is an experimental (exercise) study with follow-ups three and twelve months after exercise completion.

Participants:

Participants will be recruited from two instances:

• "Praksisnett", which is a collaboration between GPs and researchers in Bergen, Norway, where GPs recruit potential participants to research projects.
• The Ear, Nose, Throat department at Haukeland University Hospital (Bergen), who provide service to older adults with hearing impairment. The aim is to include 60 patients into three intervention arms: i) virtual reality exercises, ii) vestibular rehabilitation exercises and usual care

Intervention arms:

• Virtual reality exercises: Participants will exercise in virtual environments twice weekly. The choice of environments/tasks will be individualized, and progress from sitting/standing exercises, to doing exercises while walking on a treadmill. The aim is to perform cognitive and motor tasks simultanously.
• Vestibular rehabilitation exercises: This is an exercise approach that has been used in clinical groups, such as patients with vestibular disorders and traumatic brain injury. The aim is to perform movements/exercises where the participant is exposed gradually to movements that may be provocative for the vestibular system.

The exercises will be done in a movement lab at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. Participants will be randomised to either of the three intervention arms using a computerized procedure. Neither participants, testers or deliverers of the intervention will be blinded. Testers and intervention deliverers will be physiotherapists, students enrolled in a master program in clinical physiotherapy and bachelor students in physiotherapy.

Enrollment: 60 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 70+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Hearing threshold above 30 dB

Exclusion criteria

• Inability to give informed consent,
• Inability to speak Scandinavian languages or English
• Diseases with severe motor impairments (such as mb Parkinsons)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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60 participants in 3 patient groups

Virtual reality exercise

Experimental group

Description:

20 participants will be randomised to this arm

Treatment:

Other: Virtual reality exercise

Vestibular rehabilitation exercise

Experimental group

Description:

20 participants will be randomised to this arm

Treatment:

Other: Vestibular rehabilitation exercise

Control

Other group

Description:

20 participants will be randomised to this arm

Treatment:

Other: Control