NCT03594500: Hear-VA

Hearing Impairment, Strategies, and Outcomes in Emergency Departments

Completed NA Results posted Last updated 5 November 2025

What this trial tests

NA trial testing PockeTalker in Hearing Loss in 133 participants. Completed in 2 January 2020.

Timeline

18 March 2019

Primary endpoint
26 November 2019

2 January 2020

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	VA Office of Research and Development
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	none
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	133
Start date	18 March 2019
Primary completion	26 November 2019
Estimated completion	2 January 2020
Sites	1 location across United States

Drugs / interventions tested

• PockeTalker
• No PockeTalker

Conditions studied

• Hearing Loss — all drugs for Hearing Loss →
• Emergency Service — all drugs for Emergency Service →
• Hospital Readmission — all drugs for Hospital Readmission →

Sponsor

VA Office of Research and Development — full company profile →

Who can join

60 and older, any sex, with Hearing Loss or Emergency Service. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Results — posted to ClinicalTrials.gov

Per-arm endpoint measurements with 95% confidence intervals where reported. Source: trial results section.

Number of Participants With Use of Hearing Assistance Device (HAD) During Emergency Department (ED) Stay Primary · Duration of ED stay, average of 1-2 days

The investigators will observe and survey intervention participants to determine whether or not they use the hearing assistance device while they are in the ED. This will be measured on a yes/no basis.

Yes (Used a hearing assistance device)

Group	Value	95% CI
Intervention: received hearing assistance device	38

No (Did not use a hearing assistance device)

Group	Value	95% CI
Intervention: received hearing assistance device	25

Patient-Rated Quality of Hearing, Understanding, and Communication With Providers During ED Stay Primary · Duration of ED stay, average of 1-2 days

Participants will self-rate their quality of hearing, understanding, and communication using a six item questionnaire. Scored on a 10-point Likert scale (1 = do not agree at all; 10 = completely agree) the questions will be: When I talked to the doctors and nurses today ... (1) their voices were very clear; (2) I was able to hear the sounds that I wanted to hear; (3) noises did not cause a problem for my hearing; and (4) listening did not make me tired. Two additional statements will explicitly capture understanding: (5) I was able to understand what they said; and (6) I was able to understand

1. Their voices were very clear.

Group	Value	95% CI
Intervention	90
Control	84

2. I was able to hear the sounds that I wanted to hear.

Group	Value	95% CI
Intervention	81
Control	79

3. Noises did not cause a problem for my hearing.

Group	Value	95% CI
Intervention	69
Control	66

4. Listening did not make me tired.

Group	Value	95% CI
Intervention	89
Control	74

5. I was able to understand what they said.

Group	Value	95% CI
Intervention	90
Control	84

6. I was able to understand without making an effort.

Group	Value	95% CI
Intervention	76
Control	56

Patient-Rated Quality of Post-Discharge Care Primary · At time of discharge from ED, average 1 day

Patient-rated quality of post-discharge care using a three-item subset of the Care Transition Measure (CTM). The questions are scored on a 1-4 scale (1= strongly disagree; 4 = strongly agree): (1) The ED staff considered my preferences and those of my family or caregiver in deciding what my healthcare needs were for discharge; (2) Leaving the ED, I have a good understanding of the things I am responsible for in managing my health; (3) Leaving the ED, I clearly understand the purpose for each of my medications. Higher scores will indicate better discharge preparation.

1. ED staff took my preferences into account in deciding my health care needs when I left.

Group	Value	95% CI
Intervention: PockeTalker	95
Control: No PockeTalker	90

2. I have a good understanding of my responsibilities for managing my health.

Group	Value	95% CI
Intervention: PockeTalker	97
Control: No PockeTalker	85

3. When leaving, I clearly understood the purpose for taking each of my medications.

Group	Value	95% CI
Intervention: PockeTalker	97
Control: No PockeTalker	93

Education Level Secondary · Duration of ED stay, average of 1-2 days

The Investigators will code what education level the Veterans have completed.

Group	Value	95% CI
Intervention: PockeTalker	4
Control: No PockeTalker	5
Intervention: PockeTalker	12
Control: No PockeTalker	15
Intervention: PockeTalker	30
Control: No PockeTalker	28
Intervention: PockeTalker	17
Control: No PockeTalker	14

Primary Language Secondary · Duration of ED stay, average of 1-2 days

The Investigators will code what language the Veterans speak when at home.

Group	Value	95% CI
Intervention: PockeTalker	46
Control: No PockeTalker	57
Intervention: PockeTalker	5
Control: No PockeTalker	1
Intervention: PockeTalker	12
Control: No PockeTalker	4

Number of Participants Who Live Alone or With Others Secondary · Duration of ED stay, average of 1-2 days

The Investigators will code whether the Veteran lives with others or alone.

Group	Value	95% CI
Intervention: PockeTalker	34
Control: No PockeTalker	43
Intervention: PockeTalker	29
Control: No PockeTalker	19

Number of Participants in the ED Alone or With Others Secondary · Duration of ED stay, average of 1-2 days

The Investigators will code whether the Veteran came to the ED with others or alone.

Group	Value	95% CI
Intervention: PockeTalker	45
Control: No PockeTalker	55
Intervention: PockeTalker	21
Control: No PockeTalker	12

Hospital Readmission Secondary · 3-30 days after initial ED stay

The Investigators will determine whether patients have had an ED revisit within three and 30 days through CPRS review as well as a brief follow-up phone call four and 35 days after ED discharge.

3-day readmissions

Group	Value	95% CI
Intervention: PockeTalker	3
Control: No PockeTalker	9

30-day readmissions

Group	Value	95% CI
Intervention: PockeTalker	23
Control: No PockeTalker	27

Sponsor's own description

Aim 1: Establish the feasibility of screening for hearing loss in the ED Aim 2: Determine the acceptability of the screening procedure (among the ED population) Aim 3: Derive a preliminary estimate of the effect size of primary outcomes Aim 4: Identify the evidence that decision makers in Veteran Affair Medical Centers, ED and Audiology Services need to commit to this approach

Publications & conference data

No peer-reviewed publications indexed yet for this trial. Completed trials usually publish results within 12-18 months.