ASPREE-Hearing
Trial question
What is the role of low-dose aspirin in the progression of age-related hearing loss in healthy older adults?
Study design
Multi-center
Double blinded
RCT
Population
Characteristics of study participants
45.0% female
55.0% male
N = 279
279 patients (125 female, 154 male).
Inclusion criteria: healthy community-dwelling individuals aged ≥ 70 years.
Key exclusion criteria: history of a cardiovascular event; serious intercurrent illness likely to cause death within 5 years; cognitive impairment or dementia; disability; bilateral extended-wear or internal hearing aids or bilateral cochlear implants.
Interventions
N=138 aspirin (100 mg daily dose of enteric-coated aspirin).
N=141 placebo (matching placebo).
Primary outcome
Mean deterioration in 4-frequency average hearing threshold at year 3
3.3 dB
3 dB
3.3 dB
2.5 dB
1.6 dB
0.8 dB
0.0 dB
Aspirin
Placebo
No significant
difference ↔
No significant difference in mean deterioration in 4-frequency average hearing threshold at year 3 (3.3 dB vs. 3 dB; MD 0.31, 95% CI -0.72 to 1.34).
Secondary outcomes
No significant difference in mean deterioration in speech reception threshold at year 3 (0.9 dB vs. 0.9 dB; MD -0.1, 95% CI -1.2 to 1).
No significant difference in mean deterioration in 4 kHz sound frequency at year 3 (4.5 dB vs. 4.4 dB; MD 0.2, 95% CI -1.3 to 1.7).
Conclusion
In healthy community-dwelling individuals aged ≥ 70 years, aspirin was not superior to placebo with respect to mean deterioration in 4-frequency average hearing threshold at year 3.
Reference
David P Q Clark, Zhen Zhou, Sultana M Hussain et al. Low-Dose Aspirin and Progression of Age-Related Hearing Loss: A Secondary Analysis of the ASPREE Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Jul 1;7(7):e2424373.
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