What does this research mean for the field?

Bilateral hearing aids provide statistically greater self-reported benefit than unilateral hearing aids for older adults with age-related hearing loss, although both configurations yield individually meaningful improvements. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.NOVEL_FINDING. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To determine whether bilateral hearing aids provide greater self-reported auditory benefit than a unilateral hearing aid in individuals with age-related hearing loss.

August 29, 2026JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery

Unilateral and Bilateral Hearing Aids for Age-Related Hearing Loss

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Authors

SSSherri L. Smith TRTodd A. RickettsVanderbilt University KKKayla W. KilpatrickDuke University

Discussion

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Implication

Randomized trial demonstrates greater self-reported benefit with bilateral hearing aids in age-related hearing loss, suggesting small but measurable advantages over unilateral fitting.

Key Points

To determine whether bilateral hearing aids provide greater self-reported auditory benefit than a unilateral hearing aid in individuals with age-related hearing loss.
Single-blinded parallel-group randomized clinical trial conducted at Duke University and Vanderbilt University audiology clinics (NCT04739436).
Enrolled 275 participants aged 50 years or older with mild-to-moderate age-related hearing loss and less than 3 months of prior hearing aid use.
Participants were randomly assigned to receive either prescription unilateral (n = 136) or bilateral (n = 139) receiver-in-the-canal hearing aids for 3 months, with intention-to-treat linear regression analysis.
Mean (SD) Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) scores improved by 14.41 (13.02) points in the unilateral group compared to 19.74 (15.18) points in the bilateral group.
Bilateral hearing aid fitting produced a statistically significant advantage over unilateral fitting, with a mean difference in APHAB benefit score of −5.29% (95% CI, −8.79% to −1.80%).
Both interventions provided meaningful individual improvements, though it remains uncertain whether the modest numerical superiority of bilateral aids reaches clinical significance.

Cite This Study

Smith et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a92995f8e5d7d1fc0c11449 https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaoto.2026.2401

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Implication

Randomized trial demonstrates greater self-reported benefit with bilateral hearing aids in age-related hearing loss, suggesting small but measurable advantages over unilateral fitting.

Unilateral and Bilateral Hearing Aids for Age-Related Hearing Loss

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Unilateral and Bilateral Hearing Aids for Age-Related Hearing Loss

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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