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Can a Family-Doctor-Led hearing service outperform specialist clinics for seniors?

NCT ID NCT07782177

Disease control Sponsor: Tseung Kwan O Hospital, Hong Kong Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting This study
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Aug 24, 2026 · Last updated Aug 25, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This trial tests a new hearing-care service for adults aged 65 and older in Hong Kong, where family medicine doctors work with ENT nurses and audiologists to provide earlier assessments, hearing-aid fittings, and referrals when needed. About 500 participants will be randomly assigned to either this new service or the existing ENT clinic. Researchers will compare hearing function, quality of life, depression symptoms, satisfaction, and how quickly patients receive care, to see if the new model is a safe and cost-effective alternative.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
A collaborative care model involving family medicine specialists, ENT nurses, and audiology services
What this could lead to
If successful, this model could improve access to hearing care for older adults, reduce wait times, and be adopted more widely in Hong Kong and beyond.
What could go wrong
The trial is a pilot, so results may not apply to all settings. The new service might not be as effective or cost-efficient as hoped, and patient satisfaction could vary.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Participants

About 500 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Expected to start

Sep 2026

An estimate. Start dates often move.

Expected to finish

Aug 2028

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Who is studied

The study population comprises adults aged 65 years or above presenting with hearing loss to either the new Family Medicine elderly hearing clinic at Tseung Kwan O South Family Medicine Clinic or the existing ENT elderly hearing clinic at specialist outpatient clinic at Tseung Kwan O Hospital, Hong Kong. Participants will have progressive bilateral hearing loss, hearing difficulty associated with earwax impaction, or a need for hearing-aid assessment or rehabilitation. Approximately 500 participants will be recruited: approximately 100 participants in the Family Medicine clinic cohort and 400 participants in the ENT clinic cohort. The study excludes patients with urgent or complex otologic conditions that require prompt specialist ENT evaluation.

Ages

65 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Aged 65 years or above. * Attending the Family Medicine elderly hearing clinic at Tseung Kwan O South Family Medicine Clinic or the ENT elderly hearing clinic at Specialist Outpatient Clinic at Tseung Kwan O Hospital. * Bilateral progressive hearing loss for more than 1 month without acute ear infection; or earwax impaction affecting hearing; or referred for hearing-aid assessment, prescription, fitting, or follow-up. * Able to provide written informed consent independently, or with caregiver support sufficient to facilitate completion of study questionnaires. * Adequate language proficiency, including Cantonese where applicable, to complete the validated study questionnaires. Exclusion Criteria: * Sudden sensorineural hearing loss. * Acute otitis, otorrhoea, or other acute ear infection requiring urgent assessment. * Tympanic-membrane perforation. * Suspected cholesteatoma or other serious middle-ear disease. * Other red-flag otologic presentations requiring urgent ENT specialist evaluation. * Severe cognitive impairment that, in the clinician's judgement, prevents meaningful informed consent or completion of study questionnaires.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

hearing loss disorder presbycusis

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Hearing loss, age-related Presbycusis

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Department of Ear, Nose and Throat at United Christian Hospital and Tseung Kwan O Hospital

    Hong Kong, Hong Kong

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