TABLE 1.

Baseline characteristics of all participants included in the Linear Mixed Models analyses (n = 87)

Variable	Control (n = 45)	Intervention (n = 42)	p
Hearing loss*, mean (SD)	44.0 (12.1)	42.9 (7.8)	0.63†
Tinnitus (yes)	16 (35.6%)	19 (45.2%)	0.36‡
Age in years, mean (SD), range	68.3 (8.7), 51–90	64.8 (9.1), 48§–84	0.067†
Female	10 (22.2%)	16 (38.1%)	0.11‡
Marital status			0.81‡
Married	34 (75.6%)	32 (76.2%)
Cohabiting	5 (11.1%)	2 (4.8%)
Widow or widower	1 (2.2%)	1 (2.4%)
Divorced	3 (6.7%)	4 (9.5%)
Single, never married	2 (4.4%)	3 (7.1%)
Living situation			0.90‡
Living together with other people	39 (86.7%)	36 (85.7%)
Living alone	6 (13.3%)	6 (14.3%)
Level of education			0.073‡
Low	1 (2.2%)	3 (7.1%)
Middle	40 (88.9%)	29 (69.0%)
High	4 (8.9%)	10 (23.8%)
Occupational status (paid job, yes)	14 (31.1%)	21 (50.0%)	0.073‡
Comorbidity (yes)	25 (55.6%)	18 (42.9%)	0.24‡

Means (SD) and counts (%) are presented.

^*Poorer ear average in dB HL, averaged across 1, 2, and 4 kHz.

^†Independent-samples t test.

^‡Chi-square test.

^§After enrollment in the study, two participants appeared to be slightly younger than 50, namely 48 and 49 yrs old respectively. We decided to keep them in the study.

published online ahead of print June 04, 2024