First time hearing aid candidates (N = 135) in a NHS setting were administered the Hearing Attitudes in Rehabilitation Questionnaire (HARQ) designed to assess attitudes to acquired hearing loss and hearing aids and 92% of them were followed up 3-9 months after fitting. Attitude scores, age, sex and sensory thresholds were related to six self-report outcome measures by use of logistic regression. The major findings were that patients who were least distressed by their hearing difficulties and reported not wanting or needing a hearing aid used their aids least frequently and evaluated them less highly in listening situations. An attitude that wearing a hearing aid was stigmatizing was not predictive of outcome except a report of more difficulty in handling the aid. There were some low but significant correlations between attitudes and sensory thresholds and thresholds also contributed to the prediction of outcome in a few instances.
Communication is a shared experience which can be substantially affected by hearing impairment. Significant others may experience difficulties not only in direct communication but also in personal and social relationships. The present study was designed to investigate the impact on significant others of hearing loss in a partner and the benefits that accrued from the provision of personal amplification. The results suggested that before the provision of a hearing aid significant others experienced difficulties with person-to-person conversation, with group conversation and in viewing (listening to) television of the same order as did the hearing impaired individual. After appropriate intervention the difficulties were greatly reduced with resultant improvement in quality of life for both parties.
The objective of this study was to determine if subjects who received pre- and post-issue counselling made better use of their National Health Service body-worn hearing aids than those who received no counselling. Assessment was by both subjective and objective methods, the latter employing a small use-time measuring device concealed within the aid. The findings suggested that subjects issued with hearing aids in the conventional NHS manner used their hearing aids even less than indicated by previous studies and achieved a low competence in handling. Significantly better use was made of their aids by subjects given a moderate amount of counselling. These patients were also considerably more adept in handling their aids and achieved a greater reduction in social hearing handicap than the non-counselled patients.
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