Identifying the Factors that Affect Consistent Hearing Aid Use in Young Children With Early Identified Hearing Loss: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Objectives: This study is a scoping review examining factors that affect consistent hearing aid use in young children with early identified hearing loss (HL).Design: Online databases were used to identify journal articles published between 2009 and 2019, yielding over 1800 citations. The citations were uploaded into an online software product called Covidence that enables scoping/systematic review management. After duplicates were removed, 857 articles were screened by abstract and title name, 93 of which were put through for full-text screening. Twenty-five articles met predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Appraisal tools were utilized to establish the quality of the studies included. Numerical summaries were used to synthesize and describe the data set. Thematic analysis was utilized to identify global and subthemes within the data set.Results: Numerical summaries revealed that over half of the studies in the data set used a quantitative design. Thematic analysis of the data identified four global themes namely, "each child is an individual," "parents are key," "parents require support," and "professionals make a difference." Each global theme was further divided into subthemes, most of which centered around the parents of children with HL. Each subtheme was categorized as a malleable or a fixed factor that impacts on hearing aid use in young children with HL. Conclusions:This scoping review identified malleable and fixed factors that impact on hearing aid use in young children with HL. These factors centered around the individual characteristics of children with HL, the key responsibility their parents have, and the important contribution that professionals can make. Irrespective of whether factors are malleable or fixed, parents and professionals working with children with HL can have a positive impact on hearing aid use. This is likely to have a flow on, positive impact on their overall communication and learning outcomes.

What Are Parents’ Experiences With Their Child’s Hearing Aid Use in the First 5 Years?

“…1) were utilized as a framework for each interview. These guides were largely informed by the themes and concepts identified in the scoping review by Nailand et al (2021). In keeping with semistructured interviews, the interview questions did not follow a specific sequence and the interviews were iterative in nature.…”

“…However, supporting consistent hearing aid use can be a daunting task for parents and the challenges of effective hearing aid use and management should not be underestimated (Munoz et al 2015). A scoping review of 25 papers by Nailand et al (2021) identified the crucial role that parents play and the challenges they may have in establishing consistent hearing aid use in their young children. For example, eight papers linked less optimal hearing aid use to lower socioeconomic class as measured by level of maternal education or income level (e.g.…”

“…For the most part, research studies have explored parents' challenges and experiences with their child's hearing aid using quantitative methods. In their scoping review, Nailand et al (2021) identified that 18 of the 25 studies (72%) utilized parent surveys or questionnaires (11 studies used a quantitative design, 5 used mixed methods, and 2 studies used qualitative methods to analyze the survey results). While these survey/ questionnaire studies have provided the groundwork to better understand parents' experiences with their child's hearing aid use, they have their limitations.…”