Hearing Aid Delivery Research Articles

Hearing and vision loss within residential care facilities ‐the need for improved service delivery

Objective: To assess the level of hearing impairment within residential care facilities and to determine the efficacy of providing aural rehabilitation services within the facility.Method: 178 elderly residents participated in this project. The procedures included case history, pure‐tone screening, otoscopic examination, vision screening, hearing aid assessment and sentence identification.Results: Despite 87.1% of participants having a significant hearing impairment only 43.3% currently wore hearing aids. Linked to poor hearing aid use was the fact that 43.9% of hearing aids required some degree of maintenance. Otoscopic examination revealed 42.1% of ear canals to be occluded with cerumen to a degree that medical intervention was required. Sentence identification revealed the importance of aiding and access to contextual and visual cues (lip‐reading) for this population.Conclusions: This study confirms the high prevalence of hearing impairment amongst the elderly and makes a case for increased rehabilitation services being directed towards this population particularly in the areas of hearing aid maintenance, cerumen removal and delivery of communication skills training to residential care workers.

Older Adults

Older adult successful hearing aid users demonstrated an advantage in self-perceived communication effectiveness over nonusers in selected communication situations. They were more likely than nonusers to take a proactive approach to managing difficult communication situations. Successful hearing aid users accepted their hearing loss condition. In managing their hearing loss, successful users based their decision to purchase and use hearing aids on personal information and initiative rather than being influenced by the perceptions of others. Hearing aid costs and personal appearance while wearing hearing aids were nondeterring factors in their acceptance and use. Successful hearing aid users were more tolerant of imperfections in the hearing aid delivery system and product performance than those who chose not to use amplification. Overall results suggest the need for further investigation of personality factors that influence hearing aid selection and use; increased consumer and physician education in the advantages of hearing aid use; population-specific approaches to counseling in the acceptance and use of amplification; and development of approaches to marketing hearing instruments that emphasize consumer benefit.

Developments in Hearing Aid Fitting and Delivery: A Decade of Revolution

The socioeconomic changes and technological advances that have occurred in the field of hearing aid dispensing are chronicled. The various instruments available to aid the hearing-impaired person, including digital electronics and programmable hearing aids, are described. The qualifications required of those who deliver hearing aids are also discussed.

兵庫県における身障者用補聴器交付の現状

A statistical study was made on 741 hard-of-hearing adults who visited the rehabilitation center from 1981 to 1987.The details of the study included age distribution, nature of hearing disorder, period of hearing aiduse, type of hearing aid used and, in future, the correlation between hearing level and discrimination score.Some problems about the delivery of hearing aids in accordance with the Welfare Law and the necessity for otologists to have more interest in this field are discussed.

身体障害者用補聴器交付に関する統計的観察

身体障害者用補聴器交付に関する統計的観察

The otolaryngologist and the hearing aid delivery system: current federal regulations.

New proposed rules and regulations concerning trade practices for the hearing aid industry have been developed in response to political pressures from Congress and consumer groups. Revisions to the trade regulations proposed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) include (1) more stringent limitations in advertising, (2) written permission to sell a hearing aid at home or in the buyer's place of business, and (3) the right of a buyer to cancel a hearing aid sale, rental, or lease within 30 days. Testimony on hearings regarding this rule are being reviewed by the FTC presiding officer. Food and Drug Administration national standards for the labeling and sale of hearing aids became effective Aug 15, 1977. A medical evaluation by a licensed physician is required before a hearing aid may be sold. Fully informed adults may request a waiver of this requirement for religious or personal beliefs, but a medical evaluation is mandatory for persons under 18 years of age. A User Instructional Brochure, which lists several conditions for which medical advice is advised, must be reviewed with the prospective buyer. In the recognition that some physicians may be dispensers of hearing aids, the Judicial Council of the American Medical Association has recommended that a physician may dispense hearing aids if it is in the best interest of the patient, but that a physician should not be encouraged to retail hearing aids in his office if other adequate community facilities exist.

Hearing Aid Dispensing in the Otolaryngological-Audiological Clinic

Many professionals in the hearing health care field recognize the need for change in the hearing aid delivery system. Reported herein are the results of 30 months of direct dispensing experience within a private otolaryngological-audiological clinic. A review of the dispensing of 520 aids shows numerous advantages and minimal disadvantages of this approach. Equipment requirements, patient cost, fitting procedures, and problems incurred are described. Direct dispensing, along with professional management of the rehabilitative process by the otolaryngological-audiological team is advocated on the basis of the positive results to date.