Prescription of hearing aids for the elderly: The views of general practitioners

1992 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 963-966 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. E. Newton ◽  
V. F. Hillier ◽  
S. D. G. Stephens

AbstractA questionnaire survey was carried out to examine the views of general practitioners in one Northern city regarding whether or not they thought that hearing aids should be prescribed from general practice, who they thought should prescribe them and whether or not additional resources and training would be needed if the responsibility for hearing aid prescription for the elderly was placed upon general practitioners.The survey indicated that whereas many general practitioners would be in favour of prescribing hearing aids from Health Centres, many would need extra training and resources to enable them to do so.

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 993-1005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gitte Keidser ◽  
Nicole Matthews ◽  
Elizabeth Convery

Purpose The aim of this study was to examine how hearing aid candidates perceive user-driven and app-controlled hearing aids and the effect these concepts have on traditional hearing health care delivery. Method Eleven adults (3 women, 8 men), recruited among 60 participants who had completed a research study evaluating an app-controlled, self-fitting hearing aid for 12 weeks, participated in a semistructured interview. Participants were over 55 years of age and had varied experience with hearing aids and smartphones. A template analysis was applied to data. Results Five themes emerged from the interviews: (a) prerequisites to the successful implementation of user-driven and app-controlled technologies, (b) benefits and advantages of user-driven and app-controlled technologies, (c) barriers to the acceptance and use of user-driven and app-controlled technologies, (d) beliefs that age is a significant factor in how well people will adopt new technology, and (e) consequences that flow from the adoption of user-driven and app-controlled technologies. Specifically, suggested benefits of the technology included fostering empowerment and providing cheaper and more discrete options, while challenges included lack of technological self-efficacy among older adults. Training and support were emphasized as necessary for successful adaptation and were suggested to be a focus of audiologic services in the future. Conclusion User perceptions of user-driven and app-controlled hearing technologies challenge the audiologic profession to provide adequate support and training for use of the technology and manufacturers to make the technology more accessible to older people.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. e000572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah O'Brien ◽  
Lucia Prihodova ◽  
Mairéad Heffron ◽  
Peter Wright

ObjectivePhysical activity (PA) counselling has been shown to raise awareness of the importance of PA and to increase the rate of PA engagement among patients. While much attention has been paid to examining the knowledge, attitudes and practice of general practitioners in relation to PA counselling, there is less literature examining such issues in hospital-based doctors in Ireland and further afield. This study aimed to explore doctors’ PA counselling practices and to analyse how this related to their level of PA knowledge, training and attitudes.MethodsAn invitation to participate in an online survey was sent to 4692 members of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland who were listed as having an address in Ireland. Descriptive and explorative analyses of the data were performed using IBM SPSS V.22.0.ResultsA total of 595 valid responses were included (response rate 12.7%; 42.7% male, 42.6±12.1 years). The majority reported enquiring about PA levels (88.0%) and providing PA counselling (86.4%) in at least some of their patients. Doctors who saw it as their role and those who felt more effective/confident in providing PA counselling were significantly more likely to do so. A perceived lack of patient interest in PA and patient preference for pharmaceutical intervention were significant barriers to undertaking PA counselling.ConclusionThis study demonstrates the need for further education and training in PA counselling in Ireland with a particular focus on improving the attitudes and self-efficacy of doctors in this area at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.


1996 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 923-935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry E. Humes ◽  
Dan Halling ◽  
Maureen Coughlin

Twenty elderly persons with hearing impairment were fit with binaural in-the-ear hearing aids and followed for a 6-month period post-fit. Several hearing-aid outcome measures were obtained at 0, 7, 15, 30, 60, 90, and 180 days post-fit. Outcome measures included (a) objective measures of benefit obtained with nonsense-syllable materials in quiet (CUNY Nonsense Syllable Test, NST) and sentences in multitalker babble (Hearing in Noise Test, HINT); (b) two subjective measures of benefit, one derived from pre-fit/post-fit comparisons on a general scale of hearing handicap (Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly, HHIE) and the other based on a subjective scale of post-fit hearing-aid benefit (Hearing Aid Performance Inventory, HAPI); (c) a questionnaire on hearing-aid satisfaction; (d) an objective measure of hearing-aid use; and (e) a subjective measure of hearing-aid use. Reliability and stability of each measure were examined through repeated-measures analyses of variance, a series of test-retest correlations, and, where possible, scatterplots of the scores against their corresponding 95% critical differences. Many of the measures were found to be both reliable and stable indicators of hearing-aid outcome.


1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 32-32
Author(s):  
G. A. van Essen

For many years, influenza vaccination in the Netherlands has been administered by general practitioners (GPs), with whom every person is registered. Nine out of ten practices use one of six approved general practice information systems (GPIS). The exponen


2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 469-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry E. Humes ◽  
Carolyn B. Garner ◽  
Dana L. Wilson ◽  
Nancy N. Barlow

This study reports the results of a large number of hearing-aid outcome measures obtained from 173 elderly hearing-aid wearers following one month of hearing-aid use. All participants in this study were fit binaurally with identical full-concha in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids having linear Class-D amplifiers with output-limiting compression. Outcome measures included several measures of speech recognition, as well as several self-report measures of hearing-aid performance, benefit, satisfaction, and use. Comparison of mean data from this sample of hearing-aid wearers to other larger sets of data, obtained previously for several of these measures of hearing-aid outcome evaluated in isolation, indicated that the participants in this study were representative of the participants in other largerscale studies. Subsequent principal-components factor analysis of the data from this study indicated that there were seven distinct dimensions of hearing-aid outcome. Attempts to document the effectiveness and efficacy of hearing aids for elderly persons with impaired hearing will be most complete when assessing performance along all seven dimensions of hearing-aid outcome. Clinically efficient procedures for doing so are discussed.


2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (05) ◽  
pp. 274-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabet Thorén ◽  
Monica Svensson ◽  
Anna Törnqvist ◽  
Gerhard Andersson ◽  
Per Carlbring ◽  
...  

Background: By using the Internet in the audiological rehabilitation process, it might be possible in a cost-effective way to include additional rehabilitation components by informing and guiding hearing aid users about such topics as communication strategies, hearing tactics, and how to handle hearing aids. Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of an online education program for adult experienced hearing aid users including professional guidance by an audiologist and compare it with the effects of participation in an online discussion forum without any professional contact. Research Design: A randomized controlled study with two groups of participants. Repeated measures at prestudy, immediate follow-up, and a 6 mo follow-up. Study Sample: Fifty-nine experienced hearing aid users participated in the study, ranging in age from 24 to 84 yr (mean 63.5 yr). Intervention: The intervention group (N = 29) underwent a five-week rehabilitative online education in which activities for each week included information, tasks, and assignments, and contact with a professional audiologist was included. The participants in the control group (N = 30) were referred to an online discussion forum without any audiologist contact. Data Collection and Analysis: A set of questionnaires administered online were used as outcome measures: (1) Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly, (2) International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids, (3) Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Life, and (4) Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Results: Significant improvements measured by the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly were found in both groups of participants, and the effects were maintained at the 6 mo follow-up. The results on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale showed that the participants in the intervention group showed reduced symptoms of depression immediately/6 mo after the intervention. At the 6 mo follow-up participants in the control group reported fewer symptoms of anxiety than they did before the intervention started. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence that the Internet can be used to deliver education to experienced hearing aid users who report residual hearing problems such that their problems are reduced by the intervention. The study also suggests that online discussion forums could be used in rehabilitation. A combination of online professional supervised education and online informal discussions could be a promising rehabilitation tool.


2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (03) ◽  
pp. 233-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle H. Saunders ◽  
Charlotte Morse-Fortier ◽  
Daniel J. McDermott ◽  
Jay J. Vachhani ◽  
Leslie D. Grush ◽  
...  

AbstractThe ability to manage hearing aids is crucial for successful outcomes and for maintaining hearing aid use. It is therefore important to have a tool that can effectively identify which hearing aid management skills are lacking so that the audiologist can provide additional education and training on that skill. Such a tool can also provide useful quantitative data for researchers.To collect normative data (Experiment 1) and assess inter- and intrarater reliability (Experiment 2) for a hearing aid management assessment tool known as the Hearing Aid Skills and Knowledge (HASK) test.Two hundred thirty-six new hearing aid users recruited from the VA Portland Health Care System and 126 experienced hearing aid users recruited from the local Portland community participated in Experiment 1. The veteran participants were taking part in a larger hearing aid study, and the community participants were recruited at community events that took place around Portland, OR. Three clinical audiologists and two AuD students completing their fourth year externship participated in Experiment 2.In Experiment 1, HASK data were collected from the new hearing aid users at 4–8 wk and 6–8 mo after the fitting of their first pair of hearing aids, and from experienced users on a single occasion. In addition, self-reported hearing aid use, benefit, and satisfaction were assessed for all participants. The audiologists/students in Experiment 2 watched and independently scored videos of six individuals completing the HASK. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) across audiologists were computed for HASK scores. Three audiologists/students rated at least one video on two occasions to provide interrater reliability data.Mean performance on the HASK was about 70% for knowledge and 80% for skills for both the new and experienced hearing aid users. Performance did not change among the new users between the 4–8 wk and 6–8 mo administration. The specific skills lacking were associated with advanced management abilities (cleaning and troubleshooting). Experiment 2 revealed ICCs for inter- and intrarater reliability for HASK to range from 0.76 to 0.94, showing acceptable to excellent reliability.The HASK is a quick and easy test with good-to-excellent inter- and intrarater reliability. It can effectively identify which hearing aid management skills are lacking so that the audiologist can provide additional education and training on those skills. Data show performance is ∼70% for knowledge and 80% for skills and this does not change with hearing aid experience. The significant positive correlations between HASK scores and hearing aid use and satisfaction highlight the notion that ability to manage hearing aids successfully is integral to good hearing aid outcome.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanne Lykke Lundstrøm ◽  
Kasper Edwards ◽  
Thomas Bøllingtoft Knudsen ◽  
Pia Veldt Larsen ◽  
Susanne Reventlow ◽  
...  

Background. Relational coordination (RC) and organisational social capital (OSC) are measures of novel aspects of an organisation’s performance, which have not previously been analysed together, in general practice. Objectives. The aim of this study was to analyse the associations between RC and OSC, and characteristics of general practice. Methods. Questionnaire survey study comprising 2074 practices in Denmark. Results. General practitioners (GPs) rated both RC and OSC in their general practice higher than their secretaries and nurses. The practice form was statistically significantly associated with high RC and OSC. RC was positively associated with the number of patients listed with a practice per staff, where staff is defined as all members of a practice including both owners and employees. Conclusion. The study showed that RC and OSC were significantly associated with type of profession and practice type. RC was also found to be significantly positively associated with number of patients per staff. However, the low response rate must be taken into consideration when interpreting the self-reported results of this study.


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