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CHAPTER FIVE The Leap From Hearing Loss to Hearing Aids Barbara E. Weinstein, Ph.D.
. . .Responses to questionnaires that assess activity limitations and participation levels are quite important as they assist the hearing care professional in understanding the functional effects of a chronic condition such as hearing impairment. Answers to items comprising the Hearing Handicap Inventory (HHI) can help you and your hearing care provider better understand how hearing impairment interferes with a range of activities considered integral in your daily life. We now know that your desire to purchase hearing aids is directly linked to a number of personal factors. These include: 1. your score obtained on the HHIE‑S, HHIA‑S, HHIE-SP; 2. your readiness for change; 3. and your motivational level Bess1 and his colleagues from Tennessee found that the extent of self‑perceived hearing handicap on the 10‑item screening version of the HHIE‑S is predictive of hearing aid candidacy, in that it reliably distinguishes between people who ultimately purchase hearing aids and those who don’t. Irrespective of the severity of hearing loss for pure tone signals (e.g. mild or moderate sensorineural hearing loss), persons in their study who actually purchased hearing aids were more handicapped as evidenced by higher scores on the HHIE‑S, than those who did not. Thus, the investigators concluded that when people perceive that a given hearing loss for pure tone signals is interfering with participation in and enjoyment of various activities, they are motivated to purchase hearing aids to reduce some of their communication difficulties. . . Interestingly, purchase of completely‑in‑the-canal (CIC) hearing aids is highly correlated to scores on the HHI as well. These studies demonstrate that self‑perceived handicap, identified using a simple and easy screening tool, is linked to the decision on the part of individuals with hearing loss to purchase hearing aids. I encourage you to screen for the self-perceived effects of your loss using your hearing using one of the questionnaires included as Table 5-I or 5-II. If your total score adds up to 10 or more, you should schedule a hearing test and learn about the options available so that you don’t have to miss out on hearing. Clinically, I find that the sooner people come in for a hearing test, the more receptive they are to purchasing devices which may help overcome situation-specific difficulties such as understanding people on television or speech in large listening areas. Positive experiences with hearing assistive technologies, such as devices used with television or in theatres, often serve as an impetus to trying hearing aids. The Impact of Hearing Loss I would like to further elucidate on Dr. Kochkin’s previous chapter with respect to how hearing loss can impact your quality of life with respect to benefiting from self-assessment qustionnaires. As you know by now, hearing loss restricts one or more dimensions in the quality of life including communication function, mental status, emotional and social function. Specifically, hearing impairment has been shown to: • negatively impact on communicative behavior • alter psychosocial behavior • strain relations with friends or family members • limit the enjoyment of daily activities • jeopardize physical well‑being • interfere with the ability to live independently and safely • potentially interfere with long distance contacts on the telephone • compromise efficiency at work • interfere with one’s ability to work with co‑workers, and clients • interfere with medical diagnosis, treatment and management • interfere with compliance with pharmacological regimens and interfere with therapeutic interventions across all disciplines including social work, speech language therapy, physical or occupational therapy. . . |
