HEARINGtogether study: barriers to hearing aid acquisition and use in German nursing homes - The residents' perspective.

IF 1.8 3区医学 Q2 AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY

International Journal of Audiology Pub Date : 2025-05-09 DOI:10.1080/14992027.2025.2497928

Anja Pähler Vor der Holte, Lisa Krech, Merle Bock, Martin Seidel, Meike Ricke, Hans-Jürgen Welkoborsky

{"title":"HEARINGtogether study: barriers to hearing aid acquisition and use in German nursing homes - The residents' perspective.","authors":"Anja Pähler Vor der Holte, Lisa Krech, Merle Bock, Martin Seidel, Meike Ricke, Hans-Jürgen Welkoborsky","doi":"10.1080/14992027.2025.2497928","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Objectives: This study investigates barriers to hearing aid acquisition and usage in nursing homes from the residents' perspective.Design and study sample: 85 residents (mean age 83.8 years) were recruited from four nursing homes. Residents underwent pure tone and speech audiograms, completed the Nursing Home Hearing Index (NHHI), and a questionnaire on hearing aids.Results: 25 residents had untreated severe hearing loss (29.4%), but many were reluctant to pursue rehabilitation (15/25). Those hesitant to adopt hearing aids had less severe hearing loss (55.2 dB vs. 66.0 dB for residents open towards hearing aids), were less aware of their hearing loss, felt less impact in their daily life (NHHI 29.3pts vs. 40.4pts), and held more negative preconceptions towards hearing aids. Among residents that already used hearing aids, problems with practical handling were the predominant barrier to regular use, followed by lack of perceived benefit, and barriers in healthcare access.Conclusions: Raising early awareness for hearing loss is important to improve chances for rehabilitation. Educating medical staff in hearing health is crucial to raise awareness for hearing loss, support residents in daily life, and improve adherence to hearing aids. On-site services are essential for nursing homes to facilitate access to healthcare providers.","PeriodicalId":13759,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Audiology","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Audiology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14992027.2025.2497928","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objectives: This study investigates barriers to hearing aid acquisition and usage in nursing homes from the residents' perspective.

Design and study sample: 85 residents (mean age 83.8 years) were recruited from four nursing homes. Residents underwent pure tone and speech audiograms, completed the Nursing Home Hearing Index (NHHI), and a questionnaire on hearing aids.

Results: 25 residents had untreated severe hearing loss (29.4%), but many were reluctant to pursue rehabilitation (15/25). Those hesitant to adopt hearing aids had less severe hearing loss (55.2 dB vs. 66.0 dB for residents open towards hearing aids), were less aware of their hearing loss, felt less impact in their daily life (NHHI 29.3pts vs. 40.4pts), and held more negative preconceptions towards hearing aids. Among residents that already used hearing aids, problems with practical handling were the predominant barrier to regular use, followed by lack of perceived benefit, and barriers in healthcare access.

Conclusions: Raising early awareness for hearing loss is important to improve chances for rehabilitation. Educating medical staff in hearing health is crucial to raise awareness for hearing loss, support residents in daily life, and improve adherence to hearing aids. On-site services are essential for nursing homes to facilitate access to healthcare providers.

查看原文本刊更多论文

听力研究：德国养老院中助听器获取和使用的障碍-居民的观点。

目的：本研究从疗养院居民的角度探讨助听器获取和使用的障碍。设计与研究样本：从四家养老院招募85名居民（平均年龄83.8岁）。居民接受纯音和语音听力图，完成养老院听力指数（NHHI）和助听器问卷调查。结果：重度听力损失患者25例（29.4%）未接受治疗，但多数患者不愿接受康复治疗（15/25）。那些不愿使用助听器的人听力损失较轻（55.2 dB对66.0 dB），对听力损失的认识较少，对日常生活的影响较小（NHHI 29.3分对40.4分），并且对助听器持有更多的负面偏见。在已经使用助听器的居民中，实际操作问题是常规使用助听器的主要障碍，其次是缺乏感知到的好处，以及获得医疗保健的障碍。结论：早期提高对听力损失的认识对提高康复机会具有重要意义。对医务人员进行听力健康教育，对于提高人们对听力损失的认识，支持居民的日常生活，提高助听器的依从性至关重要。现场服务对于养老院便利获得医疗保健提供者至关重要。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

International Journal of Audiology 医学-耳鼻喉科学

CiteScore

4.90

自引率

14.80%

发文量

133

审稿时长

4-8 weeks

期刊介绍： International Journal of Audiology is committed to furthering development of a scientifically robust evidence base for audiology. The journal is published by the British Society of Audiology, the International Society of Audiology and the Nordic Audiological Society.