In collaboration with Professor Louise Hickson, Dr. Carly Meyer led a team of researchers to identify why some people with hearing loss choose to visit a clinic and take action on their hearing.
The study found that the perspective of the patient’s family and spouse plays an important role in influencing the person’s decision to take action. This provides additional support for including communication partners in the rehabilitation process.
Funded by the HEARing Cooperative Research Centre in Australia, the study surveyed 307 older adults with hearing impairment to examine the influence of audiological and non-audiological factors on help-seeking behavior.
The research team found that a positive attitude towards hearing aids was the most important factor that drove individuals to visit a clinic and obtain hearing aids. Older adults who perceived hearing aids as having more benefits were more likely to visit a hearing care professional and experience a successful outcome with their hearing aids.
The study also showed that significant others and spouses played an important role in the decision-making process. People who perceived their significant others as less supportive of hearing aids were less likely to consult a hearing care professional or start a hearing aid trial period.
The reverse was also true. Older adults with hearing loss were more likely to seek help if they perceived their spouse or partner to be supportive of hearing rehab and hearing aids. When considering taking action, patients may be more influenced by their spouse’s stigmatizing beliefs than their own.
“Family members are very important and need to be involved in the rehabilitation process,” states Carly Meyer. “Third-party disability research conducted by my colleague, Dr. Nerina Scarinci, shows … that family members do experience activity limitations and participation restrictions due to a hearing loss. We have also conducted focus groups with audiologists, patients and family members, asking them about involving family members in appointments. The results show that audiologists realize the benefits of involving family members, and patients want their family involved.”
Although it seems that both sides see the value of incorporating communication partners in the rehab process, barriers still exist that prevent it from becoming a reality
“Audiologists cite time as a barrier, fearing that the consultation would be longer. Research shows that this is not always the case, but this is the general feeling out there,” states Carly Meyer. “On top of that, not all audiologists are comfortable involving family members. Family members can also be very technology focused and may not see the advantages of being involved in the entire process.”
According to Carly Meyer, there are things that professionals can do right away despite these barriers.
“Audiologists could start by asking the patient about the attitudes and opinions of their spouse or close family members. This is a good starting point, as it can shed light on whether the family is supportive or not with regards to hearing aids,” states Carly Meyer. “In addition, we could also start educating family members about what they could gain from being involved in the process. Both individuals experience communication difficulties due to the hearing loss. It would be useful focus on that and explain why their involvement is important.”
Dr. Carly Meyer is a speech pathologist who currently holds a HEARing CRC Postdoctoral Fellowship. She is also affiliated with the Communication Disability Centre at The University of Queensland.
The research findings come from the following article in the International Journal of Audiology: Meyer, C., Hickson, L., Lovelock, K., Lampert, M., & Khan, A. (2014). An investigation of factors that influence help-seeking for hearing impairment in older adults. International journal of audiology, (53), S3-S17.