Follow up of people fitted with hearing aids after adult hearing screening: the need for support after fitting
BMJ 2002; 325 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.325.7362.471 (Published 31 August 2002) Cite this as: BMJ 2002;325:471
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Gianopoulos et al.[1] found 39 patients cited cosmetic concerns,
handling difficulties, irritation in the ear, or feedback for not wearing
their hearing aids.
Increasingly often, in-hospital patients must take their hearing aids
out to have their temperature taken. The move away from oral mercury
based thermometery to tympanic thermometry makes it less likely that wards
will possess/use oral thermometers. In the paediatric setting, tympanic
thermometers can reduce time taken in the daily process of recording vital
signs[2]. A similar saving should apply in adult settings. These trends
may increase the event of misplacing one’s aid.
Using Medline, I found 6754 hits for the search phrase “hearing aid”,
258 hits for the search phrase “tympanic thermometer”, but no hits for the
combination search using both phrases[3].
Instead of being a time when using one’s aid is promoted, a hospital
stay may add to the problem. It may be easier to put the hearing aid in
the bedside locker and tolerate being yelled at.
Phillip J. Colquitt
[1] Ioanis Gianopoulos, Dafydd Stephens, and Adrian Davis
BMJ 2002; 325: 471
[2] Alexander D, Kelly B. Cost effectiveness of tympanic thermometry
in the pediatric office setting. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 1991 Apr;30(4
Suppl):57-9; discussion 60.
Competing interests: No competing interests
Gianopoulos et al have demonstrated the importance of counselling and
support following fitting of a new hearing aid (1). As a hearing aid user
of 12 years' standing, I can heartily endorse this. In turn, I would like
to submit a draft patient information sheet for new hearing aid users,
based on an extensive survey of, well, myself (sample size n=1). Here's
what I wish I'd been told:
Congratulations on your new hearing aid! Here are a few things you
should know.
1) It will not give you your hearing back.
2) It will make your family sound like Daleks
3) And every time the dog barks, you will fall off your chair in shock.
4) You will feel hugely selfconscious, as if the hearing aid is twice the
size of your head;
5) The whistling will sap your will to live;
6) And the hearing aid mould will chew up your ear something awful.
7) However, Do Not Despair:
8) After a certain length of time (a few weeks or so),
9) The aid will feel small and comfy
10) You will figure out how to deal with the whistling and loud noises
11) Your family will sound normal again (warning: this depends on how
normal they sounded to start with)
12) You will wonder how you ever managed before!
Good luck, and don't forget to prolong battery life by switching your
aid off at night, and when being asked to wash the dishes.
Amanda Kvalsvig
References:
1) Gianopoulos I, Stephens D, Davis A. Follow up of people fitted with
hearing aids after adult hearing screening: the need for support after
fitting. BMJ 2002;325:471
Competing interests: No competing interests
Hearing Aid Support
As a professional with hearing loss since the age of 7, I was fitted
with hearing aids at the age of 16 without any follow up or support. I can
confirm therefore, that it was not until I was 30 that I began to use the
aids on a regular basis.
Why do I feel that I would benefit from support? At first the hearing
aids did not confer the benefit which I desired i.e. total restoration of
my hearing. Secondly I was not aware of the best situations in which to
use them nor the time and place where they should not be used.
Thirdly, hearing aid fitting is only a minor part of dealing with hearing
loss.
I have discovered that hearing therapists who explore the whole area
of emotional and social support will provide most benefit to those with
hearing loss, including advice on the use of hearing aids. Unfortunately
it has taken me 34 years to find such help, but it is better late than
never.
Competing interests: No competing interests