Trial Summary
What is the purpose of this trial?
During a primary care visit, investigators will screen and identify participants with hearing loss and then randomize to a) counseling on accessible assistive listening devices or b) referral to traditional audiology care pathway alone.
Do I need to stop my current medications for this trial?
The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.
What data supports the effectiveness of the treatment Counseling on accessible assistive listening devices for hearing loss?
Research suggests that counseling plays a crucial role in helping patients effectively use hearing aids and other assistive listening devices, which can improve communication and reduce feelings of isolation. Effective counseling involves building a strong patient-provider relationship and using techniques like Motivational Interviewing to enhance treatment adherence.12345
Is hearing rehabilitation generally safe for humans?
How is the treatment 'Counseling on accessible assistive listening devices' different from other hearing loss treatments?
Eligibility Criteria
This trial is for English or Spanish speakers who can consent to research and have hearing loss. It's not for those who already use hearing aids or cochlear implants.Inclusion Criteria
I speak English or Spanish.
I am able to understand and agree to participate in research.
Exclusion Criteria
Has or uses hearing aids or cochlear implants
Trial Timeline
Screening
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial
1 day
1 visit (in-person)
Treatment
Participants are randomized to either counseling on accessible assistive listening devices or referral to traditional audiology care pathway
4 weeks
Follow-up
Participants are monitored for safety and effectiveness after treatment
4 weeks
Treatment Details
Interventions
- Counseling on accessible assistive listening devices (Behavioral Intervention)
- Referral to traditional audiology care pathway alone (Behavioral Intervention)
Trial OverviewThe study tests two ways to help with hearing loss in a primary care setting: one group gets counseling on assistive listening devices, while the other follows standard audiology care.
Participant Groups
2Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Active Control
Group I: Alternative Rehabilitation StrategiesExperimental Treatment1 Intervention
Patients who screened positive for hearing loss and were randomized into the counselling on alternative rehabilitation strategies intervention arm.
Group II: Usual CareActive Control1 Intervention
Patients who screened positive for hearing loss and were randomized into the usual care audiology pathway control arm alone.
Find a Clinic Near You
Research Locations NearbySelect from list below to view details:
NYC H+H/BellevueNew York, NY
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Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
NYU Langone HealthLead Sponsor
References
Developing Foundational Counseling Skills for Addressing Adherence Issues in Auditory Rehabilitation. [2020]Successfully getting patients with confirmed hearing loss to use hearing aids is a major challenge for hearing health care professionals. Treatment adherence has been defined as the active involvement of patients in collaborating with health care providers to plan and manage treatment regimens. Counseling patients with hearing loss on adherence to recommendations of hearing aid uptake and utilization is dependent upon building a patient-centered therapeutic relationship during the initial diagnostic evaluation. The purpose of this article is to provide resources, tools, and engaging learning activities for training students on the development of a hierarchy of counseling skills: informational counseling (e.g., checking comprehension and problem clarification), communication skills (e.g., promotion of shared-communication space, congruence, listening with the third ear, unconditional positive regard, and empathy), and health behavior change (e.g., Motivational Interviewing and the Teach-Back Method) that are prerequisites for addressing treatment adherence.
Nontraditional 'aids' to hearing: assistive listening devices. [2004]Unresolved hearing loss and its associated sense of isolation burden the hearing-impaired elderly. The plight of both listeners and talkers justifies every effort to encourage and enhance communication. Assistive listening devices can benefit many family practice patients. The following service welcomes questions or comments about implementing these devices: Audiology-Speech Pathology Service, VA Medical Center, 700 South 19th Street, Birmingham, AL 35203; (205)933-8101, ext. 6701 and 6702. In addition, local professional audiologists certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association will provide information on traditional hearing aids and assistive listening devices. To obtain the names of local audiological resources in your area, contact: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 10801 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852; (800)638-6868.
Use of the 'patient journey' model in the internet-based pre-fitting counseling of a person with hearing disability: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. [2021]Hearing impairment is one of the most frequent chronic conditions. Persons with a hearing impairment (PHI) have various experiences during their 'journey' through hearing loss. In our previous studies we have developed a 'patient journey' model of PHI and their communication partners (CPs). We suggest this model could be useful in internet-based pre-fitting counseling of a person with hearing disability (PHD).
Teaching Counseling Skills in Audiology Graduate Programs: Clinical Supervisors' Perceptions and Practices. [2020]Counseling is a critical component within audiological service delivery. Partnering with patients to support them in learning to effectively cope with their hearing challenges is a key component in achieving desired outcomes. Even though there is agreement on the foundational role counseling plays in audiology service delivery, counseling instruction varies among audiology training programs.
APSO Standards: Implementing Hearing Aid Needs Assessments and Measuring Related Outcomes. [2023]The proportion of individuals who pose to benefit from the use of hearing aids is much smaller than those who adopt them. Likewise, many adults who try hearing devices abandon using them after a short period of time. Most factors related to hearing aid use are unrelated to a patient's hearing loss severity. Hearing loss treatment requires more than the provision of hearing aids as a sole intervention. Adoption rates could be improved through the implementation of evidence-based clinical protocols which maximize patients' success. Recently, the Audiology Practice Standards Organization (APSO) released evidence-based, formal standards of practice addressing hearing aid selection, fitting, and rehabilitation for adult and geriatric patients. Notably, the standards acknowledge the importance of an amplification needs assessment, including hearing aid outcomes measurement. In this brief narrative, we describe Standards 3 and 14 ( Needs Assessment and Hearing Aid Outcomes Measurement ) and offer an example of the clinical implementation of a comprehensive needs assessment and hearing aid outcomes measurement currently being used in a multisite, longitudinal clinical trial.
Counseling Competencies in Audiology: A Modified Delphi Study. [2019]Purpose Counseling practices in audiology play a critical role in helping patients and families understand, accept, and adjust to the dynamic impacts ear-related disorders have on their lives. The purpose of this study was to identify what competencies (i.e., knowledge, skills, and attitudes) are important for audiologists to possess to provide effective counseling in practice. Method A modified Delphi study design was used to survey a panel of 33 professionals with expertise in audiologic counseling from 5 different countries. In the 1st survey round, experts were asked to respond to 3 open-ended prompts. Responses were condensed and revised into items experts were asked to rate during the 2nd and 3rd survey rounds, on a 6-point Likert scale of importance. Results A total of 819 items were generated from the open-ended prompts. A total of 72 items were included in the 2nd and 3rd rounds of survey instruments. Consensus was met on 64 audiologic counseling competency items. Conclusions The competency items identified in this study reflect important knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are important to audiologic counseling. Items that met consensus in this study can inform competencies audiology students can acquire during graduate training. Practice guidelines in the field currently lack the necessary clarity and detail needed for implementation of counseling competencies in clinical education. Future research is needed to explore factors important for implementation of evidence-based counseling training in graduate audiology programs.
Aural rehabilitation and graduate audiology programs. [2020]The quantity and quality of aural rehabilitation training that audiology graduate students receive versus the current services available to those students regarding work with the hearing impaired, cochlear implant recipients, patients with vestibular disorders, patients with central auditory processing disorders, and patients suffering from tinnitus were examined. Forty ASHA-accredited colleges and universities were contacted by telephone and audiology faculty members were surveyed. The results of the survey may provide valuable information for identifying and addressing shortfalls in aural rehabilitation programs.
A Questionnaire Survey of Current Rehabilitation Practices for Adults With Normal Hearing Sensitivity Who Experience Auditory Difficulties. [2022]Purpose A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect information from clinical audiologists about rehabilitation options for adult patients who report significant auditory difficulties despite having normal or near-normal hearing sensitivity. This work aimed to provide more information about what audiologists are currently doing in the clinic to manage auditory difficulties in this patient population and their views on the efficacy of recommended rehabilitation methods. Method A questionnaire survey containing multiple-choice and open-ended questions was developed and disseminated online. Invitations to participate were delivered via e-mail listservs and through business cards provided at annual audiology conferences. All responses were anonymous at the time of data collection. Results Responses were collected from 209 participants. The majority of participants reported seeing at least one normal-hearing patient per month who reported significant communication difficulties. However, few respondents indicated that their location had specific protocols for the treatment of these patients. Counseling was reported as the most frequent rehabilitation method, but results revealed that audiologists across various work settings are also successfully starting to fit patients with mild-gain hearing aids. Responses indicated that patient compliance with computer-based auditory training methods was regarded as low, with patients generally preferring device-based rehabilitation options. Conclusions Results from this questionnaire survey strongly suggest that audiologists frequently see normal-hearing patients who report auditory difficulties, but that few clinicians are equipped with established protocols for diagnosis and management. While many feel that mild-gain hearing aids provide considerable benefit for these patients, very little research has been conducted to date to support the use of hearing aids or other rehabilitation options for this unique patient population. This study reveals the critical need for additional research to establish evidence-based practice guidelines that will empower clinicians to provide a high level of clinical care and effective rehabilitation strategies to these patients.
Short- and long-term outcomes of adult audiological rehabilitation. [2019]To examine short- and long-term subjective benefits of providing a counseling-oriented audiological rehabilitation (AR) program as an adjunct to hearing aid intervention for individuals with adult-onset hearing loss.
Price reductions in hearing aids and access to audiologists, Israel. [2022]Hearing rehabilitation with hearing aids is a complex process which requires professional expertise and the involvement of audiologists or hearing-care specialists. Professional care, however, requires extra resources, making it tempting to rely solely on technology and reduce the role of professional counselling.
Effectiveness of counseling-based adult group aural rehabilitation programs: a systematic review of the evidence. [2020]A systematic evidence-based review was conducted to examine the effectiveness of counseling and communication strategy-oriented group adult aural rehabilitation (AR) programs. The literature search for relevant articles focused on studies that (1) employed adults with hearing impairment; (2) used a group aural rehabilitation program that emphasized counseling and communication strategies; (3) utilized a randomized controlled trial, quasi-experimental, or non-intervention cohort design; (4) employed an outcome measure that assessed some aspect of personal adjustment, perceived hearing handicap, or hearing aid benefit and/or satisfaction; and (5) were published in a refereed journal. Twelve articles were found that met these inclusion criteria. Analysis of the 12 studies led to the following conclusion: there is reasonably good evidence that participation in an adult AR program provides short-term reduction in self-perception of hearing handicap and potentially better use of communication strategies and hearing aids. It is less clear whether this advantage over provision of hearing aids alone persists over time.