Communication Partner Involvement in Auditory Rehabilitation: It's Time to Include Adult Children

Abstract

Family-centered care emphasizes collaboration and open communication between the patient, clinician, and the family. Social support from a frequent communication partner can help to promote initiation of hearing health care services, auditory rehabilitation (AR), or everyday communication management. Research in the caregiving fields has shown different amounts of caregiving burden in adult children compared to spouses, thus the audiologist should recognize that the adult child may be trying to assist their parent in the AR process, while at the same time juggling multiple responsibilities of their own such as a career or raising children. Preliminary investigations of the role of the adult child in the AR process are discussed in order to determine if adult children should be considered differently than spouses in the AR process, primarily due to the fact that many adult children may not live with their parent. The article concludes with 3 recommendations to include communication partners in AR, ranging from invitations to the hearing health care appointment, the physical setup of the room, introducing discussion regarding family-centered care, and the use of tools to promote a structured discussion to include all in the shared decision-making process.