Affiliation:
1. Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine Sinai Health System and University Health Network Toronto Canada
2. Department of Internal Medicine Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto Toronto Canada
3. Department of Occupational Sciences and Occupational Therapy Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto Toronto Canada
4. National Institute on Ageing Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Canada
5. Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto Toronto Canada
6. Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore Maryland USA
Abstract
AbstractBackgroundOlder adults with hearing loss struggle to communicate with care providers and experience higher mortality rates when hospitalized (Genther et al., 2015), even after controlling for age and comorbidities. Personal hearing amplifiers (PHAs), (e.g., Pocketalkers™), can improve communication with older patients.MethodsWe conducted a scoping review to identify research gaps and summarize findings on the clinical use of PHAs with patients with hearing loss. After refining search terms relating to hearing loss and PHAs, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, CINAHL Complete, Web of Science Core Collection, ERIC (Proquest), PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov, International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number Registry. We identified articles published in English between 1980 and 2022 that reported empirical outcomes relating to PHA use in clinical settings. Two reviewers independently extracted data from articles. We then organized data into an evidence map, and a narrative review summarizing outcomes.ResultsFrom 4234 initially identified titles and abstracts, 12 met our criteria as full texts. These included three surveys on clinicians' awareness and use of PHAs, one evaluation of the acoustic output of a PHA, and eight interventions wherein PHAs were provided to patients with hearing loss. These papers used 10 different terms for PHAs and largely did not cite one another. Results showed high levels of satisfaction with PHAs, and consistently improved speech understanding. Despite this, care providers used devices inconsistently, with challenges around provider awareness, and device maintenance and location tracking.ConclusionsPHAs have a consistent positive effect on patients' ability to understand their care providers despite hearing loss. Barriers and facilitators to their use in clinical settings should be further explored.
Subject
Geriatrics and Gerontology
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