Based on the findings of this study, when auditory and visual integration of speech information fails to occur, producing a nonfused response, participants select an alternative response from the modality with the least ambiguous signal.

Hearing impairment is a common ailment in older adults. However, the acceptance of hearing aids by hearing-impaired individuals remains poor. The main reasons given by hearing-impaired individuals for not acquiring a hearing aid are primarily psychosocial in nature. Research suggests that individuals with hearing loss believe that wearing hearing aids will cause them to be perceived as old and/or less competent. The purpose of the present study was to determine the perceptions of young adults towards hearing loss and hearing aids and to compare them to the perceptions of older adults with hearing impairment. A version of the 'Attitudes Toward Loss of Hearing Questionnaire' was administered to young adults and older adults with hearing loss. Results suggest that young adults do not associate hearing aids with ageing or diminished cognitive function, although findings suggest reticence towards wearing amplification. The implications of this study are discussed in terms of increasing public awareness of hearing loss.

Low health literacy is reported to have negative consequences on patient understanding of health-related information; however, there is a dearth of research regarding health literacy in an audiology-specific context. This study examines the grade level of language used in verbal and written communication samples during routine hearing aid orientation appointments. Patient counseling sessions were videotaped and transcribed; hearing aid instruction guides used during counseling sessions were also transcribed. The Flesch-Kincaid grade level formula was used to determine the approximate United States grade level equivalent of the counseling sessions, hearing aid instruction guides, and to predict patient health literacy. The results indicate that patient predicted health literacy likely impacts understanding of both one-on-one counseling and hearing aid instruction guides.

The ALHQ is psychometrically acceptable and is a potentially useful clinical tool. It is quick and easy to complete and to score and could be used as a basis for counseling and for following attitude change in patients over time.

Investigations have shown that patient attitudes toward hearing loss and hearing aids impact self-reported handicap and disability, hearing aid benefit, and hearing aid use. The Attitudes towards Loss of Hearing Questionnaire (ALHQ) was developed by Saunders and Cienkowski (1996) to examine some of the psychosocial factors underlying the use and acquisition of hearing aids. Here we report data from a new version of questionnaire (ALHQ v2.1), which examines attitudes towards hearing loss and hearing aids on five scales: Denial of Hearing Loss, Negative Associations, Negative Coping Strategies, Manual Dexterity and Vision, and Hearing-Related Esteem. Reliability values, internal consistency values, and cut points for typical and atypical scores are provided, along with comparison of the scores of women, men, current hearing aid users, non-hearing aid users, and paying versus nonpaying individuals. The ALHQ takes about ten minutes to complete and identifies for the clinician some of the issues that might jeopardize successful hearing aid outcome.