Communicating with people with hearing loss: COVID-19 and beyond

Maru, Devina; Stancel-Lewis, Jack; Easton, Graham; Leverton, William Ej

doi:10.3399/bjgpo.2020.0174

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…The imposition of social-distancing measures, together with a rapid shift towards remote online communication methods, transformed social interactions with family and friends, access to essential services, and ways of working. Individuals with hearing loss are thought to have been disproportionally affected by some of these developments (Chodosh et al, 2020; Grote & Izagaren, 2020; Ideas for Ears Ltd, 2020; Maru et al, 2021; Naylor et al, 2020; Saunders et al, 2020; Tavanai et al, 2021; Ten Hulzen & Fabry, 2020). Among people with hearing loss, those who use a cochlear implant (CI) may have been particularly affected by the public-health measures introduced to combat the spread of COVID-19, because of the greater degree of hearing loss (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Listening Difficulties of Adult Cochlear-Implant Users Under Measures Introduced to Combat the Spread of COVID-19

et al. 2022

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Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, public-health measures introduced to stem the spread of the disease caused profound changes to patterns of daily-life communication. This paper presents the results of an online survey conducted to document adult cochlear-implant (CI) users’ perceived listening difficulties under four communication scenarios commonly experienced during the pandemic, specifically when talking: with someone wearing a facemask, under social/physical distancing guidelines, via telephone, and via video call. Results from ninety-four respondents indicated that people considered their in-person listening experiences in some common everyday scenarios to have been significantly worsened by the introduction of mask-wearing and physical distancing. Participants reported experiencing an array of listening difficulties, including reduced speech intelligibility and increased listening effort, which resulted in many people actively avoiding certain communication scenarios at least some of the time. Participants also found listening effortful during remote communication, which became rapidly more prevalent following the outbreak of the pandemic. Potential solutions identified by participants to ease the burden of everyday listening with a CI may have applicability beyond the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the results emphasized the importance of visual cues, including lipreading and live speech-to-text transcriptions, to improve in-person and remote communication for people with a CI.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Listening Difficulties of Adult Cochlear-Implant Users Under Measures Introduced to Combat the Spread of COVID-19

et al. 2022

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“…Community-wide face covering wearing, particularly in public areas, as is the requirement in South Africa (Balkaran & Lukman, 2021 ), is aimed at decreasing possible symptomatic or pre-symptomatic transmission of COVID-19 to others, along with adhering to physical distancing and handwashing or sanitising (Ten Hulzen & Fabry, 2020 ). Logically, wearing of face coverings impacts aspects of communication such as visual cues (lip reading, facial expressions) during communication – particularly for those who rely on this compensatory strategy because of a hearing impairment (Chodosh, Weinstein, & Blustein 2020 ; Homans & Vroegop, 2021 ; Kataoka, Maeda, Sugaya, Omichi, & Kariya, 2021 ; Maru, Stancel-Lewis, Easton, & Leverton, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cochleovestibular findings linked to COVID-19: A scoping review for clinical care planning in South Africa

Khoza-Shangase

2022

SAJCD

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Background: On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared an outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to be a global health emergency. Research has focused on the impact and response to life-threatening symptoms of COVID-19 across the lifespan; however, there is a need to investigate the effects of COVID-19 on the cochleovestibular system, as viral infections are known to impact this system. This is particularly important for contexts where resources are limited and prioritisation of resources requires strong risk versus benefit evaluations.Objective: Therefore, the purpose of this scoping review was to investigate published evidence on the impact of COVID-19 on the cochleovestibular system across the lifespan in order to allow for strategic clinical care planning in South Africa, where capacity versus demand challenges exist.Methods: Electronic bibliographic databases such as CINAHL, EBSCOHost, MEDLINE, ProQuest, PubMed, Scopus and ScienceDirect were searched for peer-reviewed publications between January 2020 and January 2022. These had to be published in English and related to the impact of COVID-19 on the cochleovestibular system, where the question was: 'what evidence has been published on the impact of COVID-19 on the cochleovestibular system?' Review selection and characterisation was performed by the researcher with an independent review by a colleague using pretested forms.Results: Of a total of 24 studies that met the inclusion criteria, the current scoping review revealed limited conclusive published evidence linking COVID-19 to permanent hearing function symptoms. Current evidence supports the possibility of COVID-19, similar to other viral infections in adults, impacting the cochleovestibular system and causing tinnitus, vertigo and sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), with the symptoms being generally temporary and resolving either partially or completely following therapy with steroids, with very inconclusive findings in the paediatric population. Conclusion:These findings raise global implications for properly designed studies, which include longitudinal follow-up of cases across the lifespan, examining this link with some focus on establishing the pathophysiologic mechanisms at play as well. In the meanwhile, current findings raise the value of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for all patients presenting with unexplained cochleovestibular symptoms during the pandemic, as these may be the only presenting symptoms indicating COVID-19, thus requiring careful treatment and management.

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“…In 2019, hearing loss was the third largest source of global years lived with disability (YLD), and the leading source of YLD for adults older than 70 years of age 4. Hearing loss is something that almost every one of us will eventually experience 5. However, hearing loss is not a benign consequence of ageing 6.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 4 Hearing loss is something that almost every one of us will eventually experience. 5 However, hearing loss is not a benign consequence of ageing. 6 It is a multifactorial condition, influenced by; genetic factors that determine the rate of degeneration, pre-existing ear conditions, chronic illnesses, noise exposure, the use of ototoxic medications, lifestyle factors, 1 and socioeconomic inequalities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What factors are important to whom in what context, when adults are prescribed hearing aids for hearing loss? A realist review protocol

et al. 2022

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IntroductionHearing aids are the gold standard treatment to help manage hearing loss. However, not everyone who needs them has them, and of those who do, a significant proportion of people do not use them at all, or use them infrequently. Despite literature reviews listing key barriers and enablers to the uptake and use of hearing aids, there is little evidence to describe how this varies by population and context. This review will describe what factors are important to whom in what context when considering the provision of hearing aids for hearing loss in adults.Methods and analysisThe aims of this review are as follows: (1) To iteratively review and synthesise evidence surrounding the provision of hearing aids for hearing loss in adults. (2) To generate a theory-driven understanding of factors that are important, for whom, and in what context. (3) To develop a programme theory describing contexts that can support the provision of hearing aids to result in improved outcomes for adults with hearing loss. A scoping literature search will aid the development of programme theories, to explain how the intervention is expect to work, for whom, in what circumstances and in which contexts. We will locate evidence in the following databases: CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMED, Web of Science with no date restrictions. A realist analytic approach will be used to refute and refine these initial programme theories. Throughout the review, relevant key stakeholders (eg, patients and clinicians) will be consulted to test and refine the programme theories.Ethics and disseminationThis study was approved by the University of Nottingham Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee: (FMHS 95-0820) and the London Brent NHS Research Ethics Committee (Ref: 21/PR/0259). The review will be reported according to the RAMESES guidelines and published in a peer-reviewed journal.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42021282049.

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Communicating with people with hearing loss: COVID-19 and beyond

Cited by 6 publications

References 4 publications

Perceived Listening Difficulties of Adult Cochlear-Implant Users Under Measures Introduced to Combat the Spread of COVID-19

Perceived Listening Difficulties of Adult Cochlear-Implant Users Under Measures Introduced to Combat the Spread of COVID-19

Cochleovestibular findings linked to COVID-19: A scoping review for clinical care planning in South Africa

What factors are important to whom in what context, when adults are prescribed hearing aids for hearing loss? A realist review protocol

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