Hearing loss and dementia: an exploratory study of the views of audiologists

Abstract

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:374558 [] For AuthorsIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore audiologists, views and experiences of working with older adults with dementia. Design/methodology/approach -An online survey was distributed to audiologists working in the UK NHS and private sector via their professional organisations. A total of 312 audiologists took part in the study. The survey collected both quantitative and qualitative data. Basic descriptive statistics summarised the quantitative responses. The qualitative data were analysed using conventional thematic approaches.Findings -The quantitative data demonstrated that the vast majority of audiologists had treated someone with dementia (96 per cent). Despite this, 65 per cent of respondents did not feel adequately supported to help this service user population. Four overarching themes were used to explain the qualitative data: integrated and individualised care; formal (including training) vs experiential knowledge; the interaction between dementia and hearing and using the technology.Research limitations/implications -The self-selecting nature of the sample is a limitation which needs to be taken into account when considering the transferability and implications of the findings. Practical implications -Given the anticipated increase in rates of dementia within the population and the potential for hearing impairment to exacerbate the symptoms; this study highlights the unique role audiologists have. The need for more training and development for this professional group is also identified. Originality/value -This is one of the first papers to explore audiologists, views and experiences of working with people with dementia. As such, it highlights some interesting areas worthy of further research using both quantitative and qualitative methods.

Hearing and vision health for people with dementia in residential long term care: Knowledge, attitudes and practice in England, South Korea, India, Greece, Indonesia and Australia

“…LTC staff and hearing/vision clinicians may lack the skills and confidence to work with people with dementia, 3 , 25 or assume that people with dementia would not benefit from hearing/vision intervention. But systematic reviews identified benefits in terms of increased quality of life, improved communication, improved functional ability and reduced behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia following hearing/vision interventions for people with dementia 9 .…”

“…LTC staff and hearing/vision clinicians may lack the skills and confidence to work with people with dementia, 3,25…”

Hearing Assessment and Rehabilitation for People Living With Dementia

“…If they are aware of hearing problems, carers may assume that hearing cannot be reliably assessed among PwD. Hearing care professionals may lack the confidence to work with PwD ( Wright et al 2014 ), or feel that PwD will not be able to use or benefit from hearing interventions. However, reliable hearing assessment is possible for most PwD, provided that assessment is adapted to the needs of PwD ( Bott et al 2019 ) and systematic reviews indicate that PwD do benefit from hearing intervention ( Dawes et al 2019b ; Mamo et al 2018 ).…”

Optimising hearing services for adults living with dementia and hearing impairment in residential aged care facilities

“…Further research is needed in this area. Given that conservatively, one in five adult patients seen by audiologists will have dementia (Pichora-Fuller, Dupuis, Reed, & Lemke, 2013;Wright et al, 2014), audiologists need to be aware of the strengths and limitations of all diagnostic tests (behavioural and AEP) for adults with dementia.…”

“…One reason for the dearth of clinically driven research conducted with this population could be due to challenges with recruitment, namely obtaining consent, of participants with dementia (Looi et al, 2004). Despite this challenge, further research is required to support clinicians who provide hearing services to this population (Wright et al, 2014), as previous research indicates that hearing impairment results in additional communication consequences for adults living with dementia (Hopper & Hinton, 2012). One way to conceptualise the consequences of hearing impairment is by using a framework, such as the WHO's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF;WHO, 2001).…”