Modeling Relationships between Various Domains of Hearing Aid Provision

Abstract

Various inventories have been developed to quantify the success of hearing aid provision. Though numerous parameters including initial measures (hearing disability, handicap) or ‘outcome measures’ (e.g. benefit, satisfaction and usage) are recorded, relationships and interactions among them are still unclear. A study applying a questionnaire addressing 11 domains relevant to amplification was conducted in order to generate different psychometric models with the AMOS^© software package for structural equation modeling. The models expose easily interpretable interactions and are helpful in understanding effects occurring with commonly used outcome measures: benefit reflects the difference between the aided and unaided condition but additionally comprises the importance of the hearing aid within a specific situation. Satisfaction is highly reliant on benefit. Usage is strongly dependent on the severity of hearing problems and therefore not appropriate in assessing the success of amplification. Moreover, the models help to predict the outcome of clinically used inventories (i.e. the Glasgow Hearing Aid Benefit Profile).

Determinants of hearing-aid adoption and use among the elderly: A systematic review

“…A study attempted to model the relationships between various domains found that hearing-aid usage among experienced users were not signifi cantly related to benefi t and satisfaction (Meister et al, 2003), yet perceived benefi t was infl uential on satisfaction. A review of 45 studies also reported of mixed fi ndings on the satisfaction of hearing-aid infl uence on its usage, though higher usage was evident to increase satisfaction (Wong et al, 2003).…”

Untersuchung von Faktoren bei der Erstversorgung mit Hörgeräten

“…Nach Meister et al [17] besteht zwar grundsätzlich ein Zusammenhang zwischen der Bedeutung von Hörgeräteeigen-schaften und der Erwartungshaltung. Die Relation ist aber nicht sehr eng, sodass die Erwartungen durchaus auch von anderen Einflüssen bestimmt werden können.…”