Hearing aid effectiveness after aural rehabilitation: individual versus group trial results. J Rehabil Res Dev 2013;50(4):585-98
Date
08/13/2013Pubmed ID
23934877DOI
10.1682/jrrd.2012.03.0049Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84880935718 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 19 CitationsAbstract
We designed this noninferiority randomized trial to determine (1) if group hearing aid fitting visits and group hearing aid follow-up visits were at least as effective as individual visits in terms of hearing-related function (measured with the Inner Effectiveness of Auditory Rehabilitation [EAR] scale) and adherence, and (2) if group visits were less costly over the 6 mo post-fitting period. For 644 participants randomized to receive their hearing aid visits in an individual or group format at the Department of Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, 6 mo outcomes showed no significant differences in Inner EAR scores between individual and group fitting (p = 0.53) or follow-up (p = 0.11), or in the number of hours per day hearing aids were worn between individual and group fitting (p = 0.90) or follow-up (p = 0.24). We found significantly higher cost for individual compared with group fitting (p < 0.001) and follow-up (p < 0.001). We conclude that outcomes for group hearing aid fitting and hearing aid follow-up visits were not inferior to individual hearing aid fitting and follow-up visits, with group fitting and follow-up visits yielding cost savings.
Author List
Collins MP, Liu CF, Taylor L, Souza PE, Yueh BAuthor
Michael P. Collins MD Professor in the Neurology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AgedCorrection of Hearing Impairment
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Hearing Aids
Humans
Male
Prospective Studies
Prosthesis Fitting