01_Candidacy Flashcards
Name 3 factors to consider when determining if a person is a candidate for a hearing aid
- current hearing loss (85% of non-users fall under mild-to-moderate HL)
- client’s readiness (i.e. current hearing difficulty, motivation, financial constraints)
- medical reasons (e.g. foreign object, tumour, etc)
Name 3 red flags that may result in a medical referral that would prevent or delay someone getting hearing aids
- congenital or traumatic ear deformity
- hx of active ear drainage w/in 90 days
- hx of sudden or rapidly progressing HL w/in 90 days
- acute or chronic dizziness
- unilateral HL of sudden or recent onset w/in 90 days
- ABG of equal or greater than 15 dB at 500, 1K, or 2K Hz
- significant cerumen accumulation or foreign body in EAM
- ear pain or discomfort
According to statcan, which hearing loss is more common: unilateral or bilateral?
Bilateral
According to statcan, which hearing loss is more frequently unperceived: mild or moderate to profound?
Mild
What is CEDRA?
Consumer Ear Disease Risk Assessment - a quick, 10 minute, self-administered questionnaire to help assess a person’s risk for targeted ear diseases. Consumers can use this to decide if they should see a professional before purchasing OTC hearing aids.
According to data from 2015, how long do people usually wait to seek help, after noticing a hearing loss?
13 years
What factors may cause people to delay seeking help for a hearing loss?
- type of hearing loss (believe aids won’t help)
- financial
- minimize/need
- attitude towards HAs
- knowledge
- stigma
- professional rec
- social network rec
- trust
- experience with HA
- vision or dexterity
What are the 4 habits that you can use to get the most out of a clinical encounter with a client?
- Invest in the beginning: establish rapport and build trust rapidly
- Elicit the patient’s perspective: facilitate the effective exchange of info
- Demonstrate empathy
- Invest in the end: include patient in decision-making, address original concerns, increase the likelihood of treatment adherence and positive health outcome
According to the text, what is the most beneficial effect of hearing aids?
Reversing social, emotional, and communication dysfunctions caused by hearing impairment
When discussing possible outcomes of hearing aid use, should you tell the client or ask them to reflect and state expectations?
Ask them to reflect - you can see if their expectations are in line with reality, and they know their lifestyle best
Why might we involve a patient’s significant other in decision-making and rehab?
- promotes family-centered care
- hearing aids are a big purchase
- as a communication partner, they are also affected
- they may be able to help us understand the progression of the HL and the main challenges the pt is facing
- if they are aware of the proper hearing strategies and best use of the hearing aids, they may be able to help the pt remember to use them, or help with the technical aspects of using them
What is the main focus of a decision aid?
To help the patient move towards action
Decisions aids help patients move towards action, provide insight into the patient journey, and help explain likely outcomes. What 2 things are important when designing a effective decision tool?
- making sure they are validated (experiments done)
- vetting them for reading level, language, etc
Name 3 things a goal-setting aid might include?
- situations which result in successful communication
- problems that each experience in specific situations d/t the HL
- problems they experience together in specific situations d/t the HL
- specific goals that they would like to achieve
- steps they can take to achieve these goals
Do hearing aids prevent dementia? What other explanations are there?
- many websites can be found, stating that there a is clear, evidence-based connection
- must keep in mind that correlation is not causation
- many studies have found no difference in cognitive decline between users and non-users
- it could be that hearing aid users have higher economic status, that HA users are more able to seek help in various forms, or that you need better cognition to become a HA user
