Hearing Aid Orientation for New User

An elderly man came in for a hearing aid orientation and then the next week for a hearing aid check. Many factors effected the way the session went. His general health is not very good and he has been taking chemotherapy over the summer. His wife is the main person in his life and attended the appointment with him. However, she is also the only reason he purchased hearing aids to begin with since she is very opinionated (may be the best way to put it).

After introducing the concept of hearing aids, I showed how to insert the batteries, put on the hearing aids, and change the programs. The patient seemed reluctant to try these things for himself. Instead he would hand the instrument to his wife. Putting the hearing aids on was very difficult for the patient. He got very distraught and anxious to leave. Once he had the hearing aids in, he was out the door. Continuous reinstruction and patience was the key for this patient. The next session went much smoother. He actually put the hearing aids in himself several times. I believe that this patient needed to be seen more than others. He may have had some memory problems due to chemo treatments and because he is elderly. Also, he was not motivated or confident in the beginning. Once he realized that he could not break the hearing aids, he did much better.

The article that I've found is one that I believe someone else used for patient counseling. It is a very good article in this instance because it discusses normal, healthy patients. Just imagine the effects on someone who has other difficulties. Patients were tested to see how much they could remember right after a hearing aid orientation and then a month after. Around 75% was recognized overall after the orientation. I believe that you can't say important information enough. I used repetition to help me. I repeated instructions and I also scheduled for another appointment to reitterate the information. Do you think your patients remember what you say?? What's your method to help a patient insert their hearing aids??

Reese, J.L. & Hnath-Chisolm, T. (2005). Recognition of hearing aid orientation content by first-time users. American Journal of Audiology, 14 (1): 94.

http://aja.asha.org/cgi/reprint/14/1/94