Title | Music listening and hearing aids: perspectives from audiologists and their patients. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2020 |
Authors | Greasley A, Crook H, Fulford R |
Journal | Int J Audiol |
Volume | 59 |
Issue | 9 |
Pagination | 694-706 |
Date Published | 2020 Sep |
ISSN | 1708-8186 |
Keywords | Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Audiologists, Auditory Perception, Hearing Aids, Humans, Middle Aged, Music, Surveys and Questionnaires, Young Adult |
Abstract | Two studies explored hearing-aid user and audiologist experiences of hearing-aid use and fitting for music in the UK. One-hundred-seventy-six hearing-aid users (age range: 21-93 years; mean: 60.56 years) answered a 4-item questionnaire on music listening difficulties and discussions about music in clinic. 99 audiologists (age range: 22-71 years; mean: 39.18 years) answered a 36-item questionnaire on the frequency and type of discussions, training received, and strategies for optimizing hearing aids for music. Closed and open-ended questions were included. Sixty seven percent of hearing-aid users reported some degree of difficulty listening to music with hearing aids, and 58% had never discussed music in clinic. 50% of audiologists surveyed asked 1 in 5 (or fewer) patients about music and 67% had never received music-specific training. Audiologist training on music was significantly associated with confidence in providing advice, confidence in programming hearing aids for music, and programming hearing aids for music for a greater number of patients. Hearing-aid users' and audiologists' experiences of music remain mixed. In the absence of formalised training in optimizing hearing aids for music, there is a need for systematic research relating fitting strategies to clinical outcomes and the development of guidelines for audiologist training. |
DOI | 10.1080/14992027.2020.1762126 |
Alternate Journal | Int J Audiol |
PubMed ID | 32615052 |