Original Research

Self-reported outcomes of aural rehabilitation for adult hearing aid users in a developing South African context

Elaine Pienaar, Natalie Stearn, De Wet Swanepoel
South African Journal of Communication Disorders | Vol 57, No 1 | a44 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajcd.v57i1.44 | © 2010 Elaine Pienaar, Natalie Stearn, De Wet Swanepoel | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 19 February 2010 | Published: 10 December 2010

About the author(s)

Elaine Pienaar, Department of Communication Pathology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Natalie Stearn, Department of Communication Pathology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
De Wet Swanepoel, Department of Communication Pathology, University of Pretoria; Callier Center for Communication Disorders, University of Texas, Dallas, United States

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Abstract

Hearing impairment has far reaching consequences for affected individuals, in terms of quality of life indicators. In a developing South African context the hearing impaired population is faced with limited aural rehabilitation services. This study evaluated self-reported outcomes of aural rehabilitation in a group of adults in the public healthcare sector with a standardized outcomes measurement tool (IOI-HA). Sixty-one respondents participated (44% males; 56% females), with a mean age of 69.7 years. Results revealed that the majority of respondents experienced favourable outcomes in all domains of the inventory comprising of: daily use of hearing aids, benefits provided by hearing aids, residual activity limitation, satisfaction with hearing aids, residual participation restriction, impact of hearing difficulties on others, and changes in quality of life. Statistically significant relationships were obtained between the daily use of hearing aids, the degree of hearing loss, and the type of hearing aids fitted, as well as the benefits received from hearing aids in difficult listening environments (p < 0.05). Despite challenges of developing contexts, the mean scores distribution compared positively to similar reports from developed countries. Outcomes of improved quality of life emphasize the importance of providing affordable hearing aids and services to all hearing impaired individuals in South Africa.

Keywords

aural rehabilitation, self-reported outcomes, developing countries, public health care sector, IOI-HA

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