Communication Training in Hearing Aid Users

Summary

The objective of the current research project is to investigate the effectiveness of communication training in first-time hearing aid users with mild to moderate hearing loss delivered in-person in groups or individually. In doing so, the project aims to strengthen evidence-based person-centered care for individuals with hearing loss and pave the path toward more holistic hearing healthcare.

We hypothesize that participants receiving communication training will show improved hearing-related quality of life, communication strategies, and personal adjustment compared to controls. Moreover, group training is expected to yield greater benefits in communication strategies and adjustment than individual training, due to its interactive nature and peer support, leading to more positive evaluations in interviews.

A pretest-posttest design will be used, with testing before and after the communication training sessions, and two experimental groups and a control group. The two experimental groups are the groups receiving in-person group and individual training. The control group does not receive the communication training nor an alternative. A mixed-method will be applied to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data include screening measures, audiological tests, and questionnaires, while the qualitative data consist of a semi-structured interview.

Conditions

• Hearing Loss, Age-Related
• Hearing Aids
• Sensorineural Hearing Loss
• Speech Intelligibility
• Quality of Life Outcomes

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Cognitive screening

The Dutch Montreal Cognitive Assessment will be assessed.

BEHAVIORAL

Audiological Assessment

1. Tympanometry 2. Otoscopy 3. Pure-tone audiometry 4. Speech audiometry in quiet and in noise

BEHAVIORAL

Questionnaires

5 questionnaires are included (Dutch translation): 1. The hAVICOP questionnaire to assess the hearing-related quality of life for Auditory-Visual, Cognitive and Psychosocial functioning 2. The Revised Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults (RHHI-A) 3. The Communication Profile for the Hearing Impaired (CPHI) 4. The Hearing Attitudes in Rehabilitation Questionnaire (HARQ) 5. The International OutcomeInventory for Hearing Aids (IOI-HA)

BEHAVIORAL

Communication training

The participant will take part in two training sessions. Depending on the assigned group, this will take place individually or in a group setting. During the training, challenges commonly faced by people with hearing loss will be discussed, and strategies to communicate more effectively will be introduced.

OTHER

Interview

A semi-structured one-on-one interviews will be conducted. Participants in the group and individual training will be asked about the feasibility, usability, and effectiveness of the training they attended. Participants in the control group, who did not receive training, will be asked about their expectations regarding a communication training.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Sonova AG

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• University Ghent

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Hannah Keppler, Prof. dr. · University Ghent

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

45 Years

Max Age

80 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-09-16

Primary Completion

2026-07-09

Completion

2026-07-09

Countries

• Belgium

Study Locations