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Clinical Trial
. 1997 Oct;31(5):345-51.
doi: 10.3109/03005364000000028.

A randomized, controlled trial of the efficacy of a communication course for first time hearing aid users

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Clinical Trial

A randomized, controlled trial of the efficacy of a communication course for first time hearing aid users

G J Beynon et al. Br J Audiol. 1997 Oct.

Abstract

Many centres include a communication course as part of their auditory rehabilitation. These usually take the form of a small group and include discussion of the effects of hearing loss, use of the hearing aid, hearing tactics and lip reading. To investigate the efficacy of such a rehabilitation programme a randomized, controlled trial of a communication course was undertaken. All subjects were first time hearing aid users; handicap was measured using the Quantified Denver Scale of Communication Function (QDS) at the time of hearing aid fitting, and then 13 weeks later. All subjects had a hearing aid follow-up appointment, but the treatment group (n = 22) also underwent a four-week communication course, while the control group (n = 25) had no further rehabilitation. The reduction in handicap measured by the change in QDS was significantly greater for the treatment group than for the control group (Mann Whitney U test, tied p value = 0.014). This indicates that such a communication course is efficacious in reducing handicap. Further research is required to identify the populations that will benefit most from such a course.

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