Abstract Objective: The purpose of this review paper was to identify factors that influence older adults' decisions to seek help for hearing impairment and to adopt hearing aids. Design: A literature search of abstracts within peer-reviewed journal articles published in English between 1990 and 2010 was conducted in online bibliographic ...

PURPOSE: To determine whether a clinically-obtainable measure of audibility, the aided speech intelligibility index (SII) is more sensitive than the pure-tone average (PTA) at predicting the lexical abilities of children with sensorineural hearing loss fit bilaterally with hearing aids (CHA). METHOD: School-aged CHA and age-matched children with normal hearing (CNH) ...

A self-fitting hearing aid, designed to be assembled and programmed without audiological or computer support, could bring amplification to millions of people in developing countries, who remain unaided due to the lack of a local, professional, audiological infrastructure. The ability to assemble and insert a hearing aid is fundamental to ...

Impaired control over alcohol use may be defined as "a breakdown of an intention to limit consumption in a particular situation" (Heather, Tebbutt, Mattick, & Zamir, 1993, p. 701) and has long been considered an important feature of alcohol dependence. Evidence suggests impaired control is highly relevant to young adult ...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: For lack of therapy targeting sensorineural hearing loss, hearing-impaired patients must be fitted with sound-amplifying hearing aids or cochlear implants, successfully in a majority of cases. Yet failures are often found among auditory neuropathies. RECENT FINDINGS: Auditory neuropathies are a class of conditions characterized by disrupted spike ...

The influence of client-clinician interactions has not been emphasized in hearing health care, despite the extensive evidence of the impact of the provider-patient interaction on health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to identify factors in the client-clinician interaction that may influence hearing aid adoption. Thirteen adults who had ...

The need for reliable access to hearing health care services is growing globally, particularly in developing countries and in remotely located, underserved regions in many parts of the developed world. Individuals with hearing loss in these areas are at a significant disadvantage due to the scarcity of local hearing health ...

The goal of this study was to develop a brief self-assessment instrument to screen for communication problems and psychosocial adjustment to hearing impairment as part of a rehabilitative needs assessment. A pseudorandom sample of 1,000 cases was drawn from a large, heterogeneous clinical database containing audiometric data and responses to ...

PURPOSE: To translate and adapt the ABEL - Auditory Behavior in Everyday Life - questionnaire into Brazilian Portuguese, and to establish the profile of auditory behavior in a group of children who use hearing aids. METHODS: The ABEL questionnaire was translated and back translated. This version was compared to the ...

The authors investigated how human performance consequences of automated decision aids are affected by the degree of automation and the operator's functional state. As research has shown, decision aids may not only improve performance but also lead to new sorts of risks.Whereas knowledge exists about the impact of system characteristics ...

Amidst current debates over resources for AIDS, we examine the policy preferences of the people who are navigating AIDS in their daily lives. Survey and ethnographic data on the prioritization of HIV/AIDS interventions were collected in a longitudinal cohort study in rural Malawi. Study participants gave higher priority to problems ...

Abstract Objectives: The objectives were: (1) to examine the effects of a directional microphone with different directivity patterns and different microphone combinations on wind noise levels at the hearing aid output; and (2) to derive strategies appropriate for hearing aid selection and future designs. Design: The in-situ frequency responses of ...

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate self-reported hearing difficulties, uptake, and hearing-aid outcomes and their relationships to demographic, cognitive, psychosocial, and health variables in 85 year olds. Design and study sample: Three hundred and forty-six elderly adults participated in a survey that included questionnaires and home visits. ...

Market surveys consistently show that only 22% of those with hearing loss own hearing aids. This is often ascribed to cosmetics, but is it possible that patients apply a different auditory criterion than do audiologists and manufacturers? We tabulated hearing aid ownership in a survey of 1000 consecutive patients. We ...

The rate of HIV infection among African Americans is disproportionately higher than for other racial groups in the United States. Previous research suggests that low level of health literacy (HL) is an underlying factor to explain racial disparities in the prevalence and incidence of HIV/AIDS. The present research describes a ...

In northwest Tanzania, where AIDS has been present for 25 years, AIDS-related illness is a trigger through which community members discuss personal experiences of loss and assess social relationships. The terminal phase of AIDS demands intimate social relations between patients and caretakers. In this final phase of illness, caretakers are ...

Purpose: General and hearing-specific health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was examined in elderly Chinese with hearing impairment. Methods: Sixty-four Chinese speakers aged ?65 years and did not use hearing aids were evaluated using Chinese versions of the Short-Form 36 health survey (SF-36) and the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly ...

A self-fitting hearing aid is a personal amplification device that is designed to be assembled, programmed, and fine-tuned by the user, without the need for additional equipment or professional support. A written description of the device was presented to 80 older adults with a hearing impairment, all of whom were ...

Goal: We want to remove differences in frequency response between different commercial hearing aids so that we can compare the sound quality of signal processing features from different hearing-aid in a future paired-comparison set-up. More specifically, we want to control for the confounding effects of the linear hearing aid response ...

This article discusses hearing impairment and the frequency with which it occurs in older adults. Anatomy and physiology of the ear are examined. Categories of hearing loss, causes, assessment and management are explored, including hearing aids, auditory implants and approaches to communication with hearing-impaired patients.

Background: Audiologic rehabilitation aims to improve communication for people with hearing impairment. Education is widely regarded as an integral part of rehabilitation, but the effect of the delivery method of an educational program on the experience of hearing problems has rarely been investigated in controlled trials. Purpose: The purpose of ...

Introduction: This project examined the use of first aid by bystanders at road traffic crashes (RTC) and was undertaken in the context of increasing average ambulance response times to RTC throughout Australia and the potential impact of early first aid intervention on the mortality and morbidity associated with RTC. The ...

Adolescents who are Deaf or hard of hearing may be vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Adolescents' open communication with parents encourages positive sexuality. The relationship between the Deaf adolescent and their parent could be obstructed by communication difficulties. This article explores parents' anxieties about HIV risk. We interviewed nine parents of Deaf ...

Abstract Objective: The purpose of this study is to present normative data on the Chinese version of the international outcome inventory for hearing aids (IOI-HA) and examine the effective-ness of the hearing aid service. Design: Cross-sectional study. The IOI-HA was administered in a paper and pencil format. Study sample: The ...

According to the IBGE, Brazil had 21 million elderly persons in 2008. To study the effects of speech therapy - fitting of hearing aids - on the quality of life of elderly persons and restriction of participation according to sex and age. 50 elderly subjects, 23 females and 27 males, ...

The advent of AIDS has brought new challenges to Dermatology. Antiretroviral therapy dramatically changed the morbidity and mortality associated with HIV / AIDS, but contributed to the emergence of other new situations that require adequate approach by the dermatologist. The HIV / AIDS Associated Lipodystrophy Syndrome is multifactorial in origin, ...

Background Numerous decision aids have been developed recently, but the value they add above that of the initial clinical assessment is not well known. Aim To quantify whethera formal decision aid for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) adds diagnostic information, above the physician's clinical assessment. Design and setting Subanalysis of ...

Background: Measurement of the real ear response of a fitted hearing aid allows matching of the frequency response to prescriptive targets, as well as comparison of the response to both threshold and loudness discomfort level (LDL). These processes are recommended procedures for hearing aid fittings. The real ear aided response ...

The purpose of this research was twofold: firstly, to develop a music perception test (MPT) for hearing-aid users, and secondly, to evaluate the influence of non-linear frequency compression (NFC) on music perception with the use of the self-compiled test. This article focuses on the description of the development and validation ...

Abstract Objective: This study investigated the perspectives of adults with hearing impairment on hearing help-seeking and rehabilitation. Design: Individual semi-structured interviews were completed. Study sample: In total, 34 adults with hearing impairment in four countries (Australia, Denmark, UK, and USA) participated. Participants had a range of experience with hearing help-seeking ...

PURPOSE: To determine whether hearing aid outcome measured by the Hearing Handicap Inventory (HHI) for the Elderly/Adults is differentially impacted by informed versus blind administration of the post-fitting questionnaire. METHOD: Participants completed the HHI at their hearing aid evaluation and again at their hearing aid follow-up visit. At follow-up, half ...

PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to assess the functional utility of transient noise reduction (TNR) algorithms available in hearing aids via speech intelligibility and user preferences. METHOD: Two pairs of hearing aids, one pair each from Siemens and Unitron, were programmed for 17 hearing-impaired individuals after a hearing ...

Abstract Objective: This study presents German versions of the ECHO (expected consequences of hearing aid ownership) and SADL (satisfaction with amplification in daily life) self-assessment inventories ( Cox et al, 1999 , 2000 ). Study sample: The questionnaires were administered to a group of 290 hearing-aid candidates (ECHO) and 462 ...

The autoimmune disorders (AID) have since long been considered to be commoner in Western world as compared to Asian countries. This, however, may not be true as in developing countries, there are incomplete epidemiological data and lack of advanced diagnostic facilities leading to under diagnosis in many cases. In this ...

Objective: To evaluate the knowledge of HIV/AIDS among gypsies in Lahore and their preventive practices. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Four gypsy settlements around Multan Road, Lahore were surveyed from July to August 2009. Methodology: Two hundred and thirteen randomly selected gypsies, aged 15-50 years, were ...

Across two studies we assessed the clinical utility of the Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI). In Study 1, the scored items on the CPGI significantly correlated with those of the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), yet their shared variance was low. Importantly, clinician evaluation of the client's level of pathology ...

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese 9-item Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) derived from the 31-item Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI) originally developed by Ferris and Wynne (2001). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA; n = 386; Group A data) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; n = 387; ...

BACKGROUND: hearing loss is common in older age. Research with older people in residential care settings has identified high prevalence of hearing loss and low uptake of hearing aids. Hearing loss in these settings is associated with reduced social engagement. Although hearing aids remain the default treatment for presbyacusic hearing ...

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)-including HIV/AIDS-are among the most common infectious diseases in young adults. How can we effectively promote prevention and detection of STDs in this high risk population? In a two-phase longitudinal experiment we examined the effects of a brief risk awareness intervention (i.e., a sexual health information brochure) ...

In advance of the September 2011 UN Summit on non-communicable diseases (NCDs), Rebecca Dirks and colleagues identify lessons from the AIDS epidemic that can inform the response to the growing epidemic of NCDs.

In this study we examined the relations between guilt and shame and coping strategies in response to gambling loss. Based on H.B. Lewis's (Shame & guilt in neurosis. New York: International Universities Press, 1971) account of guilt and shame, we proposed that unlike guilt, the experience of shame involves the ...

Background: In the development of the requirements for telecoil-compatible magnetic signal sources for wireless and cordless telephones to be specified in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) C63.19 and ANSI/Telecommunications Industry Association-1083 compatibility standards, it became evident that additional data concerning in-the-field telecoil use and subjective preferences were needed. Purpose: ...

Background: There are not many population-based epidemiological studies on the association between self-reported hearing problems and measured hearing thresholds in older adults. Previous studies have shown that the relationship between self-reported hearing difficulties and measured hearing thresholds is unclear and, according to our knowledge, there are no previous population-based studies ...

Each year, the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) Department of Infectious Diseases teams up with Project Amazonas (www.projectamazonas.org), a humanitarian aid organization whose home base is Peru. Together healthcare workers and humanists travel by boat to the wilds of Peruvian Amazon to bring aid and education to a beautifully ...

Purpose: About half of all people with disabilities in developing countries live in extreme poverty. Focusing on the ends rather than the economic means of human development, the capability approach offers an alternative view of poverty. The purpose of this study was to explore the relation between assistive technology use ...

OBJECTIVES:: Client involvement in health decision making, or shared decision making, is increasingly being advocated. For example, rehabilitation interventions such as hearing aids and communication programs can be presented as options to adults with hearing impairment seeking help for the first time. Our previous research focused on the predictors of ...

Background:  Bone-anchored hearing aids (BAHAs) are indicated for people with conductive or mixed hearing loss who can benefit from amplification of sound. In resource limited health care systems it is important that evidence regarding benefit of BAHAs is critically appraised to aid decision making. Objective of review:  To assess the ...

Abstract Objective: To investigate word recognition in noise in subjects treated in childhood with chemotherapy, study benefits of open-fitting hearing-aids for word recognition, and investigate whether self-reported hearing-handicap corresponded to subjects' word recognition ability. Design: Subjects diagnosed with cancer and treated with platinum-based chemotherapy in childhood underwent audiometric evaluations. Study ...

Presented is a report on black-box evaluation of feedback control systems for commercial hearing aids. The aim of the study is to examine the ability of existing instrumental measures to quantify the performance of the feedback control system in black-box settings and on realistic signals, when more than one element ...

This paper presents two cases of ear injuries caused by parts of hearing aids -a five-year old girl whose tympanic membrane was ruptured by a metal part of the earmold, and a patient with injury and inflammation of outer auditory channel caused by parts of a channel hearing aid. Aid ...