Millions of Australians with hearing loss do not get the help they need to improve their hearing difficulties and quality of life. Hearing aids are effective, but uptake is poor, and only one in three people who would benefit from hearing aids has them.
When they notice their hearing difficulties, people wait on average nine years before seeking help, and 60% of those eligible for assistance from the Government’s Hearing Services Program do not engage with it.
None of this is new. But what can be done to improve the poor uptake of hearing healthcare?
Associate Professor Mel Ferguson from WA’s Curtin University and her team were recently awarded a National Medical & Research Council grant to address this important question.
“There are many barriers to accessing and taking up hearing healthcare” says A/Prof Ferguson, “such as poor understanding of the impact of hearing loss, inappropriate expectations about hearing aids, and a lack of information or misinformation about hearing loss, hearing aids and rehabilitation options.
“A large proportion of people do not believe hearing aids provide benefits, and there is little information offered about the different options available (e.g. range and function), and even less for other technological and non-technological options.”
This research will develop and evaluate an online decision support intervention called HearChoice that aims to empower adults with hearing loss by improving motivation, readiness, help-seeking and decision-making to improve access and uptake of hearing healthcare. It will enable the Government’s Hearing Services Program to provide decision aid tools co-designed with consumers that illustrate healthcare pathways and choice of options, including educational support.
“I am so fortunate to work with an excellent team of internationally-recognised researchers, advocacy groups and adults with hearing loss, professional audiology bodies, and experts in cutting edge technologies. Building on theories of behaviour change and implementation science, I am confident our research findings will translate into clinical practice and policy, and make a real difference to the lives of many adults with hearing loss.”