Abstract
More than a decade after Arthur Boothroyd published “Adult Aural Rehabilitation: What
Is It and Does It Work?,” the four cornerstones of adult aural rehabilitation are
re-examined in terms of research that we and others in the field have undertaken.
The focus is on novel advances in high-quality research relating to interventions
to support self-management for hearing aids and other listening devices (sensory management),
knowledge and skill (instruction), auditory and cognitive training (perceptual training),
and motivational engagement (counseling). Much of this new research has a theoretical
underpinning (e.g., behavior change theory) to better guide the development and evaluation
of interventions, with a focus on self-management and patient-centered approaches.
New and emerging technologies that support e- and m-health delivery of interventions
provide greater personalization and interactivity to promote self-management of hearing
loss. Looking to the future, there remains a requirement for a set of relevant and
appropriate outcome measures to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions trialed
in clinical studies. There is a continuing need for high-quality evidence, underpinned
by contemporary theory, to increase the likelihood that translational adult aural
rehabilitation research that aims to benefit patients will be applied in future clinical
practice.
Keywords
hearing aids - multimedia education - auditory training - cognition - motivational
engagement - outcome measures
