Semin Hear 2021; 42(02): 088-097
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1731689
Review Article

The Use of Same-Day Hearing Aid Fitting with Telehealth Follow-up Care: A Case Study of a Veteran Presenting with Tinnitus and Auditory Processing Disorder Symptoms

David P. Jedlicka
1   Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, Pittsburgh VA Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2   School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences - Communication Science and Disorders, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
› Author Affiliations

Abstract

Providing same-day hearing aid fitting appointments to patients being seen in an audiology clinic for an audiometric evaluation may help decrease clinic wait times and reduce the need for future in-person appointments. Prior to 2020, the Veterans Administration (VA) Healthcare System did not allow hearing aid manufacturers to provide functional demonstration (demo) hearing aids to VA audiology clinics. Due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19) pandemic, this rule was changed to minimize the number of required in-person VA audiology appointments. The audiology clinic at the Pittsburgh VA Healthcare System developed a hearing aid fitting protocol using demo hearing aids to provide same-day hearing aid fitting appointments. This case study pertains to a female Veteran who presented to the clinic with complaints of decreased hearing and bothersome tinnitus. The patient completed a comprehensive audiometric evaluation, auditory processing disorder screening, hearing aid evaluation, and hearing aid fitting in the clinic. All follow-up appointments were scheduled to be completed via telehealth. The initial findings in this case study indicate that same-day hearing aid fittings can be successful for some patients. Future telehealth follow-up appointments will determine this patient's level of success using hearing aid–related outcome measures.



Publication History

Article published online:
02 August 2021

© 2021. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
333 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA

 
  • References

  • 1 Newman CW, Weinstein BE, Jacobson GP, Hug GA. The Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults: psychometric adequacy and audiometric correlates. Ear Hear 1990; 11 (06) 430-433
  • 2 Dillon H, James A, Ginis J. Client Oriented Scale of Improvement (COSI) and its relationship to several other measures of benefit and satisfaction provided by hearing aids. J Am Acad Audiol 1997; 8 (01) 27-43
  • 3 Ventry IM, Weinstein BE. Identification of elderly people with hearing problems. ASHA 1983; 25 (07) 37-42
  • 4 Veterans Administration Healthcare System Audiology Department. Hearing Activities of Daily Living. Veterans Administration Healthcare System Audiology Department, Pittsburgh, PA
  • 5 Jedlicka DP. Co-occurring Conditions in Veterans with Self-Perceived Hearing Handicap and Normal Audiometric Findings. [Unpublished Manuscript]. Pittsburgh VA Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • 6 Killion MC, Niquette PA, Gudmundsen GI, Revit LJ, Banerjee S. Development of a quick speech-in-noise test for measuring signal-to-noise ratio loss in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners. J Acoust Soc Am 2004; 116 (4, Pt 1): 2395-2405
  • 7 Jorgensen LE, Jedlicka DP, Wargo ML, Milne VVeterans'. Veterans Self-Assessment of Auditory Impairment. Audiology Department, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. Pittsburgh, PA: 2010
  • 8 Vander Werff KR. Auditory dysfunction among long-term consequences of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Perspectives on Hearing and Hearing Disorders: Research and Diagnostics. 2012; 16 (01) 3-17
  • 9 Lew HL, Jerger JF, Guillory SB, Henry JA. Auditory dysfunction in traumatic brain injury. J Rehabil Res Dev 2007; 44 (07) 921-928
  • 10 Oleksiak M, Smith BM, St Andre JR, Caughlan CM, Steiner M. Audiological issues and hearing loss among Veterans with mild traumatic brain injury. J Rehabil Res Dev 2012; 49 (07) 995-1004
  • 11 Keith RW. SCAN–3 for Adolescents and Adults: Tests for Auditory Processing Disorders. San Antonio, TX: Pearson; 2009
  • 12 Stoody TM, Cottrell CE. The effect of presentation level on the SCAN-3 in children and adults. Am J Audiol 2018; 27 (02) 238-245
  • 13 Demonstration Hearing Aids. VA SharePoint. Accessed February 23, 2021 vaww.infoshare.va.gov/sites/rehab/asps/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=/sites/rehab/asps/Audiology%20Documents/Demonstration%20Hearing%20Aids/Functional%20Demonstration%20Hearing%20Aids.docx&action=default
  • 14 Keidser G, Dillon H, Flax M, Ching T, Brewer S. The NAL-NL2 prescription procedure. Audiology Res 2011; 1 (01) e24
  • 15 American National Standards Institute. Methods for Calculation of the Speech Intelligibility Index. ANSI S3.5:1997: R2007. New York, New York: Acoustical Society of America; 2017
  • 16 Saltzman M, Ersner MS. A hearing aid for the relief of tinnitus aurium. Laryngoscope 1947; 57 (05) 358-366
  • 17 Jedlicka DP. Hearing Aid Use among Veterans with Auditory Processing Disorder. Poster Presented at the Joint Defense VA Conference. February 2015. Orlando, FL:
  • 18 Liberalesso PBN, D'Andrea KFK, Cordeiro ML, Zeigelboim BS, Marques JM, Jurkiewicz AL. Effects of sleep deprivation on central auditory processing. BMC Neurosci 2012; 13: 83
  • 19 Woods SP, Lovejoy DW, Ball JD. Neuropsychological characteristics of adults with ADHD: a comprehensive review of initial studies. Clin Neuropsychol 2002; 16 (01) 12-34