Caballero Ana, Muñoz Karen, White Karl, Nelson Lauri, Domenech-Rodriguez Melanie, Twohig Michael
Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education, Utah State University, Logan, UT.
National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management, Utah State University, Logan, UT.
J Am Acad Audiol. 2017 Sep;28(8):718-730. doi: 10.3766/jaaa.16079.
Hearing aid fitting in infancy has become more common in the United States as a result of earlier identification of hearing loss. Consistency of hearing aid use is an area of concern for young children, as well as other hearing aid management challenges parents encounter that may contribute to less-than-optimal speech and language outcomes. Research that describes parent hearing aid management experiences of Spanish-speaking Hispanic families, or the extent of their needs, is not available. To effectively support parent learning, in a culturally sensitive manner, providers may benefit from having a better understanding of the needs and challenges Hispanic families experience with hearing aid management.
The purpose of the current study was to describe challenges with hearing aid management and use for children from birth to 5 yr of age, as reported by Spanish-speaking parents in the United States, and factors that may influence hearing aid use.
This study used a cross-sectional survey design.
Forty-two Spanish-speaking parents of children up to 5 yr of age who had been fitted with hearing aids.
Responses were obtained from surveys mailed to parents through early intervention programs and audiology clinics. Descriptive statistics were used to describe frequencies and variance in responses.
Forty-seven percent of the parents reported the need for help from an interpreter during audiology appointments. Even though parents received information and were taught skills by their audiologist, many wanted to receive more information. For example, 59% wanted to know how to meet other parents of children who have hearing loss, although 88% had previously received this information; 56% wanted to know how to do basic hearing aid maintenance, although 71% had previously received instruction. The two most frequently reported hearing aid use challenges were fear of losing the hearing aids, and not seeing benefit from the hearing aids. Hearing aid use during all waking hours was reported by more parents (66%) when their child had a good day than when their child had a bad day (37%); during the previous two weeks, 35% of the parents indicated their child had all good days.
Hispanic parents wanted more comprehensive information, concrete resources, and emotional support from the audiologist to overcome hearing aid management challenges. Understanding parents' perspectives, experiences, and challenges is critical for audiologists to provide appropriate support in a culturally sensitive manner and to effectively address families' needs.
由于听力损失的早期诊断，在美国，婴儿期佩戴助听器已变得更为常见。助听器使用的持续性是幼儿面临的一个问题，同时家长在助听器管理方面还遇到其他挑战，这些挑战可能导致言语和语言发育结果不理想。目前尚无描述讲西班牙语的西班牙裔家庭家长助听器管理经历或其需求程度的研究。为了以文化敏感的方式有效地支持家长学习，了解西班牙裔家庭在助听器管理方面的需求和挑战可能会使提供者受益。
本研究的目的是描述美国讲西班牙语的家长所报告的0至5岁儿童助听器管理和使用方面的挑战，以及可能影响助听器使用的因素。
本研究采用横断面调查设计。
42名讲西班牙语的0至5岁儿童的家长，这些儿童已佩戴助听器。
通过早期干预项目和听力诊所将调查问卷邮寄给家长以获取回复。描述性统计用于描述回复的频率和差异。
47%的家长报告在听力检查预约期间需要翻译的帮助。尽管家长从听力学家那里获得了信息并学习了相关技能，但许多家长希望获得更多信息。例如，59%的家长想知道如何结识其他有听力损失儿童的家长，尽管88%的家长之前已收到过此类信息；56%的家长想知道如何进行基本的助听器保养，尽管71%的家长之前已接受过相关指导。报告最多的两个助听器使用挑战是担心丢失助听器以及看不到助听器的益处。当孩子状态好时，更多家长（66%）报告孩子在所有清醒时间都佩戴助听器，而孩子状态不好时这一比例为37%；在前两周，35%的家长表示孩子每天状态都好。
西班牙裔家长希望听力学家提供更全面的信息、具体的资源以及情感支持，以克服助听器管理方面的挑战。了解家长的观点、经历和挑战对于听力学家以文化敏感的方式提供适当支持并有效满足家庭需求至关重要。
