Counselling and its effect on hearing aid use.

The objective of this study was to determine if subjects who received pre- and post-issue counselling made better use of their National Health Service body-worn hearing aids than those who received no counselling. Assessment was by both subjective and objective methods, the latter employing a small use-time measuring device concealed within the aid. The findings suggested that subjects issued with hearing aids in the conventional NHS manner used their hearing aids even less than indicated by previous studies and achieved a low competence in handling. Significantly better use was made of their aids by subjects given a moderate amount of counselling. These patients were also considerably more adept in handling their aids and achieved a greater reduction in social hearing handicap than the non-counselled patients.