Question
As adults seem to stay in the workforce longer before retirement, how can we support our patients who are working longer and in varied communication situations in the workplace?
Answer
Hearing loss is a very common adult disability. According to Kochkin, 3 in 10 people over the age of 60 have hearing loss; 1 in 6 baby boomers and 1 in 14 Generation Xers already have hearing loss. Your concern about more individuals with hearing loss in the workplace is a valid one.
We at Comfort Audio often get the feeling that a hearing aid alone in many workplace situations is not enough. To prove that, we initiated a questionnaire to gather facts about hearing aids and cochlear implants alone versus hearing technology coupled with an assistive listening device, namely the Comfort Digisystem. Twenty-four of 64 individuals returned the questionnaire. There were five main situations that these respondents deemed most difficult when using their hearing aid or cochlear implant alone. Their perceived degree of difficulty in the same five situations was markedly less with the Digisystm (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Comparison of answers for hearing aid/cochlear implant alone (red) to hearing aid/cochlear implant in combination with the Comfort Audio Digisystem (green).
Hearing aids have been improving steadily over the last 10 years, but even what was big news in a hearing aid in the late 1990’s (e.g. noise cancellation, directional microphones) is now standard in most technologies. Even with advanced features, users are not completely satisfied with hearing aids in difficult listening environments. In situations that are crucial for a successful working experience (e.g. lectures, larger meetings, background noise, small group conversations, et cetera), users struggle with hearing aids alone, but do report better workplace outcomes when using assistive technology, such as the Comfort Audio Digisystem. Assistive technology is more readily available and may be an excellent choice for those who are working later in life.
For more information, please visit www.comfortaudio.com or the Comfort Audio Expo Page on AudiologyOnline.
