Hearing loss among nursing home residents: perceptions and realities.
Audiometric examinations were conducted on a random sample of 104 elderly Massachusetts' nursing home residents. The testing revealed that the majority of the participants were hearing impaired. The participants, however, consistently reported satisfaction with their hearing ability and no related hearing problems. Qualitative observations of communication among the participants, staff, and visitors documented that the elderly were negatively affected by their hearing loss. Recommendations are made to improve the quality of care for residents with hearing impairment in the nursing home setting.
Mahoney
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D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D005851:Geriatric Nursing / Q000592:standards*; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008404:Massachusetts / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009735:Nursing Homes; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research