Hearing aid effectiveness after aural rehabilitation: individual versus group trial results.
We designed this noninferiority randomized trial to determine (1) if group hearing aid fitting visits and group hearing aid follow-up visits were at least as effective as individual visits in terms of hearing-related function (measured with the Inner Effectiveness of Auditory Rehabilitation [EAR] scale) and adherence, and (2) if group visits were less costly over the 6 mo post-fitting period. For 644 participants randomized to receive their hearing aid visits in an individual or group format at the Department of Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, 6 mo outcomes showed no significant differences in Inner EAR scores between individual and group fitting (p = 0.53) or follow-up (p = 0.11), or in the number of hours per day hearing aids were worn between individual and group fitting (p = 0.90) or follow-up (p = 0.24). We found significantly higher cost for individual compared with group fitting (p < 0.001) and follow-up (p < 0.001). We conclude that outcomes for group hearing aid fitting and hearing aid follow-up visits were not inferior to individual hearing aid fitting and follow-up visits, with group fitting and follow-up visits yielding cost savings.
Health Services Research & Development Center of Excellence, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, 1100 Olive Way, Seattle, WA 98101, USA. margaret.collins@va.gov
Margaret P
MP
Collins
Chuan-Fen
CF
Liu
Leslie
L
Taylor
Pamela E
PE
Souza
Bevan
B
Yueh
D000368:Aged; D012048:Correction of Hearing Impairment; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017755:Prosthesis Fitting