Rehabilitation: Beyond the Hearing Aid Professional.

Abstract

Some may see the amelioration of hearing loss as being synonymous with fitting appropriate hearing aids. Although amplification is central, it is not the only factor. It is of great importance that the user achieves the full potential possible from it and, for most clients, it is the foundation on which to build other strategies. In the audiology profession we value the use of evidence-based practice to form our management strategies. Much debate has centred on what exactly 'good' rehabilitation entails. Perhaps this is understandable with the wide spectrum of variables associated with successful and unsuccessful hearing aid use and a lack of standard definitions in measuring rehabilitation outcomes. However, this misses an important and vital dimension of rehabilitation: a client cannot be effectively assessed as some partially functioning auditory system in isolation. Each client brings specific communication difficulties and the expectations integral to their own lifestyle and, importantly, to the people around them. To achieve quality of life improvements we must take a holistic view of clients and their lifestyle; in other words, a psychosocial approach.