A randomized, controlled trial of the efficacy of a communication course for first time hearing aid users

Many centres include a communication course as part of their auditory rehabilitation. These usually take the form of a small group and include discussion of the effects of hearing loss, use of the hearing aid, hearing tactics and lip reading. To investigate the efficacy of such a rehabilitation programme a randomized, controlled trial of a communication course was undertaken. All subjects were first time hearing aid users. handicap was measured using the Quantified Denver Scale of Communication Function (QDS) at the time of hearing aid fitting, and then 13 weeks later. All subjects had a hearing aid follow-up appointment, but the treatment group (n = 22) also underwent a four-week communication course, while the control group (n = 25) had no further rehabilitation. The reduction in handicap measured by the change in QDS was significantly greater for the treatment group than for the control group (Mann Whitney U test, tied p value = 0.014). This indicates that such a communication course is efficacious in reducing handicap. Further research is required to identify the populations that will benefit most from such a course.