Dusty Ann Jessen, AuD, is a practicing audiologist in a busy ENT clinic in Littleton, Colo. In the following five blogs, I will dig deeper into the five keys to communication success and give you strategies for integrating them into your practice.ĭr. I hope this simple three-step approach will provide an efficient way for professionals to ensure that education and counseling are an integral part of every hearing aid fitting. We know that our job as rehabilitative audiologists goes far beyond fitting hearing aids. These emails reinforce effective communication strategies and encourage the patients to return to their hearing care professional with any questions or concerns. We provide this follow-up in the form of weekly emails that patients receive for an entire year following their hearing aid fitting. Studies show that consistent long-term follow-up drastically increases patient compliance and satisfaction. For this reason, they must receive some kind of regular follow-up education. They are often so overwhelmed by their hearing aids, that they may actually remember precious little from what we have been teaching them. Follow-up: Patients simply cannot absorb and retain all of the education and counseling during their hearing aid trial period. We start this action with personalized Successful Communication Plans that guide the patient and their communication partners as they apply the five keys to their most challenging communication situations.ģ. Action: Patients need to immediately act on what they’ve learned to begin creating new communication habits early in their rehab process. It is also important that our education addresses realistic hearing aid expectations as well as the importance of family member involvement. Our aural rehab approach defines the following components as the “5 Keys to Communication Success.” I will discuss these further in future blog posts.Ģ. While there are many great educational materials on the market, I chose to create my own patient guidebook that organizes communication strategies into five simple keys (see below) that are easy for patients to remember. Education: Patients need to be educated in a fun, easy, and efficient way. I call it Cut to the Chase Counseling. There are three simple steps to this aural rehab approach:ġ. So in 2013 I set out to develop a fun and effective approach to aural rehab that would be easy for patients to comply with, and efficient for professionals to implement. When I read the MarkeTrak survey results, I realized I wasn’t the only audiologist facing these challenges. I also found it difficult to engage family members in the rehabilitation process. I tried various educational handouts as well as group AR classes, but struggled with patient compliance. In a busy ENT clinic, time is of the essence, and this leaves very little time for counseling about realistic expectations, communication strategies, and auditory training. As technology progresses, I find myself spending more clinic time educating my patients on the technical aspects of their new hearing aids. What we are missing is a standardized, effective, and efficient aural rehab protocol that helps our patients to retain what they have learned, and use the strategies we teach them.Īs a practicing audiologist, I face these challenges on a daily basis. In addition, the vast improvements in technology lead our patients to believe that the hearing aids alone should address all their communication problems. Patients are often so overwhelmed by the vast array of technology at their fingertips that their sole focus is on the technical workings of the hearing aids and wireless accessories. I believe there are two factors at play: technological overwhelm, and unrealistic expectations. However, these MarkeTrak survey results prove that our attempts are not being received by our patients. I truly believe that most audiologists attempt to provide their patients with adequate education and counseling. This is an unsettling finding to say the least. However, the most recent MarkeTrak survey results indicate that very few of us are actually providing these services to our patients. ASHA defines it as “an ecological interactive process that facilitates one’s ability to minimize or prevent the limitations and restrictions that auditory dysfunctions can impose on well-being and communication, including interpersonal, psycho-social, educational and vocational functioning.” Audiologists know the importance of providing our patients with education, counseling, and training to overcome the challenges presented by hearing loss. ASHA defines it as “an ecological interactive process that facilitates one’s ability to minimize or prevent the limitations and rĪural rehabilitation was once the root of our profession. Aural rehabilitation was once the root of our profession.
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