2016 Volume 59 Issue 2 Pages 132-140
Objective: To obtain basic data for appropriate intervention in elderly persons requiring nursing care with hearing loss.
Subjects: A total of 87 elderly persons requiring nursing care admitted to a single long-term care facility (38 men, 49 women; mean age, 83.5±8.0 years).
Methods: A questionnaire on hearing loss recognition and expressions used daily was administered to the nursing staff principally involved in the care of these subjects. Based on the average hearing level of the good ear, the subjects were classified as having normal hearing or as having mild (≥25dB), mild-moderate (≥40dB), moderate (≥50dB), or severe (≥70dB) hearing loss, with no threshold (severe dementia, no response on evaluation), and the relationship between questionnaire responses and the hearing level was analyzed.
Results: Nursing staff reported recognizable differences in the elderly patients' behaviors according to the hearing level. A significantly higher proportion of the≥40dB group requested repetition in a quiet place and revealed hearing difficulty. Expressions used by the nursing staff differed depending on the hearing level.
Discussion: In order to evaluate and correct the hearing in elderly persons requiring nursing care, otorhinolarygologists and speech-language-hearing therapists should work together with the nursing staff, sharing information on hearing loss recognition.
