補聴器長期装用患者の日常生活における主観的な補聴効果に関する検討

抄録

Our clinic offers hearing aids that incorporate the Utsunomiya Method of auditory rehabilitation. After purchasing the hearing aids, patients attend follow-up appointments every 4–6 months, during which primarily speech-language pathologists manage their auditory health. We examined the changes in the subjective perception of hearing aid effectiveness and overall satisfaction in daily life using the “Hearing-related Questionnaire 2002 (Kikoe 2002)” in elderly patients who had been under long-term follow-up for over five years since starting to use hearing aids. We also examined the average follow-up duration and reasons for follow-up discontinuation among patients who had stopped attending the follow-up appointments. Although the level of satisfaction with the hearing aids showed a significant decline over five years of continual use, the overall satisfaction level in daily life remained high. These findings attest to the effectiveness of ongoing auditory management by physicians and speech-language pathologists. Furthermore, speech recognition under relatively favorable conditions was maintained even after five years, suggesting that hearing aids show their maximum effectiveness under favorable conditions. The primary reasons for follow-up discontinuation were poor health and death, while the cause remained unknown in many cases. At the three-month hearing aid fitting stage, the level of satisfaction was significantly lower and the daily wearing time was significantly shorter in patients who subsequently discontinued follow-up as compared with those who continued the follow-ups, suggesting that a lower satisfaction level and poor compliance were associated with subsequent discontinuation of follow-up. To maintain the quality of life through continued use of hearing aids, it is important to consider more individualized approaches in response to changes in the patients’ circumstances.