People with intellectual disabilities are frequently affected by hearing loss and often require additional support when using hearing aids. OBJECTIVE: A pilot study was conducted to determine the specific support needs of people with intellectual disabilities in a participatory process, in order to design a suitable support program to accompany hearing aid provision....
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Audiologists fitting hearing aids to patients with intellectual disabilities should proactively assess and plan for individualized long-term support needs beyond the fitting appointment, though the pilot scale of this study limits definitive protocol changes.
People with intellectual disabilities are an underserved population with high rates of hearing loss, and understanding their post-fitting support needs is essential to improving hearing-aid uptake and outcomes in this group.
- 01People with intellectual disabilities have a higher prevalence of hearing loss than the general population.
- 02Standard hearing-aid fitting protocols may be insufficient for this population without tailored follow-up.
- 03Pilot study in HNO explores specific post-fitting support needs (e.g., device handling, maintenance, communication strategies).
- 04Findings may inform development of specialized audiology care pathways for people with intellectual disabilities.
- 05Small pilot scale means results are preliminary and need replication in larger samples.
People with intellectual disabilities have elevated prevalence of hearing loss compared to the general population.
studysupportedPeople with intellectual disabilities face additional challenges following hearing aid provision that require specific support.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42803781
- DOI
- 10.1007/s00106-026-01803-8.
- Journal
- HNO
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 4
- Population
- People with intellectual disabilities who have received hearing aids
- Intervention
- Assessment of post-hearing-aid-fitting support needs
Primary outcomes
Type and extent of support needs following hearing aid provision in people with intellectual disabilities