A Comparison of Group and Individual Hearing Aid Fitting Appointments
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Non-inferiority study for group hearing aid fitting appointments in comparison to individual appointments
IRAS ID
242376
Contact name
Kathryn Lewis
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 0 days
Research summary
A comparison of outcomes from first time hearing aid users receiving group versus individual hearing aid fitting appointments. \n\nAn efficient Audiology service reduces both patient waiting times and NHS costs while maintaining a high standard of patient care. Implementing group hearing aid fitting appointments is a potential method of achieving this as they would reduce the waiting time between the hearing assessment and hearing aid fitting appointment. It would also reduce staff costs as multiple patients can be seen by one audiologist. Group appointments are also a useful tool in audiological rehabilitation because they can allow support networks to form between patients with similar hearing impairments and allow patients to benefit from shared information. Before group appointments are implemented, however, it is important to ensure that they do not have a negative impact on patients’ audiological outcomes. \n\nThe impact of group appointments in the south Manchester population will be determined by analysing the outcomes of new hearing aid patients to be fitted with two hearing aids who receive individual appointments compared to those who receive group appointments. All study participants will have a similar type of hearing loss and be able to participate in a group appointment without additional support. The control group will have a forty-five-minute individual hearing aid fitting appointment and a forty-five-minute individual follow-up appointment, as standard at the NHS trust. The experimental group will have a fifteen-minute individual hearing aid programming session directly followed by a sixty-minute group information session and a sixty-minute group follow-up appointment. There is expected to be a six-week interval between the fitting and follow-up appointments for all participants. The Client Oriented Scale of Improvement will be used to compare audiological outcomes of participants from both groups to determine if the group format produces outcomes just as good as those from individual appointments. \n
REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/1336
Date of REC Opinion
23 Aug 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion