Protocol for a qualitative study exploring the lived experience of hearing loss and patient reported experience in the UK: the HeLP study (original) (raw)

Applications of qualitative grounded theory methodology to investigate hearing loss: Protocol for a qualitative systematic review

ABTRACT Introduction: Hearing loss is a chronic condition affecting 11 million individuals in the UK. People with hearing loss regularly experience difficulties interacting in everyday conversations. These difficulties in communication can result in a person with hearing loss withdrawing from social situations and becoming isolated. While hearing health loss research has largely deployed quantitative methods to investigate various aspects of the condition, qualitative research is becoming more widespread. Grounded theory is a specific qualitative methodology that has been used to establish novel theories on the experiences of living with hearing loss. Method and analysis: The aim of this systematic review is to establish how grounded theory has been applied to investigate the psychosocial aspects of hearing loss. Methods are reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 checklist. Studies included in this revie...

Escaping a silent world: profound hearing loss, cochlear implants and household interaction

International Journal of Consumer Studies, 2007

For some people with profound hearing loss, cochlear implants offer a way back to patterns of communication that most of us take for granted. Travel, shopping and work contexts are largely dependent on the ability to recognize and respond to speech. This study examined implant user and partner perspectives on problems and coping strategies. The aim was to map the experiences of adults and their hearing partners living with deafness; and the changes brought about by cochlear implant use.

Persons with acquired profound hearing loss (APHL): how do they and their families adapt to the challenge?

Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine, 2008

The study examined the impact of acquired profound hearing loss (APHL) on the relationship between the hearing impaired person and their normally hearing close family member, usually a partner, and identified the kinds of adjustment leading to maintenance or deterioration of the relationship. The participants were 25 people with APHL and 25 family members, interviewed separately in their own home. Analysis of the interview transcripts adopted a grounded theory methodology. The different levels of analysis were linked in terms of a core category based on the social construction of a committed relationship. The conceptual codes were grouped as: (a) aural impairments giving rise to the need for adjustment; (b) pragmatic adjustments to spoken communication and family activities; (c) managing the adjustments without negative consequences; (d) adjustments leading to negative interaction. The results suggest that APHL places considerable strain on relationships and increases their vulnerab...

Experiences of hearing parents regarding their child’s hearing loss

2013

Overwhelming evidence suggests that 90% of children with a hearing loss are born to hearing parents. Research indicates that often these hearing parents are ill-informed about the cause and type of hearing loss their child has, leading the hearing parents to feelings of grief and disempowerment. Many hearing parents at the time of the diagnosis experience emotional turmoil as the diagnosis is often unexpected, resulting in a plethora of questions asked. The research approach for the study was qualitative in nature as it set out to explore and describe the experiences of hearing parents of their child’s hearing loss. A phenomenological strategy of design was employed to capture the lived experience from the hearing parents. Data was collected by means of unstructured individual in-depth interviews with 11 hearing parents. Volunteer and snowball sampling were implemented so as to access hearing parents whose children had been diagnosed with hearing loss. Data was analysed according to...

An exploration of how health care professionals understand experiences of deafness

Findings from recent deaf education intervention programs with health care professionals emphasise the importance of socio-cultural dimensions of medicine, pointing to the need to further investigate health professionals' current understandings of deafness. Situated within a social constructionist and critical realist framework, we investigated health professionals' understandings of deafness and experiences of providing health services in Australia to people living with deafness. Through an inductive thematic analysis of 18 individual interviews with medical or allied health professionals, we identified an overarching theme we labelled hearingness as privileged, whereby professionals accounted for the quality of the health services available to people living with hearing loss or deafness in Australia. The professionals recognised the services as not good enough and, through relating their efforts to do the best they can, and describing how the situation could always be better, it was evident that the professionals were negotiating a larger health system that disadvantages the needs of people living with deafness for the needs of people with hearingness. We discuss the implications of working with in a system that privileges hearingness.

A protocol for the Hearing impairment in Adults: A Longitudinal Outcomes Study (HALOS)

PLOS ONE, 2023

Background Often considered an "invisible disability", hearing loss is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases and the third leading cause for years lived with disability worldwide. Hearing loss has substantial impacts on communication, psychological wellbeing, social connectedness, cognition, quality of life, and economic independence. The Hearing impairment in Adults: a Longitudinal Outcomes Study (HALOS) aims to evaluate the: (1) impacts of hearing devices (hearing aids and/or cochlear implants), (2) differences in timing of these interventions and in long-term outcomes between hearing aid and cochlear implant users, and (3) cost-effectiveness of early intervention for adult-onset hearing loss among hearing device users. Materials and methods HALOS is a mixed-methods study collecting cross-sectional and longitudinal data on health and social outcomes from 908 hearing aid and/or cochlear implant users aged �40 years, recruited from hearing service providers across Australia. The quantitative component will involve an online survey at baseline (time of recruitment), 24-months, and 48-months and will collect audiological, health, psychosocial, functional and employment outcomes using validated instruments. The qualitative component will be conducted in a subset of participants at baseline and involve semi-structured interviews to understand the patient journey and perspectives on the Australian hearing service model.

Conducting qualitative research in audiology: A tutorial

International Journal of Audiology, 2011

Objective: Qualitative research methodologies are being used more frequently in audiology as it allows for a better understanding of the perspectives of people with hearing impairment. This article describes why and how international interdisciplinary qualitative research can be conducted. Design: A literature review and our recent experience with the conduction of an international interdisciplinary qualitative study in audiology informed this article. Results: We describe some available qualitative methods for sampling, data collection, and analysis and we discuss the rationale for choosing particular methods. The focus is on four approaches which have all previously been applied to audiologic research: grounded theory, interpretative phenomenological analysis, conversational analysis, and qualitative content analysis. Conclusions: This article provides a review of methodological issues useful for those designing qualitative research projects in audiology or needing assistance in the interpretation of qualitative literature.

Experiences of Hearing Parents of Children with Hearing Loss: A Qualitative Study

Children

This qualitative study was carried out with a phenomenological design to determine the life experiences of the parents of children with hearing loss. The study sample consisted of twenty parents, who did not have hearing loss, of children with hearing loss registered in a special education and rehabilitation center. The data were collected through in-depth interviews in Istanbul between December and January 2022. Colaizzi’s phenomenological interpretation method was used for qualitative data analysis. It was determined that parents of children with hearing loss experienced anxiety, sadness, and happiness during diagnosis. They needed more information at first, but then they gained knowledge in the process, and it took work to accept this process. They stated that having a child with hearing loss requires more time, responsibility, and effort than other children. This situation affects their social life, and they experience interpersonal conflicts. When parents were asked how they co...

Impact of hearing loss in the lives of geriatric individuals

International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, 2019

Background: Hearing loss in old age is a vexing problem and millions of people worldwide are suffering from it. The aim of this study is to identify the problems which geriatric individuals with hearing loss experience and to help them to overcome their disability and its effects on social engagement and interpersonal relationship.Methods: The study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital and is based on prospective study. The data collection was done in the form of confrontational interview. Results: According to our study individuals suffering from moderate hearing loss have difficulty in communicating with friends, relatives and even strangers. They even face problems in travelling. They feel disoriented during conversation and tend to miss out parts of conversation. They tend to use their visual signals more than hearing for example while watching television they try to focus and interpret more by the video than by listening to the audio. People suffering from mild to moderat...