Development and Implementation of Viviendo Bien con Pérdida Auditiva: A Spanish-Language Aural Rehabilitation Program

Abstract

Hearing loss is a prevalent chronic condition that is experienced by approximately 1 in 4 individuals over the age of 12 in the United States. While there are various intervention options for people with hearing loss, research has shown that the overall number of people who seek help, and pursue and adhere to an intervention, is low. In particular, hearing aid uptake and continued use are low. When hearing aids are pursued, communication difficulties are often still experienced because hearing loss can result in deficits that should be addressed through counseling and education. An adequate supplementary intervention for some people with hearing loss is aural rehabilitation (AR), specifically, group AR. Previous investigations have reported that group setting AR has been beneficial to both people with hearing loss and their accompanying communication partners. Given the reported success of group AR programs in English and the continued growth of Spanish-speaking populations in the United States, Spanish-language adaptations have been offered in community settings. The purpose of this investigation was to develop and pilot the implementation of Viviendo bien con pérdida auditiva, an on-campus AR program for Spanish-speaking adults in the Tucson community. A second objective of this study was to observe the clinical program and assess it using a variety of self-reported outcome measures. Participant feedback, as well as consistency of results, on one measure, and similar investigator observations across Spanish-language group AR studies, indicate successful development and implementation of the program. The outcome measures used in this study reflect a range of self-reported hearing handicap and variable effects of the intervention were seen post-assessment. Based on the receptiveness of participants, there is a need for Spanish- language group AR and this investigation contributes to the foundation for such services.