Using patient experience to improve hearing services

ARC West researchers are partnering up with Aston University, University Hospitals Bristol and West NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Tayside and HCRG Care Group to assess Hearing Loss and Patient Reported Experience (HELP).

Hearing loss services in the UK are provided in a variety of settings, from hospitals to high street opticians. This variability means that people might not always be getting the most suitable type of support. The study teams will find out if audiology (hearing) services are working well for patients by, amongst others, developing a Patient Reported Experience Measure (PREM).

PREMs are simple questionnaires measuring what patients think and how they feel about the service they are engaging with. Developing an effective way of assessing patient experiences is important because 40 per cent of people who are given hearing aids end up not using them. Understanding patient needs better may prevent them from being fitted with hearing aids they don’t want and being provided with more suitable support instead.

People affected by hearing loss can find it hard to manage and adapt to new sounds. For some, managing a hearing aid is more difficult than managing without it. The study team will develop a framework to describe the effort needed to engage with hearing services versus the trade-offs associated with managing without this type of support.

They hope this will help them understand what affects the way patients engage with audiology services and may help audiology services understand what they need to adjust to meet patient needs better.

Jon Banks, study lead for ARC West, said:

“We hope to develop a Patient Reported Experience Measure to complement other measures already in use and improve our understanding of how patients experience hearing loss.

“People coping with hearing loss should be provided with support that is right for them and their needs.”