Working with older adults on the cochlear implant (CI) programme within the University of Southampton Auditory Implant Service (USAIS)

Worsfold, Sarah, Buck, Alice, Eyles, Julie, Ricaud, Rebecca, Hunt, Heloise and Merwood, Laura (2024) Working with older adults on the cochlear implant (CI) programme within the University of Southampton Auditory Implant Service (USAIS). British Cochlear Implant Group conference, Glasshouse, Gateshead, United Kingdom. 29 Apr - 01 May 2024.

Abstract

Background: as one gets older the chances of experiencing hearing loss increases, with around 65% of people aged over 60 experiencing disabling hearing loss (Chadha et al., 2021). Many of the people USAIS see are over 60. Hearing loss in older age has been associated with a poorer quality of life and social isolation (Lawrence et al, 2020) as well as dementia (Livingston et al., 2020). Providing support to older adults with their hearing can greatly reduce these chances and can increase one’s quality of life (Cuda et al., 2024).

Aims: the study wanted to explore the practicalities of working with older adults and whether as a service we were aware of the difficulties older adults might face alongside their hearing loss. We wanted to see whether staff had any concerns working with older adults and whether older adults were being given the support they needed whilst accessing the service.

Method: an online questionnaire was sent via Teams to all staff members within USAIS who worked with older adults, including audiologists, psychologists, rehabilitation, speech and language therapists and administration staff. Staff were asked to state their job role and to define who they considered to be an “older adult”. They were asked about the practicalities of working with older adults and whether they had any concerns when working with an older person. They were asked whether they made adaptions to their practice, the frequency of those adaptations and what those adaptions were. They were then asked what changes and support they needed, including whether training was needed, to help them to feel more confident working with older adults. Finally, staff were asked what they needed from the service to be able to meet the needs of older adults to provide safe care and what this support would look like.

Results: 38% of staff responded. Majority of staff defined “older adults” as being over 70, however many were unsure and said it depended on the person. Common concerns staff had were around social isolation, mobility, communicating information and involving family/caregivers. Most staff made adaptations to their practice at least once a month. Adaptions included simplifying their language, using more visual/tactile stimuli, and allowing for breaks. Staff said they lacked knowledge with difficulties including dementia, capacity/consent, age related changes to auditory processes and involving family/carers. They were also unsure around how to communicate information so that it was understood.

Conclusions: the study highlighted current practices with USAIS and gaps in staff knowledge around how to best meet the needs of older adults within the service. It demonstrated that staff training is needed to build staff confidence to provide better support to older adults within USAIS so that their needs are met.

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