Revolutionising hearing care
A multidisciplinary team at the UCLH BRC is transforming the way people with hearing loss receive care. Through a scientific approach and comprehensive engagement with patients and care providers, the team has developed new and better tests of hearing function and delivered community-based services.
UCLH BRC Hearing Theme research has shown that current hearing tests fail to capture the lived experience of people with hearing loss and hearing care is difficult to access for many as it involves multiple visits to different NHS professionals and services. For example, NHS audiologists rarely test understanding of speech (which is what people with hearing loss struggle most with) because they feel these tests are difficult to do and expensive. Another matter relates to memory tests which currently rely on good hearing and fluency in English, which makes them unreliable for the many older people with hearing loss and those with different first languages1.
The UCLH BRC team has addressed these issues together with hearing technology companies and developed simple-to-use and freely available hearing tests that capture real life problems for people with hearing loss: understanding of speech in quiet and noise, and identifying the direction of speech2. BRC Hearing and Dementia Theme researchers also adapted memory tests to overcome hearing and language barriers, by offering the tests with text and images on an iPad or computer.
Addressing the issues of access to hearing care, a UCLH award-winning remote ear and hearing service has transformed the way patients with hearing problems receive care. Working with high street providers and technology companies UCL and UCLH investigators set up new clinics in London communities and trained local audiologists to use special hand-held, mobile equipment to remove earwax, undertake ear examinations and perform hearing tests. The results were streamed digitally and securely to hospital specialists for remote review. This new service made hearing care much more efficient with 65% of patients not needing a hospital visit3. Our BRC team are currently working with NHS partners to expand this service to 2 million regional residents and incorporate the newly developed hearing and memory tests into this this new community pathway.
References
- Utoomprurkporn N et al. Int J Ger Psych. 2020
- Spyridakou C et al. BMJ Open Quality. 2019
- Forde CT et al. BMJ Open Quality. (2021 in press)
