First Advisor

Douglas Martin

Term of Graduation

Spring 1997

Date of Publication

5-16-1997

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.) in Speech Communication

Department

Speech Communication

Language

English

Subjects

Hearing aids -- Oregon -- Multnomah County, Older deaf people -- Oregon -- Multnomah County, Foster home care -- Oregon -- Multnomah County

DOI

10.15760/etd.7251

Physical Description

1 online resource, (67p.)

Abstract

The level of knowledge about hearing aid use, function, and maintenance of caregivers of the elderly persons who are hearing impaired and residing in adult foster care homes in Multnomah County in the state of Oregon was assessed via a 1 7 question survey. Twenty subjects participated in the study. Subjects' responses demonstrated poor knowledge about this subject and indicated that residents' needs are unmet. The results clearly demonstrate the subjects' limited knowledge of the operation of hearing aids, poor grasp of the basic troubleshooting methods for repair, and inaccurate perceptions of hearing aid adjustment. Access to professional audiologic care and appropriate referral strategies are not in place at this time in the adult foster care system in Multnomah County. Due to a limited sample size, an expanded study is necessary to determine the validity of these findings. However, these results suggest that caregiver education regarding hearing loss and hearing aid use is necessary to ensure comprehensive management of the communication difficulties often experienced by elderly hearing impaired long term care facility residents placed in foster care homes.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Comments

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Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/30836

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