Feasibility of implementing an auditory rehabilitation program for older adults in a high-volume otolaryngology facility

BACKGROUND: Active communication education (ACE) program is an instrument that can increase hearing aid use in elderly patients. MAIN OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility of implementing ACE in an outpatient otorhinolaryngology facility. Secondary objective: provide data on the daily hearing aid use. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Adults aged 65+, with moderate or worse bilateral hearing loss. All received one hearing aid and offered access to Chilean adaptation of ACE. Variables included: age, sex, previous use of hearing aids, severity of hearing loss, and score in Chilean version of MMSE. Average time of hearing aid use was registered in the first (T1) and last (T2) ACE sessions with median follow-up of 3.2 months. RESULTS: 1,108 consecutive patients. A total of 105 (9.5%, 95%IC 7.7, 11.2) did not attend any follow-up session, 477 attended ≤3 sessions, and 446 completed the program (40.3%, 95%IC 37.4, 43.1). Median of T1: 6 h/day (IQR 4; 95%IC 6, 6) and of T2: 8 h/day (IQR 5; 95%IC 8, 8). CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: Chilean adaptation of ACE is feasible in a public hospital in Santiago, Chile. Nevertheless, patient adherence was low, with only 40.3% of the sample completing six sessions. Other follow-up alternatives should be explored.