Use of electronic health records to assess associations between short-term hearing aid follow-up care, IOI-HA completion and long-term hearing aid use

OBJECTIVE: To examine associations between hearing-aid (HA) follow-up care and long-term HA outcome, and to determine whether short-term HA outcome is predictive of long-term HA outcome. DESIGN: Data from the US Veterans Administration (VA) Electronic Health Record system were analysed using regression modelling. Dependent variables were long-term and short-term HA outcome assessed using HA use persistence at 24 months and the International Outcome Inventory for HA (IOI-HA) respectively; independent variable was occurrence of HA follow-up care; covariates were demographic, audiometric and health-related variables. STUDY SAMPLE: Veterans (n = 284,175) with a HA order through the VA system, and a subset of n = 43,568 who had valid IOI-HA data. RESULTS: HA follow-up care was positively associated with HA outcome at 24-months for new and experienced HA users alike. Patients with IOI-HA data had better HA outcome at 24-months than those without. Responses to IOI-HA questions 1 (Daily HA use), 2 (Benefit), 4 (Satisfaction) and 7 (Quality of life) were more strongly associated with HA outcome at 24 months than responses to other IOI-HA questions. CONCLUSIONS: While not proving causation, the findings suggest that HA follow-up care within 12 weeks of a HA fitting is highly beneficial for long-term HA outcome, and that taking action based on IOI-HA data can improve HA outcomes at 24 months.