Hearing Aid Selection by Audiologists: A Qualitative Exploration of Clinical Decision Making

PURPOSE: There is limited evidence available to clearly guide an audiologist's selection of hearing aid technology levels. The purpose of this study was to explore the decision-making process of audiologists for hearing aid selection, with particular attention to the role of a patient's auditory lifestyle. METHOD: We completed semistructured interviews with 10 clinical audiologists; these audiologists varied in their years of clinical experience and hearing aid patient caseloads. We completed qualitative content analysis using an iterative inductive approach and identified recurrent codes and overarching practice patterns. RESULTS: The data yielded 18 codes, condensed into four themes: (a) patient factors, (b) audiologist factors, (c) hearing aid characteristics, and (d) affordability; within patient factors, we observed a subtheme of auditory lifestyle. We identified two practice patterns followed by the audiologists in this sample: (a) vary technology-level recommendation according to patient characteristics or (b) recommend premium technology to all patients. CONCLUSIONS: While previous studies have indicated that audiologists use a patient's auditory lifestyle to guide their technology-level selection, we identified other factors of consideration and an alternative practice pattern. There is supportive and contrary evidence for both practice patterns identified. This invites future research to investigate how these practice patterns may impact patient outcomes, which may inform the development of evidence-based guidelines.