Download Gruber Seminar Series Hosted by Department of Speech and

Gruber Seminar Series
Hosted by Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences,
Lamar University
Seminar 3: March 30th 2015, 10-12am, Room 171 SPHS Building
Guest Speaker
Naresh Durisala (AuD)
Audiology Clinic, Department of Otolaryngology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore.
Naresh Durisala currently holds the senior audiologist position at Department of
Otolaryngology, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore. He is practising as an Audiologist for
the past 5 years and completed his Doctor of Audiology (AuD) from University of Florida in
2013. His current scope of practise includes providing diagnostic and rehabilitation
services to patients with hearing and balance problems. He has an active interest in
research that is clinically applicable to improve patient outcome. Recently he volunteered
to train primary health care workers in Cambodia about basics in Audiology.
Presentation Details
Talk 1: Factors affecting attitudes towards loss of hearing in individuals with
unilateral hearing loss
Often, audiologists can find it challenging to rehabilitate individuals with unilateral hearing loss
as the subjective perception of hearing handicap can vary from person to person. In such
instances, understanding their psychosocial attitudes towards hearing loss can assist clinician in
choosing an appropriate rehabilitation option, that is, whether to recommend an amplification
device or provide counselling.
Aim: This study used “Attitudes towards loss of Hearing” (ALHQ) questionnaire to determine
the psychosocial attitudes towards hearing in individuals with unilateral hearing loss and to
compare if the scores obtained in our participants are comparable to the established normative
data. Also, to study if variables such as age, gender, tinnitus, cause, degree and duration of
hearing loss has any effect on their attitudes. Methodology: A total of 29 individuals (11 males
and 18 females) with hearing thresholds within 30 dB HL in the better ear and moderate to
profound hearing loss in the poorer ear participated in the study. ALHQ questionnaire was
administered using paper and pen format to examine the social and emotional aspects of hearing
loss. ALHQ is a 22 item list with five subscales: Denial of hearing loss, negative associations,
negative coping, manual dexterity & vision and hearing related esteem. Individuals were
required to respond from “strongly disagree=a to strongly agree=e” against each question on five
point rating scale. A score of 1 was given for “a” response, 2 for “b” response and so forth.
Questions with negative factors were reverse scored. For interpretation, a high score on any
subscale is associated with negative attitude and low score is associated with positive attitude.
Therefore, for a successful outcome, low scores are preferred to high scores. Results: Mean,
median and standard deviation for each participant was calculated. The mean and standard
deviation obtained for each subscale are compared with the established normative data and their
results are discussed qualitatively. Independent t-test was used to check for any significant
difference between the present and the normative data. As the outcome scores were measured on
an ordinal scale, Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to determine the effects of gender, tinnitus, and
cause of hearing loss on each of the five subscales. Spearman rank order correlation coefficient
test was used to check for any association between age (20-40, 41-60 and > 60 years), duration,
degree of hearing loss and the outcome variable. Post hoc analysis with Bonferroni correction
was used to account for any multiple comparisons. Independent t-test did not reveal any
significant differences in attitudes between the established normative data and unilateral hearing
loss participants. Kruskal-Wallis test showed statistically significant difference between
individuals with and without tinnitus on denial of hearing loss (p=0.006) and between causes of
hearing loss on denial of hearing loss (p=0.02). Post hoc analysis with Bonferroni correction
revealed significant difference between participants with Meniere’s disease and unknown cause
(p = 0.03). In other words, individuals with tinnitus or Meniere’s disease accepted their hearing
loss more readily compared to individuals without tinnitus or other causes. For the association
test, Spearman rank order correlation coefficient revealed significant positive relationship
between duration of hearing loss and negative coping strategies (r =0.45, p = 0.01). Post hoc
analysis with Bonferroni correction revealed significant difference between participants with 0 to
2 years and greater than 10 years of hearing loss (p = 0.03). Slight, but insignificant difference
was noted between the participants with 0 to 2 years and 3 to 10 years duration of hearing loss (p
= 0.05). This study demonstrated that participants with hearing loss for 0 to 2 years showed
lower scores on negative coping strategies, followed by participants with 2.1 years to 10 years
and more than 10 years. That is, participants with shorter duration of hearing loss had less
negative coping mechanisms compared to participants with longer duration of hearing loss.
These may include such as avoiding social interactions, pretending to hear or staying quiet
during conversations. Conclusion: Identification of these factors that influence individuals
attitudes towards their hearing can assist the clinician in planning appropriate rehabilitation.
Talk 2: Audiology in Singapore
This presentation discusses about the current status of audiology in Singapore, prevalence of
hearing loss in Singapore and their attitudes towards hearing aids. Also, it presents about some of
the unpublished data on hearing aid usage amongst Singapore elderly.