Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T08:32:06.213Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Effect of Hearing Loss and Hearing Aids on the Use of Information and Communication Technologies by Community-Living Older Adults*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2010

Chris Gonsalves  and
Margaret Kathleen Pichora-Fuller
Chris Gonsalves
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto
Margaret Kathleen Pichora-Fuller*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto
*
Requests for offprints should be sent to:/Les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à: M. Kathleen Pichora-Fuller, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, 3359 Mississauga Rd. N., Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, ([email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Innovations in information and communication technologies are changing society, but only 1 in 15 Canadian seniors used a computer at the turn of the millennium (Statistics Canada, 2000). Furthermore, about 1 in 5 Canadian seniors has difficulty hearing, seeing, or communicating. The primary goal of the study was to investigate the relationship between hearing impairment and the use of information and communication technologies by older adults. A questionnaire about use of technologies was administered to 135 older adults and hearing was measured using audiometry. Hearing was found to be related to the extent of use of communication technologies, especially newer and more specialized technologies. Those with hearing loss who did not use a hearing aid did not use other technologies as much as peers with good hearing or hearing-aid users. Overall, the extent of and ability to use information and communication technologies was greater for the study sample than in previous findings for a national sample; however, the patterns of usage of various technologies and the factors influencing use were similar in the two samples. Recommendations are made for future research, health education programs, and universal design.

Résumé

Les innovations en technologies de l'information et de la communication transforment la société. Toutefois, parmi les aînés résidant au Canada, seulement 1 sur 15 utilisait un ordinateur au tournant du millénium, et 1 sur 5 éprouve des difficultés auditives, visuelles ou de communication (Statistique Canada, 2000). Le but premier de l'étude est d’étudier le lien entre la déficience auditive et l'utilisation des technologies de l'information et de la communication chez les aînés. Un questionnaire portant sur l'utilisation des technologies a été administré à 135 aînés chez qui l'audition a été mesurée par audiométrie. Une corrélation a été démontrée entre l'audition et l'étendue d’utilisation des technologies de la communication, particulièrement en ce qui concerne les technologies nouvelles et spécialisées. Les aînés avec déficience auditive qui ne portent pas d’appareils auditifs n’utilisent pas d’autres technologies aussi fréquemment que leurs pairs ayant une bonne audition ou même ceux qui utilisent des appareils auditifs. De façon générale, l'aptitude et l'étendue d’utilisation des technologies de l'information et de la communication étaient plus élevés au sein de l'échantillon à l'étude comparativement aux résultats rapportés pour un échantillon national. Toutefois, les patrons d’utilisation des diverses technologies ainsi que les facteurs influençant leur utilisation étaient similaires dans les deux échantillons. Des recommandations touchant les études futures, les programmes d’éducation à la santé et la conception universelle sont proposées.

Keywords

vieillissementtechnologie des communicationstechnologie de l'informationpertes auditivesprothèses auditivesagingcommunication technologyinformation technologyhearing losshearing aid
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 27 , Issue 2 , Summer/Été 2008 , pp. 145 - 157
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

This study was conducted to fulfil the requirements of CCT 405, an independent project course in the Human Communication and Technology Specialization of the Communication, Culture, and Information Technology Program at the University of Toronto at Mississauga. We wish to thank Christine De Luca for conducting the hearing tests and Elizabeth Olszewska for recruiting volunteers to complete the survey. We also wish to thank Véronique Vaillancourt from the Programme d'audiologie et d'orthophonie, École des sciences de la réadaptation, Université d'Ottawa for translating the abstract into French. This work was presented as a poster at the Canadian Gerontological Association annual conference in Quebec City in October 2006.

References

Appolonio, I., Carabellese, C., Frattola, L., & Trabucchi, M. (1996). Effects of sensory aids on the quality of life and mortality of elderly people: A multivariate analysis. Age and Aging, 25, 89–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cacciatore, F., Napoli, C., Abete, P., Marciano, E., Triassi, M., & Rengo, F. (1999). Quality of life determinants and hearing function in an elderly population: Osservatorio Geriatrico Campano study group. Gerontology, 45, 323–328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Czaja, S.J., Charness, N., Fisk, A.D., Hertzog, C., Nair, S.N., Rogers, W.A., et al. (2006). Factors predicting the use of technology: Findings from the centre for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE). Psychology and Aging, 21, 333–352.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davis, A. (1995). Hearing in adults. London: Whurr.Google Scholar
Erber, N.P., & Heine, C. (1996). Screening receptive communication of older adults in residential care. American Journal of Audiology, 5, 38–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erdman, S.A., & Demorest, M.E. (1998). Adjustment to hearing impairment 1: Description of a heterogeneous clinical population. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 41, 107–122.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gates, G.A., Cooper, J.C., Kannel, W.B., & Miller, N.J. (1990). Hearing in the elderly: The Framingham cohort 1983–1985, Part I: Basic audiometric test results. Ear and Hearing, 11, 247–256.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Getty, L., & Hétu, R. (1994). Is there a culture of hard-of-hearing workers? Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, 18, 267–270.Google Scholar
Gibson, J.M., Lavery, J.R., & Rosenthal, A.R. (1986). Blindness and partial sight in an elderly population. British Journal of Opthalmology, 70, 700–705.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gillman, A.E., Simmel, A., & Simon, E.P. (1986). Visual handicap in the aged: Self-reported visual disability and the quality of life of residents of public housing for the elderly. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 80, 588–590.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanley, P. (2002). The Numbers Game: Older People and the Media. London: Independent Television Commission.Google Scholar
Hétu, R. (1996). The stigma attached to hearing impairment. Scandinavian Audiology, 43(Suppl.), 12–24.Google ScholarPubMed
Hickson, L., Worrall, L., Yiu, E., & Barnett, H. (1996). Planning a communication education program for older people. Educational Gerontology, 22, 257–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hummert, M.L., & Nussbaum, J. (2000). Communication, aging, and health: Linking research and practice for successful aging. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Kochkin, S. (1993). MarkeTrak III: Why 20 million in the U.S. don't use hearing aids for their hearing loss. Hearing Journal, 46, 28–31.Google Scholar
Kyle, J.G., Jones, L.G., & Wood, P.L. (1985). Adjustment to acquired hearing loss: A working model. In Orland, H. (Ed.), Adjustment to adult hearing loss (pp. 119–138). San Diego, CA: College-Hill Press.Google Scholar
Laforge, R.G., Spector, W.D., & Sternberg, J. (1992). The relationship of vision and hearing impairment to one-year mortality and functional decline. Journal of Ageing and Health, 4, 126–148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lubinski, R., & Higginbotham, D.J. (1997). Communication technologies for the elderly: Vision, hearing, and speech. London: Singular.Google Scholar
Madden, G., & Savage, S. (2000). Some economic and social aspects of residential Internet use in Australia. Journal of Media Economics, 13(3), 171–185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marsiske, M., Klumb, P., & Baltes, M.M. (1997). Everyday activity patterns and sensory functioning in old age. Psychology and Aging, 12, 444–457.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McLuhan, M., & Fiore, Q. (1968). War and peace in the global village. New York: Bantam.Google Scholar
Mencher, G., Gerber, S., & McCombe, A. (1997). Audiology and auditory dysfunction. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
Mueller, J.L., Mace, R.L. (1998). A brief history of universal design. In Story, M.F., Mueller, J.L., & Mace, R.. (Eds.), The universal design file: Designing for people of all ages and abilities (pp. 5–14). Raleigh, NC: North Carolina State University, Centre for Universal Design.Google Scholar
Mulrow, C.D., Tuley, M.R., & Aguilar, C. (1992). Sustained benefits of hearing aids. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 35, 1402–1405.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Naramura, H., Nakanishi, N., Tatara, K., Ishiyama, M., Shiraishi, H., & Yamamoto, A. (1999). Physical and mental correlates for hearing impairment in the elderly in Japan. Audiology, 38, 24–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pichora-Fuller, M.K., Carson, A.J. (2000). Hearing health and the listening experiences of older communicators. In Hummert, M.L., & Nussbaum, J. (Eds.), Communication, aging, and health: Linking research and practice for successful aging (pp. 43–74). New York: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Scherer, M.J., & Frisina, R. (1998). Characteristics associated with marginal hearing loss and subjective well-being among a sample of older adults. Journal of Rehabilitation Research Development, 35, 420–426.Google ScholarPubMed
Selwyn, N., Gorard, S., Furlong, J., & Madden, L. (2003). Older adults' use of information and communications technology in everyday life. Ageing and Society, 23, 561–582.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seniors Research Group (1999). The consequences of untreated hearing loss in older persons. Washington, DC: National Council on Aging.Google Scholar
Statistics Canada (1998). General social survey on time use, cycle 12: Leisure activities [Computer file]. Ottawa: Author. Retrieved 20 Jan. 2006 from http://r1.chass.utoronto.ca/sdaweb/html/gss.htm.Google Scholar
Statistics Canada (2000). General social survey on access to and use of information communications technology, cycle 14 [computer file]. Rev. ed. Ottawa: Author. Retrieved 20 Jan. 2006 from http://r1.chass.utoronto.ca/sdaweb/html/gss.htm.Google Scholar
Statistics Canada (2002). General social survey on social support and ageing, cycle 16 [Computer file]. Ottawa: Author. Retrieved 20 Jan. 2006 from http://r1.chass.utoronto.ca/sdaweb/html/gss.htm.Google Scholar
Teo, T. (2001). Demographic and motivation variables associated with Internet usage activities. Internet Research-Electronic Networking Applications and Policy, 11(2), 125–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van den Brink, R.H.S., Wit, H.P., Kempen, G.I.J.M., & van Heuvelen, M.J.G. (1996). Attitude and help-seeking for hearing impairment. British Journal of Audiology, 30, 313–324.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
World Health Organization (2001). International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Geneva: WHO. Retrieved 20 May 2008 from http://www.who.int/classifications/icf/en/.Google Scholar
Wormald, R.P.L., Wright, L.A., Courtney, P., Beaumont, B., & Haines, A.P. (1992). Visual problems in the elderly population and implications for services. British Medical Journal, 304, 1226–1229.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Worrall, L., Hickson, L., Barnett, H., & Yiu, E. (1998). An evaluation of the Keep on Talking program for maintaining communication skills into old age. Educational Gerontology, 24(2), 129–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar