Hearing Impairment, Strategies and Outcomes in VA Emergency Departments
Trial Parameters
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Brief Summary
HearVA involves six VA facility emergency departments (ED) over a 3-year intervention period. The first part of this study will test whether providing personal amplifiers to Veteran ED patients who self-report hearing difficulty is acceptable to these patients, can improve their hearing, enhance understanding of discharge instructions, and can reduce the risk of coming back to the ED in a short period of time (3 days and 30 days). The second part of the study will then identify whether ED staff can implement this program and achieve similar results. The second part will give ED staff increasing levels of responsibility for screening Veterans for hearing difficulty and providing personal amplifiers when such difficulty is detected.
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * English speaking * Emergency severity index criterion of 3 (medium), 4, or 5 (low acuity) * Hearing Handicap Inventory-Screen greater than or equal to 10 or positive answer to a single-item screening question * Capacity to consent to participate in research Exclusion Criteria: * Inability to consent to participate in research * Emergency severity index criterion of 1-2 (high acuity) * Hearing Handicap Inventory-Screen less than 10 and negative answer to single item screening question * Inability to speak English * Using cochlear implants