Music listening and hearing aids: perspectives from audiologists and their patients

Figures & data

Table 1. Number of participants, age and gender by hearing clinic.

	All participants	Public clinic	Private clinic
Total N*	176	87	89
Gender	78 F (44%)	48 F (57%)	30 F (34%)
	94 M (55%)	36 M (43%)	58 M (66%)
	(n = 172)	(n = 83)	(n = 88)
Age range	21–93	21–93	21–92
Mean	60.56	64.39	56.91
SD	17.80	15.84	18.85
	(n = 170)	(n = 83)	(n = 87)

*Total N represents all participants (“n” < “N” as a minority did not complete age or gender response).

Table 2. Demographic data and general fitting strategies of audiologists.

	All participants (N = 99)*
Age	Mean = 39.18 (SD = 11.50)
	Range = 22–71 years
Gender	Male, n = 45 (45%)
	Female, n = 54 (55%)
Employment status	Practising, n = 92 (93%)
	Retired, n = 7 (7%)
Years practising	<1 year, n = 4 (4%)
	1–2 years, n = 9 (9%)
	3–4 years, n = 7 (7% )
	5–10 years, n = 29 (29%)
	>10 years, n = 50 (51%)
Sector	Public, n = 61 (62%)
	Private, n = 23 (23%)
	Public and private, n = 10 (10%)
	Third (e.g. charity, community), n = 1 (1%)
	Unknown, n = 4 (4%)
Patient groups	Adults only, n = 60 (61%)
	Adults and children, n = 32 (32%)
	Children only, n = 7 (7%)
Number patients seen in typical week	“Fewer then 10”, n = 11 (12%)
	“11–20”, n = 12 (13%)
	“21–30”, n = 22 (24%)
	“31–40”:, n = 19 (20%)
	“Over 40”, n = 29 (31%)
	(n = 93, 6 participants skipped this question)
Type of hearing aids fitted	Behind the Ear (BTE) (“All the time” + “Often” 77%)
	Receiver in Canal (RIC) (“All the time” + “Often” 28%)
	Receiver in the Ear (RITE) (“All the time” + “Often” 20%)
	In the Canal (ITC) (“All the time” + “Often” 10%)
	Completely In Canal (CIC) (“All the time” + “Often” 8%)
Binaural as standard	Yes, n = 88 (89%)
	No, n = 11 (11%)
Real ear measurement	Yes, n = 77 (78%)
	Sometimes, n = 9 (9%)
	No, n = 13 (13%)
Provide volume control	Yes, n = 30 (30%)
	Sometimes, n = 66 (67%)
	No, n = 3 (3%)
	(n = 99)

*Total N represents all participants. “n” < “N” as a minority did not complete some variables.

Figure 1. Frequency of problems experienced when listening to music (a [n = 175]), and extent to which this negatively affects quality of life ( b [n = 167]) across all participants.

Figure 2. Do you experience problems when listening to music? Thematically coded responses (n = 105, percentages sum >100% as participants contributed to >1 theme).

Figure 3. Do problems listening to music negatively affect your quality of life? Thematically coded responses (n = 76, percentages sum >100% as participants contributed to >1 theme).

Figure 4. Frequency of discussions in clinic across all participants (a [n = 173]) and degree to which this has improved music listening experiences among those who had discussed music at least once ( b [n = 50]).

Figure 5. Have you ever talked to your audiologist about music listening? Thematically coded responses (n = 65, percentages sum >100% as participants contributed to >1 theme).

Figure 6. Percentage of patients who ask about issues related to music listening (a [n = 93]), and percentage of practitioners who report they ask patients about music in clinic (b, [n = 87]).

Figure 7. How frequently audiologists discussed various music topics in percentage (n = 93).

Figure 8. Audiologists’ rated usefulness of hearing aids are for music listening (n = 93).

Figure 9. Rated confidence in providing advice about music listening (a [n = 93]) and confidence fitting a music listening programme on hearing aids (b [n = 93]).

Figure 10. Years’ experience in programming hearing aids for music (a [n = 79]), and percentage of patients that practitioners programme a music programme for (b [n = 80]).

Figure 11. Strategies for programming hearing aids. Thematically coded responses (n = 53, percentages sum >100% as participants contributed to >1 theme).

Figure 12. What kind of training relating to music listening did you receive? Thematically coded responses (n = 35, percentages sum >100% as participants contributed to >1 theme).

Figure 13. Information sought about music listening for patients. Thematically coded responses (n = 35, percentages sum >100% as participants contributed to >1 theme).

Figure 14. Audiologists’ rated usefulness of resources on music and hearing aids in percentage (n = 93).