The Utilization of Social Media in the Hearing Aid Community

Stuttering on Instagram: What is the focus of stuttering-related Instagram posts and how do users engage with them?

PURPOSE

Instagram has become a popular platform for sharing and seeking health-related information, including stuttering. However, concerns have been raised about the accuracy, confidentiality, and potential negative impact of such information. This study aims to examine how stuttering is defined and understood on Instagram, and how users engage with related content.

METHODS

We analyzed highly engaged Instagram posts with the hashtag "#Stuttering" published within a year and their corresponding comments using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

The results revealed four main themes and nine sub-themes that highlighted different understandings of stuttering on Instagram, including the need for intervention, emotional impact on people who stutter, positive meanings, and mental health implications. User engagement varied based on the nature of the post, with users showing appreciation, objections, seeking advice, celebrating success stories, mocking, or advocating for people who stutter.

CONCLUSION

Although Instagram can serve as a means of normalizing stuttering and highlighting success stories, it raises concerns about the promotion of non-evidence-based treatments and the use of stuttering for political or entertainment purposes. This study emphasizes the need to critically evaluate health-related information presented on social media platforms. To provide reliable information to PWS and their families who seek information on social media, it is recommended to promote evidence-based information on stuttering through trustworthy organizations such as the National Stuttering Association or the Stuttering Foundation, particularly on special occasions like International Stuttering Awareness Day.

Evaluation of Parental Perspectives and Concerns about Pediatric Cochlear Implantation: A Social Media Analysis

OBJECTIVE

Parents often experience uncertainty during decision-making for their child's cochlear implantation (CI) surgery, and online forums provide insight on parental opinions that might not be expressed in clinic. This study aims to evaluate parental perspectives and concerns about pediatric CI using social media analysis.

STUDY DESIGN

Qualitative study.

SETTING

Three online forums involving parental posts about pediatric CI.

INTERVENTION/METHODS

Forums were queried using keywords (e.g., "cochlear implant") to gather all U.S. parent-initiated posts about pediatric CI from 2006 to 2021. Thematic content analysis was performed to classify posts by overarching domain, themes, and subthemes. Posts were reviewed for thematic synthesis and double coded. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each theme by unique users.

RESULTS

A total of 79 posts by 41 unique users were analyzed. Themes relating to decision for CI included facilitators, inhibitors, resources, and feelings. Parents posted about lack of benefit from hearing aids promoting decision for CI and high cost as an inhibitor. Some expressed concern about making a major decision for a minor. Parents often mentioned their child's healthcare providers and social media as resources.

CONCLUSION

Through social media posts, parental priorities and concerns for decision-making of CI surgery were identified. Findings may guide discussions between physicians and parents and facilitate shared decision-making about CI.

Social Media Utilization in Otolaryngology: A Scoping Review

OBJECTIVE

Social media (SM) is an increasingly popular medium for the medical community to engage with patients, trainees, and colleagues. This review aimed to identify reported uses of SM in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery (OHNS), assess the quality of evidence supporting these uses, and identify gaps in the literature. With the relative lack of regulatory guidelines for the development of SM content, we hypothesized that the quality of content available on SM would be highly variable.

DATA SOURCES AND METHODS

A scoping review was performed of English-language peer-reviewed studies published to date discussing SM use in any form within OHNS. Three reviewers independently screened all abstracts. Two reviewers independently extracted data of interest from the full text of articles identified from the preliminary abstract screen.

RESULTS

171 studies were included, with 94 (54.9%) studies published between 2020 and 2022. 104 (60.8%) studies were conducted in the US. 135 (78.9%) used cross-sectional or survey-based methodology; only 7 (4.1%) were controlled studies. SM was most commonly employed for professional networking (n = 37 [21%]), and within subspecialties of otology (n = 38 [22%]) and rhinology/allergy (n = 25 [15%]). Facebook was most frequently used for study recruitment (n = 23 [13.5%]), YouTube for patient education (n = 15 [14.6%]), and Twitter for professional networking (n = 16 [9.4%]).

CONCLUSION

SM use within OHNS is increasing rapidly, with applications including patient education, professional networking, and study recruitment. Despite myriad articles, there remains a paucity of well-controlled studies. As SM becomes integrated into healthcare, particularly for applications directly impacting patient care, higher levels of evidence are needed to understand its true impact. Laryngoscope, 133:2447-2456, 2023.

Twitter Perspectives on Cochlear Implantation: Sentiment and Thematic Analysis

OBJECTIVE

To identify themes that contribute to the most positive and negative perspectives of cochlear implants (CIs) on Twitter.

STUDY DESIGN

A cross-sectional qualitative study.

SETTING

Social media (Twitter).

METHODS

In this study, all English-language original tweets mentioning "cochlear implant" from 2019 to 2021 were collected from Twitter's Academic Research Database using a custom Python script. Sentiment analysis was performed using VADER, a sentiment analysis tool built to analyze the inherent positivity or negativity of social media posts. Tweets were quantitatively sorted by compound sentiment score (range -1 [most negative] to 1 [most positive]). Thematic analysis based on grounded theory was performed on the most positive, negative, and "liked" tweets.

RESULTS

Of the 19,376 tweets included, the average (standard deviation) compound sentiment score was 0.21 (0.46). A total of 10,375 (53.5%) tweets had a positive tone, 4965 (25.6%) were neutral and 4036 (20.8%) were negative. Of the 100 most negative tweets, the most prominent themes were media representation (21.9%), the controversy of CI within the Deaf community (19.8%), and unrelated to direct patient experience (16.7%). Of the 100 most positive tweets, the most prominent themes were tweets of happiness and support (25.0%), tweets unrelated to direct patient experience (18.0%), and tweets about hearing new sounds (10.0%).

CONCLUSION

While the majority of tweets on CI carried a positive tone, there are ongoing challenges with the stigma surrounding CI. Public perspectives of CI on social media may help clinicians counsel CI patients and elucidate issues that lead to newfound acceptance or ongoing stigma of CI in the general population.

To tweet or not to tweet in otorhinolaryngology, that is the question

OBJECTIVE

To describe the scientific medical literature devoted to the various interactions between otorhinolaryngology (ORL) and social networks.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A literature search, conducted on December 15, 2021, using the search engine of the United States National Library of Medicine (PubMed) and the key-words "otorhinolaryngology", "social network", and "Twitter", retrieved 321 articles for which Abstracts were read for selection of articles with qualitative and quantitative data regarding the various relationships between ORL and social media.

RESULTS

Forty-four articles were selected and analyzed. Thirty-nine originated from the USA and none from France or French-speaking countries. Only 1 article was a prospective randomized study. Schematically, two main types of publication were identified. The first dealt with user interactions, topics discussed, teaching of the ORL specialty and publicizing research. The second dealt with the limits and dangers of this new means of publicizing scientific thinking in our specialty. Reading these articles highlighted the role of social media in publicizing ORL research, and suggested distinct options to improve interactions between otorhinolaryngologists, patients and society as a whole.

CONCLUSION

At a time when society is demanding rapid access to medical research findings, just as it is mandatory to master and adhere to the rules for medical writing in research, it is also now necessary to learn how to communicate via social media and send a tweet if one wishes to publicize its research and/or exchange with patients.

Social Media Depictions of Cochlear Implants: An Instagram and TikTok Analysis

OBJECTIVE

To identify populations of authors who post about cochlear implants (CIs) on Instagram and TikTok, to illustrate the content of these posts, and to elucidate factors that might help surgeons better educate CI patients.

STUDY DESIGN

Qualitative study.

SETTING

Instagram and TikTok social media platforms.

PATIENTS

All public social media posts identified with the search terms below. Posts were excluded if unrelated to CIs or if written in a non-English language.

INTERVENTION

Instagram and TikTok were searched for posts from March 2021 through September 2021 with the search terms #cochlearimplant, #cochlearimplants, #cochlearimplantkids, #cochlearkids, and #cochlearfamily.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Posts were subclassified and analyzed for content including topics of posts, authorship, timeframe of posts, depiction of CIs, and popularity.

RESULTS

Of 1,942 posts included in the final analysis, 1,400 were found on Instagram and 542 on TikTok. Authors were mostly patients (n = 771, 39.7%), companies (n = 568, 29.2%), and patients' family members (n = 482, 24.8%). Only 21 posts were made by physicians (1.1%). Out of 379 total educational posts examined, patients themselves were the most common authors (n = 219, 57.8%) followed by patients' family members (n = 139, 36.7%). Physicians authored only a small fraction of all educational posts (n = 19, 5.0%).

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed minimal physician involvement in the CI social media spheres of Instagram and TikTok. In addition, there were few educational posts on either platform, revealing ample opportunity for physicians to become more involved with CI social media.

Social Media Use in Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, and Vestibular Disorders: A Systematic Review

Background:

People are increasingly using social media outlets for gathering health-related information. There has also been considerable interest from researchers and clinicians in understanding how social media is used by the general public, patients, and health professionals to gather health-related information. Interest in the use of social media for audiovestibular disorders has also received attention, although published evidence synthesis of this use is lacking. The objective of this review article was to synthesize existing research studies related to social media use concerning hearing loss, tinnitus, and vestibular disorders.

Method:

Comprehensive searches were performed in multiple databases between October and November 2020 and again in June 2021 and March 2022, with additional reports identified from article citations and unpublished literature. This review article was presented using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

Results:

A total of 1,512 articles were identified. Of these, 16 publications met the inclusion criteria. Overall, social media offered people the platform to learn about hearing loss, tinnitus, and vestibular disorders via advice and support seeking, personal experience sharing, general information sharing, and relationship building. Research studies were more common on information and user activities seen on Facebook Pages, Twitter, and YouTube videos. Misinformation was identified across all social media platforms for each of these conditions.

Conclusions:

Online discussions about audiovestibular disorders are evident, although inconsistencies in study procedures make it difficult to compare these discussion groups. Misinformation is a concern needing to be addressed during clinical consultations as well as via other public health means. Uniform guidelines are needed for research regarding the use of social media so that outcomes are comparable. Moreover, clinical studies examining how exposure to and engagement with social media information may impact outcomes (e.g., help seeking, rehabilitation uptake, rehabilitation use, and satisfaction) require exploration.

Supplemental Material:

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.20667672

A Comparison of the Use of Smart Devices, Apps, and Social Media Between Adults With and Without Hearing Impairment: Cross-sectional Web-Based Study

Background

eHealth and social media could be of particular benefit to adults with hearing impairment, but it is unknown whether their use of smart devices, apps, and social media is similar to that of the general population.

Objective

Our aim is to study whether adults with normal hearing and those with impaired hearing differ in their weekly use of smart devices, apps, and social media; reasons for using social media; and benefits from using social media.

Methods

We used data from a Dutch cohort, the National Longitudinal Study on Hearing. Data were collected from September 2016 to April 2020 using a web-based questionnaire and speech-in-noise test. The results from this test were used to categorize normal hearing and hearing impairment. Outcomes were compared using (multiple) logistic regression models.

Results

Adults with impaired hearing (n=384) did not differ from normal hearing adults (n=341) in their use of a smartphone or tablet. They were less likely to make use of social media apps on a smartphone, tablet, or smartwatch (age-adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.67, 95% CI 0.48-0.92; P=.02). Use of social media on all devices and use of other apps did not differ. Adults with hearing impairment were more likely to agree with using social media to stay in touch with family members (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.16-2.07; P=.003) and friends (age-adjusted OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.01-1.81; P=.046). Furthermore, they were more likely to agree with using social media to perform their work (age-adjusted OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.04-2.18; P=.03). There were no differences in the experienced benefits from social media.

Conclusions

The potential for eHealth is confirmed because adults with hearing impairment are not less likely to use smart devices than their normal hearing peers. Adults with hearing impairment are less likely to use social media apps on a smart device but not less likely to use social media on all types of internet-connected devices. This warrants further research on the types of social media platforms that adults with hearing impairment use and on the type of device on which they prefer to use social media. Given that participants with hearing impairment are more likely than their normal hearing peers to use social media to perform their work, use of social media may be seen as an opportunity to enhance vocational rehabilitation services for persons with hearing impairment.

Online, Asynchronous Hearing Education and Research Project for Ethnically Diverse Adolescents via Interprofessional Collaboration and Electronic Service-Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Pilot Study on the Needs and Challenges

Purpose This study discusses the creation of an online, asynchronous presentation to educate adolescents about prevention of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) through interprofessional collaborations and electronic service-learning (eSL) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method The Hearing Education and Research (HEAR) presentation, which included activities and videos to educate a group of ethnically diverse adolescents (n = 100) on NIHL, was created by 11 doctor of audiology (AuD) students through online collaborations toward course-related eSL requirements. Adolescents responded to a baseline survey to assess hearing health-related behaviors prior to reviewing the presentation. A postprogram survey was administered 1 week after the presentation to assess change in knowledge and attitudes toward NIHL prevention. Online collaborations with schoolteachers helped with project implementation. Postreflection papers written by AuD students regarding the eSL activities were analyzed. Lastly, suggestions from a focus group of educators were included that highlight the role of interprofessional collaborations to enhance school-based hearing conservation opportunities. Results The HEAR presentation resulted in changes in knowledge about NIHL among the adolescents. Postreflection papers by the AuD students indicated that the eSL activity served as a high-impact pedagogical assignment, especially during the academic challenges of the pandemic. Feedback from a focus group of schoolteachers helped outline ideas for future implementation of sustainable hearing conservation programs in school settings. Conclusion The pilot data collected in this study serve as a proof of concept for future hearing conservation projects in school-based settings via interprofessional collaborations and by engaging university students via eSL.

A Content Analysis of YouTube Videos Related to Hearing Aids

BACKGROUND

Increasingly, people access Internet-based health information about various chronic conditions including hearing loss and hearing aids. YouTube is one media source that has gained much popularity in recent years.

PURPOSE

The current study examines the source, content, understandability, and actionability of YouTube videos related to hearing aids.

RESEARCH DESIGN

Cross-sectional design by analyzing the videos at single point in time.

STUDY SAMPLE

One hundred most frequently viewed videos in YouTube.

INTERVENTION

Not applicable.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

The 100 most-viewed English language videos targeting individuals seeking information regarding hearing aids were identified and manually coded. Data collection included general information about the video (e.g., source, title, authorship, date of upload, duration of video), popularity-driven measures (e.g., number of views, likes, dislikes), and the video source (consumer, professional, or media). The video content was analyzed to examine what pertinent information they contained in relation to a predetermined fact sheet. Understandability and actionability of the videos were examined using the Patient Education Material Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials.

RESULTS

Of the 100 most-viewed videos, 11 were consumer-based, 80 were created by professionals, and the remaining 9 were media-based. General information about hearing aids, hearing aid types, and handling and maintenance of hearing aids were the most frequently discussed content categories with over 50% of all videos commenting on these areas. Differences were noted between source types in several content categories. The overall understandability scores for videos from all sources were 74%, which was considered adequate; however, the actionability scores for all the videos were 68%, which is considered inadequate.

CONCLUSION

YouTube videos about hearing aids focused on a range of issues and some differences were found between source types. The poor actionability of these videos may result in incongruous consumer actions. Content and quality of the information in hearing aid YouTube videos needs to be improved with input from professionals.

Online support group users' perceptions and experiences of bone-anchored hearing aids (BAHAs): a qualitative study

Objective: Better understanding of the decision-making process for bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) candidates has been identified by clinicians as a research priority. This study aimed to understand experiences and perceptions of BAHA candidates and users who use online support groups.Design: One thousand posts retrieved from a public UK-based online support group were thematically analysed.Study sample: Messages were posted by 270 BAHA users and candidates.Results: Individuals used the online group to obtain information about BAHAs and support for decision-making regarding accepting BAHA surgery and wearing a percutaneous device. BAHA users evaluated the efficacy of the system, perceiving it to be highly effective in improving their hearing. The BAHA influenced individuals' self-image and impacted their social lives. Fears of surgery and post-implantation infections were regarded as challenges to be faced when choosing to accept implantation.Conclusions: BAHA candidates found the online support group useful in helping them to decide whether or not to proceed with surgery, and the personal experiences of BAHA users were predominantly positive. However, it is not clear to what extent such positive experiences are representative of BAHA users more generally, and candidates need to be aware of this when using these groups to support decision-making.

Twitter Usage Using Common Reference to Tinnitus

Objective The objective of the study was to examine specific patterns of Twitter usage using common reference to tinnitus. Method The study used cross-sectional analysis of data generated from Twitter data. Twitter content, language, reach, users, accounts, temporal trends, and social networks were examined. Results Around 70,000 tweets were identified and analyzed from May to October 2018. Of the 100 most active Twitter accounts, organizations owned 52%, individuals owned 44%, and 4% of the accounts were unknown. Commercial/for-profit and nonprofit organizations were the most common organization account owners (i.e., 26% and 16%, respectively). Seven unique tweets were identified with a reach of over 400 Twitter users. The greatest reach exceeded 2,000 users. Temporal analysis identified retweet outliers (> 200 retweets per hour) that corresponded to a widely publicized event involving the response of a Twitter user to another user's joke. Content analysis indicated that Twitter is a platform that primarily functions to advocate, share personal experiences, or share information about management of tinnitus rather than to provide social support and build relationships. Conclusions Twitter accounts owned by organizations outnumbered individual accounts, and commercial/for-profit user accounts were the most frequently active organization account type. Analyses of social media use can be helpful in discovering issues of interest to the tinnitus community as well as determining which users and organizations are dominating social network conversations.

Media Use by Older Adults With Hearing Loss: An Exploratory Survey

Objectives There has been a substantial increase in people with health conditions seeking health-related information online. The aim of this study was to examine the media usage by older adults with hearing loss. Method The study used a cross-sectional survey design. A total of 556 older adults with hearing loss (Hearing Tracker website users) completed the survey that was focused on (a) demographic information, (b) general electronic media usage, (c) sources of hearing health information, and (d) social media use for hearing health information. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests. Results When seeking hearing health care information, the majority of the participants turned to the Internet (54%) followed by health professionals (34%) as the first response to their symptoms. Both sources were also rated as the easiest means of obtaining hearing health information. The information from health care providers was rated as more reliable and important for decision making than that from the Internet. Facebook and YouTube were the most frequently used social media platforms with over 40% of the respondents using them "most of the time" or "sometimes." All the social media platforms were rated less favorably than other sources for ease of finding information, reliability, and importance in decision making. Conclusion Older adults with hearing loss use various forms of electronic media for seeking hearing health information. They place the most trust on the information obtained from hearing health care professionals. These professionals need to be aware of the quality of information available on the Internet and social media sources in order to direct patients to credible sources. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12170397.

Consumer Opinion of Personal Sound Amplification Products: A Preliminary Sentiment Analysis

Purpose The purpose of this study was to preliminarily investigate the sentiments associated with consumer opinions of personal sound amplification products (PSAPs). Method Online reviews of 21 popular PSAPs were collected from the Amazon.com website. The reviews for each product were exported to compile individual product-specific text files. A sentiment mining analysis was completed to aggregate the number of positive and negative comments for each product. In addition, the effect of value for money, available features, perceived benefit, and overall perception of PSAPs was evaluated. A correlational analysis was completed to examine the relationship between different PSAP features and the number of positive and negative comments. Results Mixed-model analysis of variance showed a significantly higher number of positive comments for high- and mid-cost products in terms of overall perception and perceived benefit compared to low-cost products. For feature attribute, high-cost products had significantly higher positive comments compared to mid- and low-cost products. There was a strong correlation between price and positive comments and a moderate correlation between price and negative comments. Also, there was a significant moderate correlation between presence of compression and feedback suppression PSAP features and positive comments. Conclusions Positive sentiments expressed toward PSAPs were found to favor high- and mid-level products. However, there was a considerably high number of negative sentiments reported across all the PSAPs investigated. The noticeable thing is that the negative comments do not change significantly across price ranges. However, the positive comments significantly increase with an increase in product price range. This indicates a possible increase in benefit with high-cost products. However, this claim requires further empirical evidence through controlled studies.

The Impact of Social Media on Communication Sciences and Disorders: A Need for Examination and Research

Purpose

Peer-reviewed research is the typical pathway for research to be implemented into clinical practice. However, the Internet, digital technology, and social media have introduced significant changes for how this information is shared, publicized, evaluated, and utilized. Some of these changes are positive, such as rapid distribution of needed information, whereas others are negative, such as widespread dissemination and influence of fake news and misinformation. The purpose of this editorial is to provide a brief look at how these negative changes have affected the helping professions.

Conclusion

In view of the wide-ranging challenges and influences described here, this editorial is a call for action to our researchers, educators, and clinicians to examine how social media has impacted the scientific practice of communication sciences and disorders. It concludes with a series of questions and examples for how this examination might unfold.

A Facebook Page Created Soon After the Amatrice Earthquake for Deaf Adults and Children, Families, and Caregivers Provides an Easy Communication Tool and Social Satisfaction in Maxi-Emergencies

Although international and Italian conventions have issued numerous communication protocols to assist people with disabilities during earthquakes or other maxi-emergencies, no tailored strategies exist to create and disseminate information online to deaf people. On August 24, 2016, a devastating earthquake destroyed Amatrice in Central Italy. This natural disaster underlined the lack of information on disabled people possibly involved and the lack of tailored, online communication tools. Having various registries listing disabled residents in the earthquake area might have benefitted emergency procedures. To access information easily and expedite risk management, the authors developed an online information tool for deaf persons, their families, and caregivers. Within hours after the earthquake, they published a Facebook page (Facebook, Inc.; Menlo Park, California USA) including a video provided with subtitles, Italian sign language, and service numbers. Those who accessed the Facebook page spread the information to other social media. Although no registry yet specifies figures, the annual incidence of approximately three to five/1,000 new deaf persons diagnosed in Italy implies that around 5.4% of the total 43,507 Italian deaf people live in the earthquake territory, and presumably 1.3% are younger than 18 years of age. The Facebook page obtained unexpectedly numerous accesses and satisfaction from deaf adults and families with deaf children, as well as hearing family relatives and caregivers. A total of 60% deaf and 10% hearing people asked for more information. Despite limitations, the effort to develop a page for deaf people and their families, via a world-wide social media, permits fast access, outlines safety precautions during maxi-emergencies, and disseminates essential information designed for deaf people on civil protection services. The Facebook page provides a replicable example for developing similar, user-friendly, online tools for disabled groups to disseminate important safety information after earthquakes or other maxi-emergencies.Rotondi L, Zuddas M, Marsella P, Rosati P. A Facebook page created soon after the Amatrice Earthquake for deaf adults and children, families, and caregivers provides an easy communication tool and social satisfaction in maxi-emergencies. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2019;34(2):137-141.

Representation of Hearing Loss and Hearing Aids in the U.S. Newspaper Media: Cross-Sectional Analysis of Secondary Data

Purpose News media plays an important role in formulating people's knowledge and opinions about various aspects of life, including health. The current study explored how hearing loss and hearing aids are represented in the U.S. newspaper media. Method A cross-sectional study design was selected to analyze publicly available newspaper media data. The data sets were generated from the database, the U.S. Major Dailies by ProQuest, by searching key words for newspapers published during 1990-2017. Cluster analysis (i.e., text pattern analysis) and chi-square tests were performed using Iramuteq software. Results The hearing loss data set had 1,527 texts (i.e., articles). The cluster analysis resulted in 7 clusters, which were named as (1) causes and consequences (26.1%), (2) early identification and diagnosis (9%), (3) health promotion and prevention (22.1%), (4) recreational noise exposure (10.4%), (5) prevalence (14.3%), (6) research and development (12.4%), and (7) cognitive hearing science (5.6%). The hearing aids data set had 2,667 texts. The cluster analysis resulted in 8 clusters, which were named as (1) signal processing (20.2%), (2) insurance (8.9%), (3) prevalence (12.4%), (4) research and development (5.4%), (5) activities and relation (16.2%), (6) features to address background noise (13.8%), (7) innovation (12%), and (8) wireless and connectivity (11.1%). Time series analysis of clusters in both "hearing loss" and "hearing aids" data sets indicated changes in the pattern of information presented in the newspaper media during 1990-2016 (e.g., Cluster 7 focuses on cognitive hearing science in a hearing loss data set emerging only since the year 2012 and growing rapidly). Conclusions The text pattern analysis showed that the U.S. newspaper media focuses on a range of issues when considering hearing loss and hearing aids and that patterns or trends change over time. The study results can be helpful for hearing health care professionals to understand what presuppositions society in general may have as the media has the ability to influence societal perception and opinions.

"Before Facebook and before social media…we did not know anybody else that had this": parent perspectives on internet and social media use during the pediatric clinical genetic testing process

Parents of children who undergo clinical genetic testing have significant informational and emotional support needs at different stages of the testing process. We analyzed parent views about use of both the internet and social media to help meet these needs. We interviewed 20 parents of children who underwent clinical genetic testing and analyzed transcripts to identify themes related to internet and social media use. Parents described using the internet to search for information at three stages of the genetic testing process: before testing, pending results return, and after results return. Each stage corresponded to different information vacuums and needs. Parents also described using condition-specific Facebook groups to learn more about their child's condition and to find support networks of families with similar experiences in ways that were challenging using non-social media approaches. Both the internet and social media play important roles in meeting informational and support needs in pediatric genetic testing, especially for rare conditions. Providers should consider engaging parents at different stages of the testing process about their use of the internet and social media, and consider directing them to vetted sites and groups as part of shared decision making and to improve satisfaction and outcomes.

A Study of Social Media Utilization by Individuals With Tinnitus

PURPOSE

As more people experience tinnitus, social awareness of tinnitus has consequently increased, due in part to the Internet. Social media platforms are being used increasingly by patients to seek health-related information for various conditions including tinnitus. These online platforms may be used to seek guidance from and share experiences with individuals suffering from a similar disorder. Some social media platforms can also be used to communicate with health care providers. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of tinnitus-related information on social media platforms.

METHOD

The present investigation analyzed the portrayal of tinnitus-related information across 3 social media platforms: Facebook (pages and groups), Twitter, and YouTube. We performed a comprehensive analysis of the platforms using the key words "tinnitus" and "ringing in the ears." The results on each platform were manually examined by 2 reviewers based on social media activity metrics, such as "likes," "followers," and "comments."

RESULTS

The different social media platforms yielded diverse results, allowing individuals to learn about tinnitus, seek support, advocate for tinnitus awareness, and connect with medical professionals. The greatest activity was seen on Facebook pages, followed by YouTube videos. Various degrees of misinformation were found across all social media platforms.

CONCLUSIONS

The present investigation reveals copious amounts of tinnitus-related information on different social media platforms, which the community with tinnitus may use to learn about and cope with the condition. Audiologists must be aware that tinnitus sufferers often turn to social media for additional help and should understand the current climate of how tinnitus is portrayed. Clinicians should be equipped to steer individuals with tinnitus toward valid information.

Representation of Tinnitus in the US Newspaper Media and in Facebook Pages: Cross-Sectional Analysis of Secondary Data

Background

When people with health conditions begin to manage their health issues, one important issue that emerges is the question as to what exactly do they do with the information that they have obtained through various sources (eg, news media, social media, health professionals, friends, and family). The information they gather helps form their opinions and, to some degree, influences their attitudes toward managing their condition.

Objective

This study aimed to understand how tinnitus is represented in the US newspaper media and in Facebook pages (ie, social media) using text pattern analysis.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study based upon secondary analyses of publicly available data. The 2 datasets (ie, text corpuses) analyzed in this study were generated from US newspaper media during 1980-2017 (downloaded from the database US Major Dailies by ProQuest) and Facebook pages during 2010-2016. The text corpuses were analyzed using the Iramuteq software using cluster analysis and chi-square tests.

Results

The newspaper dataset had 432 articles. The cluster analysis resulted in 5 clusters, which were named as follows: (1) brain stimulation (26.2%), (2) symptoms (13.5%), (3) coping (19.8%), (4) social support (24.2%), and (5) treatment innovation (16.4%). A time series analysis of clusters indicated a change in the pattern of information presented in newspaper media during 1980-2017 (eg, more emphasis on cluster 5, focusing on treatment inventions). The Facebook dataset had 1569 texts. The cluster analysis resulted in 7 clusters, which were named as: (1) diagnosis (21.9%), (2) cause (4.1%), (3) research and development (13.6%), (4) social support (18.8%), (5) challenges (11.1%), (6) symptoms (21.4%), and (7) coping (9.2%). A time series analysis of clusters indicated no change in information presented in Facebook pages on tinnitus during 2011-2016.

Conclusions

The study highlights the specific aspects about tinnitus that the US newspaper media and Facebook pages focus on, as well as how these aspects change over time. These findings can help health care providers better understand the presuppositions that tinnitus patients may have. More importantly, the findings can help public health experts and health communication experts in tailoring health information about tinnitus to promote self-management, as well as assisting in appropriate choices of treatment for those living with tinnitus.