Investigation of the current supply system for hearing aids at stores in Japan

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine the status of the supply system for hearing aids at stores in Japan.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional, observational study. We mailed questionnaires to 4502 hearing aid stores in Japan and analyzed the responses.

RESULTS

Of the 4502 stores, 1032 (23%) responded. Most stores accessed audiogram information and adjusted hearing aids using computer fitting software. Overall, 43% of the stores only used the manufacturer's original prescription formula to adjust the hearing aid, and 47% of stores lacked a device for measuring the frequency response of the hearing aids. Moreover, 20% of the stores lacked both a sound field threshold measurement system and a real-ear measurement device. Objective evaluations, including functional gain, rear-ear insertion gain, and frequency response data, were not performed by 14% stores. Speech-language-hearing therapists were present in only 5.6% stores.

CONCLUSION

The findings revealed several key shortcomings in the hearing aid supply system at hearing aid stores in Japan.

Effects of Early Dysphagia Rehabilitation by Speech-language-hearing Therapists on Patients with Severe Aspiration Pneumonia

Objective:

To clarify the effect of early dysphagia rehabilitation, early rehabilitation was started within 2 days of admission by speech-language-hearing therapists in patients with severe aspiration pneumonia.

Methods:

The subjects were inpatients with severe aspiration pneumonia (A-DROP≥3) admitted to our hospital between April 2014 and March 2019. We retrospectively investigated patient age, sex, A-DROP score, community-acquired or nursing- and healthcare-associated pneumonia, invasive and noninvasive ventilation, comorbidities, nutritional risk, admission from nursing home, discharge to nursing home, walking ability before admission and at discharge, Food Intake LEVEL Scale (FILS) score at the start of rehabilitation and at discharge, the achievement of oral intake, alternative nutrition in use at discharge, number of days from admission to the start of rehabilitation, and number of days from admission to oral intake. We compared the patient characteristics and rehabilitation outcomes between 159 patients who underwent early dysphagia rehabilitation and 67 patients who underwent later dysphagia rehabilitation. To assess the association between alternative nutrition at discharge and early dysphagia rehabilitation, binominal logistic regression analysis was performed.

Results:

Early dysphagia rehabilitation was significantly associated with shorter hospital stays, fewer discharges to nursing homes, higher likelihood of oral intake, the removal of alternative nutrition at discharge, fewer days from admission to oral intake, and higher FILS scores at discharge. Early dysphagia rehabilitation was significantly associated with no alternative nutrition at discharge in binominal logistic regression analysis (odds ratio 3.26; P <0.01).

Conclusions:

This study suggested that early dysphagia rehabilitation was effective in improving outcomes of severe aspiration pneumonia including the removal of alternative nutrition at discharge.