Evaluating hearing aid handling skills: A systematic and descriptive review

Objective: To review and appraise the content and quality of surveys that evaluate hearing aid handling. Design: A systematic and descriptive review. Study sample: Twelve surveys were identified as containing at least one item evaluating hearing aid handling. Results: Fifteen aspects of hearing aid handling were evaluated. None of the surveys evaluated all aspects of handling skills identified. While the majority of studies reported some psychometric evaluation during survey development, the quality of the methodology used and extent of psychometric evaluation reported varied considerably. Conclusions: There is currently no single survey that evaluates handling skills comprehensively. In the absence of an ideal survey, the Practical Hearing aid Skills Test appears to be the most inclusive clinician-administered survey and the Hearing aid User's Questionnaire appears to be the most inclusive self-report survey evaluating hearing aid handling precision; however, there are limitations in the analysis of their psychometric properties. Nonetheless, use of these surveys in clinical practice could identify areas of handling that warrant additional training in order to improve hearing aid success. Research identifying the full range of hearing aid handling skills necessary for successful hearing aid use will further contribute knowledge to the complex construct of successful hearing aid-use.