Disclosure(s): No financial or nonfinancial relationships to disclose.
Abstract: Healthy aging interventions include treating hearing loss and maintaining social ties. However, even those with treated hearing loss tend to avoid places with challenging conversational acoustics, leading to possible social isolation. The recent introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep neural networks (DNNs) in hearing aids has revealed less effortful hearing and improved satisfaction hearing in noise. The patient journey to "welcome back" must include (re)introduction to places typically avoided due to challenging acoustics.
Summary: The Journey to Welcome Back: Exploring the implications of well-fitted hearing aids at the intersection of healthy aging and maintenance of third places.
Sociologists describe places outside the home (the first place) and the workplace (the second place), where people go to converse with others and connect with their community as the "third place". Third places may look different around the world, but they typically act as a meet-up spot for friends or a place to strike up a conversation with a stranger. It can be said that a third place is a meeting ground to build relationships with others outside of home or work. Coffee shops and bars are some of the most common and popular third places in the United States (Roberts-Ganon, 2024). Increasingly, these "third places" are advocated as a (social) health promotion strategy for older adults (Jing et al., 2024). Places ripe with conversation and vibrancy can also, however, be a landmine full of auditory issues for those with hearing loss, and individuals with hearing loss even after being fitted with hearing aids are known to actively avoid places with challenging listening acoustics.
Lin, et al (2023), show that hearing intervention may reduce cognitive change over three years on populations of older adults at increased risk for cognitive decline. However, being fitted with hearing aids does not automatically equate to maintenance of third places. This could be in part because despite advances in directional microphones and most noise reduction algorithms, satisfaction in noise remained low (Appleton-Huber, et al., 2022), and the effort required to hear in noise remained high.
The recent introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep neural networks (DNNs) in hearing aid has revealed less effortful hearing in noise and improved satisfaction in noise. (Wright, A. et al., 2024; Miller, A. et al., 2024).
This learning module will explore the current patient issues, future trends, and the ways in which audiologists and hearing health care providers can assist the patient journey from hearing loss to successful (re)integration of third places, in effort to support healthy aging.
Brief Summary of Clinical Takeaways: The clinical takeaways for this session are current patient issues, future trends, and the ways in which audiologists and hearing health care providers can assist the patient journey from hearing loss to successful (re)integration of third places, in effort to support healthy aging.
Assumptions N/A
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion, participants will be able to describe the concept of a "Third Place" and its significance in social interactions.
Upon completion, participants will be able to explain the important of hearing well in third places and develop strategies to discuss this with patients
Upon completion, participants will be able to implement effective counseling techniques to guide patients in selecting and utilizing technology for success in challenging listening environments.
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