Hearing impairment in Adults: a Longitudinal Outcomes Study (HALOS)

The Hearing impairment in Adults: A Longitudinal Outcomes Study (HALOS) is a national, prospective, observational study on health and social outcomes from hearing device users (hearing aid & cochlear implant) aged 40 years and over. The HALOS study will collect audiological, health, psychosocial, cognitive and functional outcomes that will be collected cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Participants will be surveyed at three time-points, (1) baseline, (2) 24-month follow-up, and (3) 48-month follow up. Participants will be required to fill out a 60-minute online survey using REDCap at each time-point which will assess the following outcomes: 1. Demographic, medical & treatment-related details 2. Health Utilities Index-3 (HUI-3) 3. Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-43 (PROMIS-43) 4. Social Participation Restrictions Questionnaire (SPaRQ) 5. Hearing Handicap Inventory for Screening (HHIE-S) 6. Speech, Spatial & Qualities of Hearing Scale short form (SSQ-12) 7. International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Devices (IDI-HD) 8. Attitudes towards Loss of Hearing Questionnaire (ALHQ) 9. Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ) 10. Falls History 11. FRAIL Scale 12. Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) 13. Individual Work Performance Questionnaire 14. Quantitative Job Security 15. Short-Form Unmet Needs Survey (SF-SUNS) 16. Interpersonal Relationship Functioning 17. Food Security Survey In addition to the survey, participants will complete a short 15 minute online computerised cognitive assessment using the Cogstate Brief Battery which includes 4 tests: Detection (rection time), identification test (choice reaction time), one card learning test (visual memory) and one back test (working memory). Participants will complete this unsupervised in their own homes. Audiometric data will be obtained from hearing service providers for participants who have provided consent. The collected data will include audiometric thresholds for air and bone conduction stimuli in both ears for frequencies at 0.25 to 8.0 kHz and/or four-frequency average hearing loss (4FAHL) data. When the participant first presented to the clinic and type of amplification device used will also be collected. A qualitative component will be conducted at baseline only in a subset of participants, in the form of semi-structured interviews conducted via telephone by a research assistant. This will investigate the experiences of the patient journey and the navigation of the hearing health service pathway. Participating in the interview is optional and the first 28 consenting participants (14 Hearing Aid and 14 Cochlear Implant users) will complete the interview.