Hearing aid loan program to improve end-of-life care

February 28, 2022

DeKalb, Ill. – Adrienne Battoe said her 91-year-old father, Miguel, is happier, more engaged and more aware now that he is wearing hearing aids.

“His overall personality has improved,” said Battoe, who lives in Naperville. “He is less frustrated; it improved his quality of life for sure.” Miguel is participating in the Hearing Aid Loan Program for Hospice Patients, a unique program created by NIU audiology professors King Chung and Diane ScheckLong, and NIU public health professor, M. Courtney Hughes.

The interdisciplinary collaboration between the School of Allied Health and Communicative Disorders and School of Health Studies professors started at a grants conference where Chung and Hughes realized their overlapping research interests. They decided to collaborate and establish a hearing aid loan program to serve hospice patients with hearing difficulties in the community and recruited ScheckLong.

Hughes highlights the problem the research team is addressing.

“Research shows that hearing impairment, and consequently communication with loved ones and medical providers, can be a problem for individuals who are at the end of their lives,” Hughes said.  “Unfortunately, there isn’t much awareness of this issue or programs to help hospice patients improve hearing.”

Schecklong said that communication with loved ones remains paramount throughout one’s life, and perhaps even more crucially at the end-of-life stage.

“No longer able to carry out daily life activities, an individual in the end stage of life may value most the ability to hear and communicate with those around them,” ScheckLong said.

Chung said that hospice patients may experience many challenges to obtain hearing aids such as limited mobility, the need to handle another medical device, and the high costs of hearing aids.

“Our program provides services at the locations of the patients and easy to handle hearing aids,” Chung said.

The free hearing aid loan program is designed to improve the communication between hospice patients with hearing difficulties and their caregivers, family, friends, and service providers. Hughes solicited instant-fit high-performance digital hearing aids with rechargeable batteries for the program from the Beltone Hearing Care Foundation, and the team secured seed funding from NIU’s College of Health and Human Sciences to pilot the program.

The goal is to provide hospice patients with the best hearing care with the least inconvenience.

“We are committed to facilitating better hearing at a time when nothing matters as much as staying connected to loved ones and caregivers,” ScheckLong said.

Mission accomplished.

“My dad has always talked loud and said he couldn’t hear,” Battoe said. “Since he started in the program, he is more engaged in what is happening at the house. It brightened him.”

Battoe said when Chung met with Miguel for the first time, she discovered that a large amount of ear wax was affecting his hearing. After ScheckLong removed the blockage, a hearing test indicated he needed hearing aids.

“Diane was absolutely amazing,” Battoe said. “She was so patient with my dad and took a lot of time with his care. This has made such a huge difference.”

ScheckLong said improving hearing for her patients is important at all times, but especially for hospice patients and their families.

“The stress on family members can be alleviated as the TV can be turned down to a softer, more reasonable volume, and their loved one is more engaged in conversation,” ScheckLong said. “We have seen family dynamics improve and easier communication with the hospice team.”

The program is free, but even after several inquiries, not many hospice patients have taken advantage of the offering. The research team is committed to practice safely and within the recommended guidelines, but COVID-19 restrictions have made spreading the word about the program and patient access challenging.

The team hopes to get the word out about the program so they can continue to make a difference in the lives of hospice patients in the community.

“When an individual cannot hear well, they appear withdrawn and disinterested in things around them,” ScheckLong said. “By fitting a person in the end stages of life with hearing aids, we hope to give them the opportunity to hear and communicate more easily.”

Hearing Aid Loan Program for Hospice Patients 

Individuals who are in hospice and experiencing hearing problems are eligible to receive a free initial hearing screening to see if this program could potentially benefit them. Please contact Dr. Diane ScheckLong at 815-753-6522 or dscheck@niu.edu.

Media contact: Jane Donahue

About NIU

Northern Illinois University is a student-centered, nationally recognized public research university, with expertise that benefits its region and spans the globe in a wide variety of fields, including the sciences, humanities, arts, business, engineering, education, health and law. Through its main campus in DeKalb, Illinois, and education centers for students and working professionals in Chicago, Naperville, Oregon and Rockford, NIU offers more than 100 areas of study while serving a diverse and international student body.