The Aging Hand and the Ergonomics of Hearing Aid Controls

Objectives: The authors investigated the effects of hand function and aging on the ability to manipulate different hearing instrument controls. Over the past quarter century, hearing aids and hearing aid controls have become increasingly miniaturized. It is important to investigate the aging hand and hearing aid ergonomics because most hearing aid wearers are adults aged 65 years and above, who may have difficulty handling these devices. Design: In Experiment 1, the effect of age on the ability to manipulate two different open-fit behind-the-ear style hearing aids was investigated by comparing the performance of 20 younger (18–25 years of age), 20 young–old (60–70 years of age), and 20 older adults (71–80 years of age). In Experiment 2, ability to manipulate 11 different hearing instrument controls was investigated in 28 older adults who self-reported having arthritis in their hand, wrist, or finger and 28 older adults who did not report arthritis. For both experiments, the relationship between performance on the measures of ability to manipulate the devices and performance on a battery of tests to assess hand function was investigated. Results: In Experiment 1, age-related differences in performance were observed in all the tasks assessing hand function and in the tasks assessing ability to manipulate a hearing aid. In Experiment 2, although minimal differences were observed between the two groups, significant differences were observed depending on the type of hearing instrument control. Performance on several of the objective tests of hand function was associated with the ability to manipulate hearing instruments. Conclusions: The overall pattern of findings suggest that haptic (touch) sensitivity in the fingertips and manual dexterity, as well as disability, pain, and joint stiffness of the hand, all contribute to the successful operation of a hearing instrument. However, although aging is associated with declining hand function and co-occurring declines in ability to manipulate a hearing instrument, for the sample of individuals in this study, including those who self-reported having arthritis, only minimal declines were observed.

[1]  M. Bryden.  Measuring handedness with questionnaires , 1977, Neuropsychologia.

[2]  D Stephens,et al.  In-the-ear and behind-the-ear hearing aids in the elderly. , 1993, Scandinavian audiology.

[3]  R. Hébert,et al.  The Purdue Pegboard Test: normative data for people aged 60 and over. , 1995, Disability and rehabilitation.

[4]  B. Christensen,et al.  In-the-ear hearing aids. The use and benefit in the elderly hearing-impaired. , 1988, Scandinavian audiology.

[5]  D. Brooks.  Factors relating to the under-use of postaural hearing aids. , 1985, British journal of audiology.

[6]  C. Helmick,et al.  Estimates of the prevalence of arthritis and selected musculoskeletal disorders in the United States. , 1998, Arthritis and rheumatism.

[7]  H W EWERTSEN,et al.  Hearing aid evaluation. , 1956, A.M.A. archives of otolaryngology.

[8]  M. Baron,et al.  Hand function in the elderly: relation to osteoarthritis. , 1987, The Journal of rheumatology.

[9]  Gresham Ge,et al.  Hand function in osteoarthritis. , 1982 .

[10]  A. Parving,et al.  Use and benefit of hearing aids in the tenth decade--and beyond. , 1991, Audiology : official organ of the International Society of Audiology.

[11]  M. Woollacott,et al.  Visual, vestibular and somatosensory contributions to balance control in the older adult. , 1989, Journal of gerontology.

[12]  Gurjit Singh.  The Aging Hand and Handling of Hearing Aids : A Review , 2010 .

[13]  David T Felson,et al.  Prevalence of symptomatic hand osteoarthritis and its impact on functional status among the elderly: The Framingham Study. , 2002, American journal of epidemiology.

[14]  L. Hickson,et al.  Factors associated with hearing aid use , 1986 .

[15]  J. Poole,et al.  Self-Reports of Hand Function in Persons with Diabetes , 2010, Occupational therapy in health care.

[16]  J P Estes,et al.  Osteoarthritis of the fingers. , 2000, Journal of hand therapy : official journal of the American Society of Hand Therapists.

[17]  A. Baumfield,et al.  Factors affecting the use and perceived benefit of ITE and BTE hearing aids , 2001, British journal of audiology.

[18]  C. Bombardier,et al.  Development of an upper extremity outcome measure: the DASH (disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand) [corrected]. The Upper Extremity Collaborative Group (UECG) , 1996, American journal of industrial medicine.

[19]  O. L. Zangwill,et al.  Somatosensory Changes after Penetrating Brain Wounds in Man , 1960 .

[20]  P. Kricos.  The Influence of Nonaudiological Variables on Audiological Rehabilitation Outcomes , 2000, Ear and hearing.

[21]  E. Carmeli,et al.  The aging hand. , 2003, The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences.

[22]  S Shaw,et al.  Manual dexterity and successful hearing aid use. , 2000, The Journal of laryngology and otology.

[23]  C. Bombardier,et al.  Development of an upper extremity outcome measure: The DASH (disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and head) , 1996 .

[24]  S. Vandenberg,et al.  Mental Rotations, a Group Test of Three-Dimensional Spatial Visualization , 1978, Perceptual and motor skills.

[25]  K O Johnson,et al.  The limit of tactile spatial resolution in humans , 1994, Neurology.

[26]  R. Buchbinder,et al.  Clinimetric properties of the AUSCAN Osteoarthritis Hand Index: an evaluation of reliability, validity and responsiveness. , 2002, Osteoarthritis and cartilage.

[27]  J. Tiffin,et al.  The Purdue pegboard; norms and studies of reliability and validity. , 1948, The Journal of applied psychology.

[28]  R. Hirsch,et al.  Symptomatic Hand Osteoarthritis in the United States: Prevalence and Functional Impairment Estimates from the Third U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1991–1994 , 2007, American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation.

[29]  R. Buchbinder,et al.  Dimensionality and clinical importance of pain and disability in hand osteoarthritis: Development of the Australian/Canadian (AUSCAN) Osteoarthritis Hand Index. , 2002, Osteoarthritis and cartilage.

[30]  Identifying the needs of elderly, hearing-impaired persons: the importance and utility of hearing aid attributes , 2002, European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology.

[31]  Hearing aid manipulation skills in an elderly population: a comparison of ITE, BTE, and ITC aids. , 1990, British journal of audiology.

[32]  R M Ruff,et al.  Gender- and Age-Specific Changes in Motor Speed and Eye-Hand Coordination in Adults: Normative Values for the Finger Tapping and Grooved Pegboard Tests , 1993, Perceptual and motor skills.

[33]  N. P. Erber.  Use of hearing aids by older people: influence of non-auditory factors (vision, manual dexterity) , 2003, International journal of audiology.

[34]  G. Glaser.  Somatosensory Changes After Penetrating Brain Wounds in Man , 1960, The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine.

[35]  N. Bellamy,et al.  A cross-sectional study of the association between Heberden's nodes, radiographic osteoarthritis of the hands, grip strength, disability and pain. , 2001, Osteoarthritis and cartilage.