Izazovi odraslih korisnika slušne amplifikacije tokom pandemije Covid-19

Abstract

Uvod: Pandemija Covid-19 uticala je u značajnoj meri na mnoge aspekte života ljudi, posebno u oblasti zdravstvene nege i socijalne zaštite. Mnoge starije osobe ograničile su kretanje, posete porodici i društvene aktivnosti u strahu od zarazne bolesti koja može imati veoma ozbiljne posledice. Dodatno mere opreza, u smislu fizičkog distanciranja i obaveze nošenje zaštitnih maski, postavile su pred osobe oštećenog sluha jedinstven izazov utičući na intenzitet i kvalitet govornog signala uz narušenu mogućnost ščitavanja govora sa lica i usana sagovornika. Cilj: Istraživanje je imalo za cilj da ispita u kojoj meri su se korisnici slušne amplifikacije odraslog životnog doba susretali sa različitim izazovima tokom trajanja pandemije Covid-19. Metode: Za potrebe ovog istraživanja konstruisan je poseban upitnik, a ispitanici su svoje odgovore davali na trostepenoj skali Likertovog tipa. Rezultati: Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su da je jedan od glavnih izazova ispitanika tokom pandemije bila komunikacija sa drugim ljudima. Kao poseban problem efikasne komunikacije ispitanici su istakli široku upotrebu zaštitnih maski i izbegavanje komunikacije sa nepoznatim ljudima iz straha da se neće razumeti. Ispitanici su naglasili problem promena u slušanju putem slušnih aparata tokom pandemije, kao i propratne oscilacije raspoloženja prema korišćenju same amplifikacije. Iako je većina ispitanika bila zadovoljna mogućnošću servisiranja i popravke slušnih aparata, nijedan ispitanik nije naveo mogućnost podrške u vidu auditorne rehabilitacije. Zaključak: Pandemija korona virusa istakla je potrebu za razvijanjem mreže alternativnih metoda i pristupa u pružanju surdoloških usluga njenim korisnicima, koja bi trebalo da bude prepoznata kao dodatni oblik pružanja usluga u oblasti savetodavnog rada, rehabilitacije, rešavanja svakodnevnih problema sa slušnim pomagalima. Takav način rada omogućio bi nesmetanu stručnu podršku korisnicima slušne amplifikacije ne samo u ekstremnim situacijama kakva je pandemija već i u redovnim okolnostima svima kojima iz različitih razloga takva podrška do sada nije bila uvek dostupna

Introduction. The Covid-19 pandemic has considerably affected many aspects of human life, especially healthcare and social services. The contacts of elderly people with family and friends, as well as their social activities, have been drastically reduced due to fear of contagious diseases with potentially serious consequences. Preventive measures of physical distancing and obligatory protective masks have brought additional challenges for hearing-impaired persons because of the decreased intensity and muffled quality of speech signals as well as the lack of visual cues because of the face masks. Objective. The study aimed to identify the challenges that adult hearing aid users faced during the Covid-19 pandemic. Methods. A special questionnaire was developed for the purpose of this study with a 3-point Likert type of scale. Results. The results of the study have shown that effective communication with other people during the pandemic was a great challenge for hearing-impaired participants. They pointed out the use of face masks and avoidance of communication with other people due to the fear of misunderstanding others. The participants noticed some changes in listening with hearing aids as well as mood swings and compliance to hearing aids. Most of the participants were satisfied with the access to hearing aids, fitting, and repair services, but none of them had access to rehabilitation and advisory support. Conclusion. The Covid-19 pandemic revealed the need for developing a network for alternative methods and approaches in surdology to provide advisory and rehabilitation services for hearing-impaired people as well as technical support for hearing aid users. That would be the way to provide ongoing support for hearing aid users, not only in extreme situations, such as the pandemic, but to increase the accessibility of those services in everyday life for all users.