Senior Director of Audiology Signia University of Wisconsin Golden Valley, Minnesota
Disclosure(s): Signia: Employment (Ongoing)
Abstract: Recently, a new clinical tool for assessing listening-related fatigue in adults was developed and validated. The Vanderbilt Fatigue Scale for Adults (VFS-A-10) is a 10-item self-report that, as its creators state, "allows for the quick and reliable assessment of listening-related fatigue" in adults. The objective of this study was to test this assertion by administering the VFS-A-10 on a small sample size (n=30) of adult hearing aid wearers in private practice and then collecting feedback from patients and clinicians on the overall feasibility and ease of use of the VFS-A-10 in the assessment and remediation of listening-related fatigue.
Summary: Listening-related fatigue is a highly prevalent condition in many adults with hearing loss. However, a valid and clinic-friendly way to accurately assess this condition remains elusive. Recently, however, a new clinical tool for assessing listening-related fatigue in adults was developed and validated. The Vanderbilt Fatigue Scale for Adults (VFS-A-10) is a 10-item self-report that, as its creators state, "allows for the quick and reliable assessment of listening-related fatigue" in adults. This study administered the VFS-A-10 to 30 adult hearing aid candidates, randomly selected by two clinicians in a private practice. All 30 adult hearing aid wearers were observed to have normal cognitive function with mild to moderate-severe, medically uncomplicated hearing loss.
The objective of the study was twofold. One is to collect listening-related fatigue scores using the VFS-A-10 on adult hearing aid wearers pre and post-fitting to investigate the amount of relative listening-related benefit hearing aid wearers might expect to achieve. Two, to investigate from both the patient's and clinician's perspective the feasibility and ease of use associated with the administration of the VFS-A-10 during both the pre-fitting consultation and post-fitting follow-up processes in a busy private practice.
Given the significant problem listening-related fatigue causes adults with hearing loss combined with the lack of a practical clinical tool to use as part of the assessment and counseling process, this study provides important insights on how the VFS-A-10 can become part of routine standard of care as well as how clinicians can implement it in their practice.
Learning Objectives:
To implement the VFS-A-10 self-report as part of a routine standard of care in adult hearing aid wearers
