Hearing impairment is a frequent concomitant of the aging process. Successful rehabilitation of older adults with hearing impairment depends largely upon the cooperative efforts of the audiologist, the patient and the people involved in their daily lives. Individuals with hearing impairment who reside in long term care facilities rely frequently on nursing personnel to help provide assistance needed for effective communication, maintenance of their hearing aids/amplification devices and improvement of the quality of their lives. The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge, perceptions and learning needs of nursing personnel regarding the care of patients with hearing impairment. The information obtained was used to develop an in-service education program to be used for nursing staff development.

A questionnaire was administered to 259 nurses employed in two long term care facilities. The survey was designed to identify the subjects knowledge and understanding of: the identification of hearing impairment, rehabilitation skills, communication strategies and their perceived learning needs for continuing education.

The results of this study indicated an identified deficiency of information necessary for nurses to care for their patients with hearing impairment. Respondents demonstrated need for further education on topic areas such as: identification of behaviors and characteristics of residents with hearing impairment, hearing aid management skills and strategies for successful communication. The subjects consistently identified their perceived need for additional education to improve the care for their patients.

Results of the needs assessment were utilized for the development of an in-service education program. A model program was designed to be administered by audiologists or speech language pathologists as a component to nursing staff development. Adult learning principles and teaching strategies were incorporated into the educational curriculum and implementation strategies were addressed. It was recommended that the use of this program be preceded by an assessment of needs of the intended audience and be followed by an evaluation of the program effectiveness.