Ask an Audiologist: Are Hearing Aids Helpful for People with MS?
Hearing Solutions’ hearing health providers receive many different questions about hearing loss and hearing aids.
Some people who come to our clinics have pre-existing health issues and wonder how those health conditions will affect their hearing and its treatment.
Hearing Solutions Audiologist, Stephanie Loder tackled a question about Multiple Sclerosis and Receptive Aphasia.
Ask an Audiologist
Would hearing aids be useful for MS patients experiencing hearing loss and/or receptive aphasia?
Audiologist Response
Thank you for your submission to Ask an Audiologist.
The best way to determine if the patient is a candidate for hearing aids is to complete a full hearing assessment and hearing aid evaluation. If the patient has a hearing loss, I do not believe that MS and receptive aphasia should preclude the benefits of hearing aids.
Hearing aids help to improve speech reception and understanding; when a patient has a language disorder it is helpful for them to receive as much speech information as possible. When an Audiologist prescribes hearing aids, they will consider the patient’s global health and lifestyle, including dexterity and other communication disorders. The Audiologist will also discuss realistic expectations for communication abilities with the use of hearing aids.
I recommend that this patient schedule a hearing test to find out if hearing aids could help them to improve their quality of life. We would be happy to schedule a free hearing test appointment at their convenience.
I hope that this information is helpful to you. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Loder, B.Sc., M.Cl.Sc., Reg. CASLPO Audiologist, Aud(C)
Stephanie is a registered Audiologist with the College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario. Stephanie currently sees patients at Hearing Solutions’ Carlingwood Shopping Centre location in Ottawa.
