Purpose
: to verify the self-assessment of knowledge of parents of hearing impaired children regarding hearing aids (HA) and earmolds and how the content of the “Babies´Portal – Hearing Section” website supported the understanding of such information.
Methods
: 22 parents (six men and 16 women, mean age 32,6 years) completed an anonymous online form available on the website with 36 questions about demographics, internet use and the guidance provided at the time of HA fitting. Also answered questions about the quality of website content.
Results
: on the fitting of hearing aids informational materials were provided only for 52,4% of parents, however, they were satisfied with the orientation. On average the helped provided by the website content was 86%. The score for satisfaction with the content and the website was related to the child’s age, duration of use of hearing aids and prior knowledge of parents about the topics on the hearing aid and ear mold.
Conclusion
: preliminary results indicate that the “Babies’ Portal” is an instrument that can help parents of hearing impaired children in the understanding of the guidance given at the time of HA fitting. The continuity of the study with a larger number of participants is required.
Hearing Loss; Hearing Aids; Audiology; Counseling; Telemedicine; Internet
