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Adult aural rehabilitation involves perceived self-efficacy for managing everyday communication situations, the use of Goal Attainment Scaling in Adult Aural Rehabilitation, barriers and facilitators to the use of assistive technology, determining Aural Rehabilitation readiness, university classroom hearing accessibility, universal hearing design, and workplace accessibility assessment for older adults with hearing loss.

Hearing loss is the most commonly reported chronic disability for older adults and it has a significant impact on all aspects of an individual's life. Older adults are not routinely referred for hearing healthcare services and of those who do obtain services, only a small number follow through with the purchase and use of hearing assistive technologies. AR programs that support the individual and significant others in coping with the impact of hearing loss are not readily available to Canadians. Research in the Robert B. Johnston Aural Rehabilitation Lab is focused on the AR needs of older adults in Canada. Topics include:

• The role of perceived self-efficacy in adult AR,
• The application of Goal Attainment Scaling in adult AR,
• Determining readiness for AR,
• The benefits of group AR programs,
• Barriers and facilitators to the use of assistive technologies,
• University classroom hearing accessibility,
• Universal hearing design,
• Workplace accessibility assessment for older adults with hearing loss.

The results of this research are disseminated through scientific publications and conference presentations. Although aural rehabilitation (AR) has been recognized as a key component within the practice of Audiology, only a limited number of services are currently available. The Robert B. Johnston Aural Rehabilitation Laboratory aims to gather evidence of the outcomes of these services, to design evidence-based services, and to promote inclusion of these services into clinical practice.

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (2001), Audiologic/aural rehabilitation (AR) is an ecological, interactive process that facilitates one’s ability to minimize or prevent the limitations and restrictions that auditory dysfunctions can impose on well-being and communication, including interpersonal, psychosocial, educational, and vocational functioning.

The goal of AR may be defined as the provision of services designed to reduce or eliminate situations of handicap that are attributable to hearing disabilities experienced by one of the persons involved in the problematic situation (Gagne & Jennings, 2000)

As such, AR services are a solution-centreed, problem-solving, intervention process (Gagne & Jennings, 2000). Persons with hearing loss and their significant others are provided with the tools they need, such as assistive technologies, communication strategies, coping strategies, speechreading and auditory skills, to be able to manage the day-to-day difficulties with communication that they face.

Other NCA labs include

Anechoic Chamber | Assistive Devices | Child Amplification |
Child Hearing Research | Digital Signal Processing | Speech Communication | Electrophysiology | Hearing Research Clinic | Hearing Science  | Robert B. Johnston Aural Rehabilitations