Enhancing audiological care: Addressing social and emotional well-being with the AIMER program

Clinical and Research Audiologist, Dr. Bec Bennett, discusses how the AIMER program provides hearing care professionals with a structured approach to address the often-overlooked impacts of hearing loss.

Adults with hearing loss often experience isolation, anxiety, and diminished self-esteem, even with the use of hearing aids. These effects often go unnoticed in clinical settings, leaving a critical gap in care.

Hearing care professionals are uniquely positioned to address these emotional and social aspects of hearing loss. While hearing aids can help to improve hearing, communication, and social-emotional well-being, they do not always fully address the broader impact of hearing loss on a person’s life. Addressing these challenges requires moving beyond the device to support patients in understanding and managing their social-emotional well-being.

Introducing the AIMER program

To bridge this gap, the AIMER program (Ask, Inform, Manage, Encourage, Refer) was developed.1 The program equips hearing care professionals with the knowledge and tools to support their patients’ social and emotional needs. It involves:

  1. Asking about social and emotional challenges.
  2. Informing patients about the potential impacts of hearing loss.
  3. Managing these challenges with strategies and resources.
  4. Encouraging open communication.
  5. Referring to other professionals when needed.

Why AIMER matters for clinicians

Research shows that many audiologists feel unprepared to address their patients’ emotional needs due to a lack of time, resources, and training. Yet, when these needs are addressed, patient engagement in rehabilitation improves, leading to better outcomes. The AIMER program offers a structured approach to initiating conversations about emotional well-being, providing practical resources and techniques to enhance care.

Implementing AIMER in clinical practice

The AIMER program includes training materials, videos, clinical resources, and workshops. By integrating these tools, hearing care professionals can foster a more comprehensive approach to hearing care that acknowledges the psychological impacts of hearing loss. For example, creating a safe environment for patients to share their concerns, using discussion prompts to open dialogue, providing information sheets to increase education, or connecting the client to required resources, such as reputable websites or referral to mental health practitioners.

Evaluating the impact of AIMER*

The AIMER program has been successfully implemented in several hearing service providers in Australia, showing significant improvements in how they address social and emotional well-being. A recent implementation study showed an increase in hearing care professionals’ skill (92% increase; n= 26) and confidence (83%, n=23) in asking about and providing information on the mental well-being impacts of hearing loss after undertaking the AIMER program.2

The majority of hearing care professionals noted that the AIMER implementation program increased the likelihood that they would ask about and provide information on mental well-being with their patients (96%, n=23), demonstrating the program’s potential to improve patient outcomes.2

Access to AIMER resources

The AIMER resources, including training materials and clinical resources are freely available online: OSF | AIMER (Ask, Inform, Manage, Encourage and Refer): targeting mental wellbeing support within audiological care. Hearing care professionals are encouraged to adapt these resources to fit their practice needs.  

Resources produced for this program include two videos featuring adults with hearing loss sharing their personal stories about the social and emotional impacts of hearing loss.

Video 1: Hearing loss affects us all in different ways: Click here.

Video 2: Ways of coping with hearing loss: Click here.

A call to action

As hearing care professionals, expanding our role to include social and emotional well-being support can profoundly affect our patients’ lives. The AIMER program provides the resources and training needed to make this shift. By embracing this holistic approach, we can help reduce the stigma surrounding hearing loss and create a more inclusive, supportive environment for our patients.

*This research was funded by the Raine Medical Research Foundation.

References:

  1. Bennett, R.J., Bucks, R.S., Saulsman, L., Pachana, N.A., Eikelboom, R.H. & Meyer, C.J. (2023). Use of the Behaviour Change Wheel to design an intervention to improve the provision of mental wellbeing support within the audiology setting. Implementation Science Communications, 4(1):1-22.
  2. Bennett, R. J., Bucks, R. S., Saulsman, L., Pachana, N. A., Eikelboom, R. H., & Meyer, C. J. (2024). Evaluation of the Ask-Inform-Manage-Encourage-Refer Intervention and Its Implementation Targeting the Provision of Mental Wellbeing Support Within the Audiology Setting. Ear and Hearing, 45(3), 600-616.