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Understanding your clients’ auditory lifestyle: New insights on personalised hearing care

Hearing care isn't just about fitting hearing aids. It's about understanding each wearer's individual lifestyle and listening environment. In this article, we introduce the Hearing-Related Lifestyle Questionnaire (HEARLI-Q), an instrument that assesses the everyday listening habits of hearing aid wearers based on 24 real-life listening situations. Why is this important for hearing care professionals? Let’s find out.

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Why is the hearing lifestyle important in hearing care? 

Each person perceives their acoustic environment differently, influenced by the locations and sound sources they experience and prioritise. Traditional hearing tests usually only measure threshold values, but fail to capture this complex auditory reality, which has a decisive influence on hearing needs and outcomes. 

The HEARLI-Q is based on the Common Sound Scenarios (CoSS) model and encourages wearers to assess everyday situations, from conversations in quiet rooms to noise monitoring on busy streets. Unlike previous questionnaires, it focuses strictly on listening situations, not on emotional reactions. 

What was done in the study? 

Seventeen experienced hearing aid wearers completed the HEARLI-Q several times over a month and rated each situation on: 

  • Frequency 
  • Importance of listening 
  • Hearing difficulty 
  • Satisfaction with hearing aids 

Four key conclusions were drawn from this: 

  • Extent of listening lifestyle: Variety and frequency of listening situations. 
  • Hearing requirement: Weighted importance of good hearing based on frequency and priority. 
  • Hearing difficulty: How challenging hearing is. 
  • Satisfaction with hearing aids: Evaluation of hearing aids in different situations. 

What can hearing care professionals do with such a study? 

The results of the study and the new HEARLI-Q instrument provide important insights into the diverse and individual hearing behaviour and hearing needs of people with hearing loss. This opens up new opportunities for audiologists to design hearing care that is even more targeted and personalised. Only by understanding our clients' specific everyday situations - when, where, and how they need to hear - can we provide tailored recommendations and individually adjust hearing aids. 

Practical examples of the HEARLI-Q in the everyday listening routine of hearing care professionals 

Let’s have a look at how the use of HEARLI-Q can lead to practical advantages in everyday audiological practice, from better identification of relevant listening situations to more effective counselling and more individualised hearing aid fitting. 

A client reports frequent difficulty in “Conversation with one person in a noisy restaurant,” which they rate as very important to hear well, but less difficulty in “Listening to TV at home.” With HEARLI-Q insights, you can: 

  • Focus on fine-tuning and program settings to optimise performance in noisy social environments (e.g., directional microphones, noise reduction). 
  • Counsel the client realistically about expected performance in these complex situations. 
  • Suggest assistive listening devices, such as TV streaming devices, or accessories tailored for noisy environments. 
  • Monitor whether these interventions improve satisfaction in these targeted settings over follow-ups. 

HEARLI-Q may reveal scenarios less commonly discussed in appointments, such as “Monitoring traffic sounds when walking on a busy street” or “Listening to music at home.” If a client rates these as frequent and important but difficult, it prompts you to: 

  • Explore ambient noise management and warning signal amplification features. 
  • Educate clients on hearing aid programs that are designed for passive listening or environmental awareness. 
  • Help them fine-tune and adjust devices to maintain sound quality via our Widex apps.  

A client with a diverse daily hearing experience has high hearing requirements but moderate satisfaction with the hearing aid. This indicates high expectations. Here, hearing care professionals can: 

  • Address individual hearing situations and recommend suitable technologies. 
  • Emphasise that ongoing adjustments are normal as lifestyle demands evolve, encouraging continued engagement. 

What does this mean for hearing care professionals? 

  • Customer-oriented support: HEARLI-Q offers a structured way to capture what matters most to each client. This leads to conversations centered on their real-life listening needs rather than generic question sets. 
  • Data-based decisions: Quantified outcomes like hearing demand and difficulty help prioritise fitting strategies and highlight where counselling or technology investments are most valuable. 
  • Tracking progress: Administering HEARLI-Q regularly allows you to track changes in hearing lifestyle, difficulties, and satisfaction, ensuring better follow-up care and troubleshooting. 
  • Professional satisfaction: Knowing you are addressing clients' specific environments and concerns more effectively can lead to higher client satisfaction and loyalty. 
Further information and questionnaire at: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.21514044 
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