LM101 - Audiologists and Mental Health First Aid for Patients Across the Lifespan

Abstract:
Hearing loss is known to coincide with a host of health-related issues, including mental health. Audiologists need be able to identify when emotional and psychological well-being is at risk in both the patients we serve and their close family members, who are also affected by these diagnoses. This session will review models for delivering difficult information, the signs of potential mental health crisis, and discuss how to handle conversations surrounding mental health. Didactic cases from across the lifespan will be presented to highlight themes and differences when working with different populations.

Summary:
Hearing loss is known to coincide with a host of additional health related issues. It is well known and documented that hearing loss and balance disorders can significantly impact mental health. Whether it be the mental health of a person with hearing loss, or the family member who is living with the impact of their loved one having a hearing or balance diagnosis; audiologists need to be able to identify when emotional and psychological well-being is at risk.

With a growing mental health crisis in the United States, it is essential that we can identify mental health emergencies, know how to react in a timely and appropriate manner, and feel comfortable following up with patients and other health care providers. Patients and their families may present in clinic with underlying mental health problems, and it can be stressful and intimidating if as a provider you are uncomfortable discussing these concerns further. It is necessary for audiologists to know how to recognize warning signs of mental health emergencies, know how to administer screenings (such as the PHQ-9), and discuss next steps with patients and families while still staying within our scope of practice.

In addition to identifying pre-existing mental health emergencies, delivering difficult information about one’s health status is challenging for healthcare providers and may prove triggering for patients. The SPIKES method for delivering difficult news can serve as a model to guide audiologists in talking with patients and families about hearing and balance needs. The SPIKES framework concentrates on providing an appropriate setting for delivery health diagnosis news, making sure the patient and family’s perceptions are known so that conversations about realistic expectations can occur, inviting the patient and family to make their needs known, sharing knowledge about the diagnosis, responding to emotions with empathy, and providing a summary and/or strategy for moving forward.

Once this information is shared it is important for audiologists to monitor and identify signs of negative mental health. It is important to include both the patient and their family/loved ones in this monitoring so that critical conversations around mental health can occur and health crises can be avoided. This presentation will provide didactic case examples to illustrate the different types of mental health considerations that exist for patients and their families across the lifespan. Interactive discussion will be used to apply the SPIKES method to cases and review additional mental health resources and tools that can be used to facilitate discussions with patients and help create a mental health action plan within your practice.