Human-Technology Interaction Considerations in Hearing Health Care: An Introduction for Audiologists

Purpose Innovations in user-driven hearing technology and services have placed greater control in the hands of the patient. While these advances could address issues of hearing health care accessibility, their success rests on the assumption that patients possess sufficient technological competence to self-manage these products and services successfully. The purpose of this tutorial is to highlight the importance of focusing on usability, rather than just performance outcomes, during the design, development, and evaluation of user-driven hearing technology and services. Method This tutorial explores human-technology interaction and usability and discusses practical methods for applying these concepts in hearing health care research and development. Two case studies illustrate how usability can inform the design and development of interactive educational materials for patients and the evaluation of a commercially available mHealth app. Conclusions In order to derive benefit from innovations in hearing health care, products and services must be intuitively usable in addition to being accessible and affordable. The discipline of human-technology interaction provides a relevant and useful framework to guide future research and development efforts in user-driven hearing health care.