Responses to listening difficulty in in-person conversation: a scoping review of primary evidence

Existing evidence regarding the ways in which people with hearing loss respond to listening difficulty in verbal conversation is fragmented. To advance understanding of the experience of listening difficulty in in-person verbal conversation, this review seeks to map the current evidence, focusing on behavioural and affective responses. Scoping review following PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Articles were identified through systematic searches in five reference databases, and through reference checking. Thematic synthesis was used to collate and condense data into distinct themes and categories. Literature examining adults’ behavioural, and/or affective responses to listening difficulty in in-person conversation. The literature search identified 8503 studies, and 81 were selected for inclusion. Responses from people with hearing loss, people with normal hearing, and communication partners were identified, and were assembled into five themes, each consisting of multiple categories. People with hearing loss and their communication partners respond to listening difficulty in conversation in a wide range of ways, covering diverse aspects of communication. People with normal hearing report most of the same response types as people with hearing loss. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of evidence regarding responses of people with normal hearing, indicating a need for more comparative studies.