The PEDRO study: Partnerships between deaf people and hearing dogs

SPRU research team

• Bryony Beresford (Principal Investigator)
• Jane Maddison
• Lucy Stuttard
• Philip Boyle

External collaborators

• Helen Weatherly, Centre for Health Economics, University of York
• Simon Walker, Centre for Health Economics, University of York
• Francesco Longo, Centre for Health Economics, University of York
• Catherine Hewitt, York Trials Unit, University of York
• Caroline Fairhurst, Department of Health Sciences, University of York

Project summary

Over 10 million adults in the UK have a hearing impairment. One in every hundred adults is severely or profoundly deaf and, for these individuals, it is highly unlikely that medical interventions to address hearing loss (e.g. hearing aids, cochlear implants) will have any benefit. Some people are born with no or impaired hearing, or develop it in childhood. For others, hearing loss is acquired during adulthood or old age. Research suggests it is harder to adapt to acquired hearing loss as an adult or older person. People with hearing impairments do not fare as well as the general population in many areas of their lives including employment, independence, social inclusion, well-being and mental health. Some people with hearing impairments will be eligible for support from local authority services, such as Sensory Impairment Teams. However, the support available is often limited and/or restricted to a fixed number of sessions or duration.

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People (HDfDP) was set up in 1982. To start, HDfDP believed that a dog’s ability act as ‘proxy ears’ for their ‘human partner’ was the predominant way in which a hearing dog supported individuals with a severe or profound hearing impairment. However, accounts of improvements in mental well-being, quality of life, social and economic participation and independence - and which were being attributed to having a hearing dog – suggested that hearing dogs could have a much wider impact. As a result HDfDP now identifies the practical assistance and emotional support which a hearing dog partnership can offer. To date, HDfDP has created over 2000 hearing dog partnerships. However, there has been very little research into their impact. Indeed, we have only managed to identify two studies which specifically investigated and evaluated hearing dogs partnerships, one of which was carried out in the US. Importantly, the design of these studies meant they could not reliably answer questions about the impacts and outcomes of having a hearing dog.

This study will use different research methods to investigate and test the impacts, cost-effectiveness and experiences of hearing dog partnerships. First, the study looks at whether having a hearing dog impacts on people’s well-being and other outcomes, such as mental health, and work and social functioning. Second, the study investigates whether hearing dog partnerships are cost-effective in terms of the costs and benefits to statutory services, individuals and wider society. Third, people who have hearing dogs and staff who work for HDfDP are interviewed to explore how and why having a hearing dog may affect and change people’s lives. Finally, the study will explore how staff working in Local Authority Sensory Impairment Teams understand hearing dog partnerships and their views and experiences of working with people in a hearing dog partnership and/or HDfDP as an organisation.

Additional information