In the future, audiological rehabilitation of adults with hearing loss will be more available, personalized and thorough due to the possibilities offered by the internet. By using the internet as a platform it is also possible to perform the process of rehabilitation in a cost-effective way. With tailored online rehabilitation programs containing topics such as communication strategies, hearing tactics and how to handle hearing aids it might be possible to foster behavioral changes that will positively affect hearing aid users. Four studies were carried out in this thesis. The first study investigated internet usage among adults with hearing loss. In the second study the administration format, online vs. paper- and pencil, of four standardized questionnaires was evaluated. Finally two randomized controlled trials were performed evaluating the efficacy of online rehabilitation programs including professional guidance by an audiologist. The programs lasted over five weeks and were designed for experienced adult hearing-aid users. The effects of the online programs were compared with the effects of a control group. It can be concluded that the use of computers and the internet overall is at least at the same level for people with hearing loss as for the general age-matched population in Sweden. Furthermore, for three of the four included questionnaires, the participants’ scores remained the same across formats. It is however recommended that the administration format remain consistent across assessment points. Finally, results from the two concluding intervention studies provide preliminary evidence that the internet can be used to deliver education and rehabilitation to experienced hearing aid users who report residual hearing problems and that their problems are reduced by the intervention; however the content and design of the online rehabilitation program requires further investigation.

This research aims to investigate the contributions of the use of the software HagáQuê to practice Portuguese Language written by deaf people with different levels of education, specifically elementary school students and higher education. The research has a qualitative approach because the analysis of the construction of the Portuguese Language written of the person with hearing loss was better in relation to the writing. The study is characterized as a collective case study, whereas field research was conducted in a public school in the Municipal Center and a service to people with hearing loss. To collect data it was used the strategy of participant observation, accompanied by shooting and notes in the logbook. The results showed the need to analyze the test process and the written production of the person with hearing loss through the use of educational technology. It was found that introducing students to activities with shapes and features motivating and engaging that integrate the work with a wealth of visual elements, aroused the interest of participation in construction activities of the written production. The participation of an adult fluent in Portuguese Language written during the meetings was crucial to the written production work by the person with hearing loss. Likewise, the performance of interpreters proficient in Brazilian sign language allowed the exchange of information between researchers and visited, and thus favored from the simple clarification of doubts the awareness of students on the use of the Portuguese Language written in different social practices. The difficulties of elementary school students to be proficient in sign language, and the difficulties of students in higher education in appropriating the Portuguese Language written, represents the main limiting factors for the process of building this research. As HagáQuê a predominantly visual appeal, it is apparent satisfaction and commitment of these subjects in carrying out work involving written language in a more enjoyable and playful. However, it is possible to say that the software HagáQuê is a promising resource for the practice of Portuguese Language written of the person with hearing loss and points to the need for professionals involved in such an approach valuing the use of creative strategies and challenging, to consider multiplicity of contexts and thus may promote the construction of a significantly knowledge. / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo investigar as contribuições do uso do software HagáQuê para a prática da Língua Portuguesa escrita de pessoas com surdez apresentando diferentes níveis de escolaridade, especificamente, alunos do ensino fundamental e alunos do ensino superior. A pesquisa possui uma abordagem qualitativa, na medida em que a análise do processo de construção da língua portuguesa escrita da pessoa com surdez se sobressaiu em relação à produção escrita. A pesquisa de campo foi desenvolvida em uma escola pública da rede municipal e em um centro de atendimento à pessoa com surdez, portanto, o estudo se caracteriza como um estudo de caso coletivo. Para a coleta de dados foi utilizada a estratégia da observação participante, acompanhado por filmagens e anotações em diário de bordo. Os resultados alcançados mostraram a necessidade de analisar com critério o processo e a produção escrita da pessoa com surdez através do uso da tecnologia educacional. Ficou constatado que apresentar aos alunos atividades com formatos e características motivadoras e envolventes, que contemplem o trabalho com toda uma riqueza de elementos visuais, despertou o interesse de participação nas atividades de construção da produção escrita. A participação de um adulto fluente em Língua Portuguesa escrita durante os encontros foi fundamental para o trabalho de produção escrita pela pessoa com surdez. Do mesmo modo, contar com a atuação de intérpretes proficientes em Língua Brasileira de Sinais permitiu a troca de informações entre o pesquisador e os pesquisados e, assim, favoreceu desde o simples esclarecimentos de dúvidas à tomada de consciência dos alunos sobre o uso da Língua Portuguesa escrita em práticas sociais diversas. As dificuldades dos alunos do ensino fundamental em ser proficiente na língua de sinais, bem como as dificuldades dos alunos do ensino superior em se apropriar da língua portuguesa escrita, representam os principais fatores limitantes para o processo de construção escrita nesta pesquisa. Sendo o HagáQuê um recurso predominantemente visual, permitiu constatar a satisfação e o empenho destes sujeitos na realização de trabalhos envolvendo a linguagem escrita de forma mais prazerosa e lúdica. Contudo, é possível afirmar que o software HagáQuê é um recurso promissor para a prática da língua portuguesa escrita da pessoa com surdez e aponta para a necessidade de que os profissionais envolvidos em práticas deste tipo valorizem o uso de estratégias criativas e desafiadoras, que considerem a multiplicidade de contextos e assim possam favorecer a construção do conhecimento de forma significativa.