Hearing difficulties, uptake, and outcomes of hearing aids in people 85 years of age

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate self-reported hearing difficulties, uptake, and hearing-aid outcomes and their relationships to demographic, cognitive, psychosocial, and health variables in 85 year olds. Design and study sample: Three hundred and forty-six elderly adults participated in a survey that included questionnaires and home visits. Fifty-five percent of participants admitted to having hearing difficulties, and 59% of these owned hearing aids. The participants’ most frequently cited reason for not acquiring hearing aids was that they did not think their hearing problem was perceived as severe enough. Participants with hearing difficulties who did not own hearing aids showed worse general and mental health. Many of the elderly participants were successful in their rehabilitation, and their hearing-aid outcomes were similar to those of a younger group, with the exception of a greater proportion of non-users among the elderly. Conclusion: Many older people with self-reported hearing difficulties do not acquire hearing aids, despite this study's findings that older people are likely to have success with hearing rehabilitation. It is important to make greater efforts to try to increase elderly adults’ awareness of hearing loss and the benefits of hearing rehabilitation.

Key Words::

• Self-reported hearing difficulties
• hearing aids
• elderly
• general health

Acknowledgements

The poster ‘Overall health related to self-reported hearing loss and hearing aid uptake in an 85-year-old Swedish population’ included data from this article and was presented at Hearing Care for Adults 2009: The Challenge of Aging, Nov 16–18, Chicago, and at the International Conference of Adult Hearing Screening, June 10–12, 2009, Cernobbio, Lake Como, Italy.

This study was supported by grants from the Gunnar Arnbrinks Foundation, ALF grants from the County of Östergötland, and grants from the Swedish Institute of Assistive Technology. We are also grateful to Asst. Prof. Elina Mäki-Torkko for her support and valuable comments on the manuscript.

Declaration of interests: The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the paper.