Research Article

The Study of Affecting Factors on Attitude Toward Hearing Loss in Hearing Aid Users and Hearing Aid Non-Users

Abstract

Introduction: Attitudes and aptitudes play an important role in the acceptance of hearing aids. We can objectively and subjectively examine the attitude of individuals toward hearing loss and hearing aids, using Attitudes towards Loss of Hearing Questionnaire (ALHQ). The aim of this study was to examine the effect of demographic factors on the responses of individuals to ALHQ and to compare the scores of the questionnaire between hearing aid users and hearing aid non-users.
Materials and Methods: This study was performed on 100 hearing-impaired participants. They were divided into hearing aid users and non-users groups. After hearing assessments, the participants were asked to complete the questionnaire; then, the responses of the two groups were compared and the effects of demographic factors on the responses were examined.
Results: The questionnaire scores in the hearing aid non-users were higher than the hearing aid users. The results showed a reverse correlation between the history of hearing aid usage and the scores of the questionnaire. There was also a reverse correlation between the mean score of pure tone thresholds in the left ear with the scores of the questionnaire in the hearing aid users. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between the type of hearing aid and the scores of the questionnaire.
Conclusion: Hearing aid non-users have a more negative attitude toward hearing aids and are more likely to deny their hearing loss compared to hearing aid users.

‎1.‎ Chen X, Liu S, Kong Y, Liu B, Mo L, Liu H, et al. [The characteristics and development of auditory skill for infants with different age after cochlear ‎implantation (Chinese)]. Lin Chuang Er Bi Yan Hou Tou Jing Wai Ke Za Zhi. 2009; 23(4):148-50. [PMID]‎
‎2.‎ Hesse G. [Hearing aids in the elderly. Why is the accommodation so difficult? (German)]. Hrvatski Narodni Odbor. 2004; ‎‎52(4):321-8. [DOI:10.1007/s00106-004-1058-4] [PMID]‎
‎3.‎ Libby Harricks. Memorial oration deafness Forum of Australia [Internet]. 2006, pages 4-47. Available from: ‎https://docplayer.net/102907513-Libby-harricks-memorial-oration-the-honouring-the-deafness-forum-s-first-president-‎profoundly-deaf-achiever.html.‎
‎4.‎ Chien W, Lin FR. Prevalence of hearing aid use among older adults in the United States. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2012; ‎‎172(3):292-3. [DOI:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.1408] [PMID] [PMCID]‎
‎5.‎ Knudsen LV, Öberg M, Nielsen C, Naylor G, Kramer SE. Factors influencing help seeking, hearing aid uptake, hearing aid use and ‎satisfaction with hearing aids: A review of the literature. Trends in Amplification. 2010; 14(3):127-54. ‎‎[DOI:10.1177/1084713810385712] [PMID] [PMCID]‎
‎6.‎ Meyer C, Hickson L. What factors influence help-seeking for hearing impairment and hearing aid adoption in older adults? ‎International Journal of Audiology. 2012; 51(2):66-74. [DOI:10.3109/14992027.2011.611178] [PMID]‎
‎7.‎ Preminger JE. Issues associated with the measurement of psychosocial benefits of group audiologic rehabilitation programs. Trends ‎in Amplification. 2007; 11(2):113-23. [DOI:10.1177/1084713807301084] [PMID] [PMCID]‎
‎8.‎ Kochkin S. MarkeTrak VII: Obstacles to adult non-user adoption of hearing aids. The Hearing Journal. 2007; 60(4):24-51. ‎‎[DOI:10.1097/01.HJ.0000285745.08599.7f]‎
‎9.‎ Gopinath B, Hickson L, Schneider J, McMahon CM, Burlutsky G, Leeder SR, et al. Hearing-impaired adults are at increased risk of ‎experiencing emotional distress and social engagement restrictions five years later. Age and Ageing. 2012; 41(5):618-23. ‎‎[DOI:10.1093/ageing/afs058] [PMID]‎
‎10.‎ Bertoli S, Staehelin K, Zemp E, Schindler C, Bodmer D, Probst R. Survey on hearing aid use and satisfaction in Switzerland and their determinants. ‎International Journal of Audiology. 2009; 48(4):183-95. [DOI:10.1080/14992020802572627] [PMID]‎
‎11.‎ Wilson C, Stephens D. Reasons for referral and attitudes toward hearing aids: Do they affect outcome? Clinical Otolaryngology & ‎Allied Sciences. 2003; 28(2):81-4. [DOI:10.1046/j.1365-2273.2003.00669.x] [PMID]‎
‎12.‎ Emmett SD, Francis HW. The socioeconomic impact of hearing loss in U.S. adults. Otology & Neurotology. 2015; 36(3):545-50. ‎‎[DOI:10.1097/MAO.0000000000000562] [PMID] [PMCID]‎
‎13.‎ Saunders GH, Cienkowski KM. Refinement and psychometric evaluation of the attitudes toward loss of hearing questionnaire. Ear ‎and Hearing. 1996; 17(6):505-19. [DOI:10.1097/00003446-199612000-00006] [PMID]‎
‎14.‎ Heidari P, Fatahi J, Hoseinabadi R, Rouhbakhsh N, Dabiri Satri S, Saunders GH, et al. Persian version of Attitudes towards Loss of ‎Hearing Questionnaire. Auditory and Vestibular Research. 2019; 28(2):124-33.‎
‎15.‎ Saunders GH, Cienkowski KM, Forsline A, Fausti S. Normative data for the Attitudes towards Loss of Hearing Questionnaire. ‎Journal of the American Academy of Audiology. 2005; 16(9):637-52. [DOI:10.3766/jaaa.16.9.2] [PMID]‎
‎16.‎ Qureishi A, Garas G, Mallick A, Parker D. The psychosocial impact of hearing aids in children with otitis media with effusion. The ‎Journal of Laryngology and Otology. 2014; 128(11):972-5. [DOI:10.1017/S0022215114002163] [PMID]‎
‎17.‎ Humes LE, Wilson DL, Humes AC. Examination of differences between successful and unsuccessful elderly hearing aid candidates ‎matched for age, hearing loss and gender. International Journal of Audiology. 2003; 42(7):432-41. ‎‎[DOI:10.3109/14992020309080053] [PMID]‎
‎18.‎ Jo BH, Shin EY, Kim JS. A study of validity for psychometric evaluation using Attitude toward Loss of Hearing Questionnaire ‎‎(ALHQ) for the hearing impaired. Audiology. 2011; 7(1):19-27. [DOI:10.21848/audiol.2011.7.1.19]‎
‎19.‎ Bastos BG, Amorim RB, Ferrari DV. [Attitudes towards Hearing Aids (Portuguese)]. Revista CEFAC. 2009; 11(Suupl. 1):116-28. ‎‎[DOI:10.1590/S1516-18462009005000018]‎
Files
IssueVol 13 No 2 (2019) QRcode
SectionResearch Article(s)
DOI https://doi.org/10.32598/JMR.13.2.97
Keywords
Hearing aids Hearing loss Attitude Questionnaire

Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
1.
Heidari P, Fatahi F, Hoseinabadi R, Rouhbakhsh N. The Study of Affecting Factors on Attitude Toward Hearing Loss in Hearing Aid Users and Hearing Aid Non-Users. jmr. 2019;13(2):97-104.