J Korean Med Sci.  2022 Jan;37(2):e11. 10.3346/jkms.2022.37.e11.

Factors Influencing Hearing Aid Adoption in Patients With Hearing Loss in Korea

• Cho YS
• Kim GY
• Choi JH
• Baek SS
• Seol HY
• Lim J
• Park JG
• Moon IJ

• KMID: 2524282
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2022.37.e11

Abstract

Background
The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) to identify differences in the characteristics of adopters and non-adopters of hearing aids (HAs); and 2) to investigate factors influencing the purchase of HA.
Methods
This study was conducted among 1,464 subjects (818 male and 646 female) with hearing loss. A national face-to-face survey was performed from August 2019 to October 2020 by otologists or HA experts. The questionnaire consisted of three domains: demographic, audiological, and HA-related domains. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed after adjusting for degree of hearing loss.
Results
The mean age of the participants was 70.4 ± 12.2 years. Of the 1,464 respondents, 1,190 (81.3%) had already purchased HA. We identified educational level, household income, hearing loss period, place of HA purchase, and government HA assistance program status as factors influencing HA adoption. Among these factors, third party reimbursement was the most important factor affecting HA purchase intent. The main reasons for not adopting HA were feeling that their hearing was adequate, inability to afford HA, and perceptions that HA are uncomfortable.
Conclusion
Various factors are involved in the purchase of HA, but disabled registration status and third party reimbursement were identified as the most critical factors. In the future, the government should take a more active role in increasing the distribution of HA to patients with hearing loss.

Keyword

Hearing Loss; Hearing Aids; Surveys and Questionnaires; Health Services for the Aged

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Flow chart of participants.HA = hearing aid.

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  Fig. 2 Reasons for non-adoption of HAs (n = 267; multiple choice).HA = hearing aid, HCP = hearing care professionals.

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  Fig. 3 Factors affecting purchasing decisions (n = 267; multiple choice).HA = hearing aid, HCP = hearing care professionals.

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