Degree of satisfaction among hearing aid users

• Autor(a) principal: Mondelli,Maria Fernanda Capoani Garcia
• Data de Publicação: 2013
• Outros Autores: Rocha,Andressa Vital, Honório,Heitor Marques
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: International Archives of Otorhinolaryngology
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1809-48642013000100009
• topic: hearing loss; hearing aids; patient satisfaction

INTRODUCTION: Hearing loss (HL) is defined as the complete or partial loss of hearing ability. AIMS: To characterize (1) the degree of satisfaction among adult and elderly hearing aid (HA) users who were treated by a public hearing health service and (2) the relationship between satisfaction and the variables of gender, age, degree of HL, and type of HA. METHOD: The clinical and experimental study included the administration of the Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Life (SADL) questionnaire to 110 patients who had used HAs for more than 3 months and were 18 years of age or older. RESULTS: Test patients were sex-balanced (48% were women) and had a mean age of 67 years. A relatively high incidence of sensorineural moderate HL was detected in the study patients (66%) and device B was the most commonly used HA type (48%). No significant differences were evident between HA satisfaction and sex. The importance placed on services/costs and personal image varied between age groups. Correlation was evident at all levels between user satisfaction and amplification. Decreased satisfaction was observed in individuals with severe and/or profound HL. The type of HA used yielded statistically significant differences in the positive effects referring. CONCLUSION: No correlations were evident between the different factors proposed. HA users exhibited high levels of satisfaction in all SADL areas.