TY - JOUR
T1 - Factors Influencing Hearing Aid Adoption in Patients With Hearing Loss in Korea
AU - Cho, Young Sang
AU - Kim, Ga Young
AU - Choi, Jae Hyuk
AU - Baek, Sin Sung
AU - Seol, Hye Yoon
AU - Lim, Jihyun
AU - Park, Jin Gyun
AU - Moon, Il Joon
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences. All Rights Reserved.
PY - 2022/1
Y1 - 2022/1
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Health Services for the Aged
KW - Hearing Aids
KW - Hearing Loss
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85123460239&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3346/JKMS.2022.37.E11
DO - 10.3346/JKMS.2022.37.E11
M3 - Article
C2 - 35014225
AN - SCOPUS:85123460239
SN - 1011-8934
VL - 37
SP - 1
EP - 10
JO - Journal of Korean Medical Science
JF - Journal of Korean Medical Science
IS - 2
M1 - e11
ER -
