Self-Assessment of Hearing and Purchase of Hearing Aids by Middle-Aged and Elderly Adults

摘要

>Introduction Presbycusis is a consequence of aging. Prescription of hearing aids is part of the treatment, although the prevalence of use by elderly people is still small. >Objective To verify whether or not self-assessment of hearing is a predictor for purchase of hearing aids. >Methods Quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive, and observational study. Participants were subjects who sought a private hearing center for selection of hearing aids. During the diagnostic interview, subjects answered the following question: “On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 the best, how would you rate your overall hearing ability?” After that, subjects underwent audiometry, selected a hearing aid, performed a home trial, and decided whether or not to purchase the hearing aid. The variables were associated and analyzed statistically. >Results The sample was comprised of 32 subjects, both men and women, with a higher number of women. Mean age was 71.41 ± 12.14 years. Self-assessment of hearing ranged from 2 to 9 points. Overall, 71.9% of the subjects purchased hearing aids. There was no association between scores in the self-assessment and the purchase of hearing aids (p = 0.263). Among those who scored between 2 and 5 points, 64.7% purchased the device; between 6 and 7 points, 76.09% purchased the device; and between 8 and 9 points, 50% purchased the device, respectively. >Conclusion There is evidence that low self-assessment scores lead to the purchase of hearing aids, although no significant association was observed in the sample.