Download PDF
Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2016; 20(01): 048-053
DOI: 10.1055/s-0035-1554728
Original Research
Thieme Publicações Ltda Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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

Andressa Colares da Costa Otavio
1   Speech Therapy Course, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
,
Patricia Pérez Coradini
2   Fgda, Comunicare Aparelhos Auditivos, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
,
Adriane Ribeiro Teixeira
3   Department of Health and Human Communication, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Instituto de Psicologia da UFRGS, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

12 February 2015

18 April 2015

Publication Date:
09 June 2015 (online)

   Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

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.

Keywords

self-assessment - hearing aids - elderly
 

  • References

  • 1 Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística – IBGE. Projeções da População—Brasil e Unidades da Federação. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 2012. Available at: http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/populacao/projecao_da_populacao/2013/default.shtm . Accessed April 17, 2013
    Google Scholar
  • 2 Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística – IBGE. Diretoria de Pesquisas. Departamento de População e Indicadores Sociais Tábuas de Mortalidade para o Brasil—1991 e 2000. Available at: http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/populacao/tabuadevida/evolucao_da_mortalidade.shtm . Accessed December 12, 2014
    Google Scholar
  • 3 Russo ICP. Distúrbios da audição: presbiacusia. In: Russo ICP, ed. Intervenção fonoaudiológica na terceira idade. 2nd ed. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Revinter; 2004: 51-82
    Google Scholar
  • 4 Cózar FA. Presbiacusia. Introducción. Definición In: Gil-Loyzaga P, Carricondo F, eds. Libro Blanco sobre la Presbiacusia. Barcelona, Spain: Gaes; 2013: 8-9
    Google Scholar
  • 5 Kim TS, Chung JW. Evaluation of age-related hearing loss. Korean J Audiol 2013; 17 (2) 50-53
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 6 Russo ICP. Reabilitação auditiva de idosos. In: Bevilacqua MC, Martinez MAN, Balen SA, Pupo AC, Reis ACMB, Frota S, eds. Tratado de audiologia. 1st ed. São Paulo, Brazil: Santos; 2013: 775-787
    Google Scholar
  • 7 Portmann M, Portmann C. Tratado de Audiometria Clínica. 6th ed. São Paulo, Brazil: Roca; 1993
    Google Scholar
  • 8 Pinheiro MMC, Iório MCM, Miranda EC , et al. The influence of cognitive aspects and auditory processes on the hearing aid acclimatization in the elderly. J Soc Bras Fonoaudiol 2012; 24 (4) 309-315
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 9 Organization for International Standardization—ISO. 7029:2000. Available at: https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:7029:ed-2:v1:en . Accessed April 10, 2014
    Google Scholar
  • 10 Yamasoba T, Lin FR, Someya S, Kashio A, Sakamoto T, Kondo K. Current concepts in age-related hearing loss: epidemiology and mechanistic pathways. Hear Res 2013; 303: 30-38
    Google Scholar
  • 11 Gates GA, Mills JH. Presbycusis. Lancet 2005; 366 (9491) 1111-1120
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 12 Pronk M, Deeg DJ, Kramer SE. Hearing status in older persons: a significant determinant of depression and loneliness? Results from the longitudinal aging study Amsterdam. Am J Audiol 2013; 22 (2) 316-320
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 13 Kouwenberg M, Rieffe C, Theunissen SC, de Rooij M. Peer victimization experienced by children and adolescents who are deaf or hard of hearing. PLoS ONE 2012; 7 (12) e52174
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 14 Antunes PC, Silva AM. Elementos sobre a concepção da Meia Idade, no processo de envelhecimento humano. Revista Kairós Gerontologia 2013; 16 (3) 123-140
    Google Scholar
  • 15 Lin FR, Thorpe R, Gordon-Salant S, Ferrucci L. Hearing loss prevalence and risk factors among older adults in the United States. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2011; 66 (5) 582-590
    Google Scholar
  • 16 Desai M, Pratt LA, Lentzner H, Robinson KN. Trends in Vision and Hearing among Older Americans. Aging Trends; No. 2. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics; 2001. . Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ahcd/agingtrends/02vision.pdf . Accessed April 10, 2014
    Google Scholar
  • 17 Gopinath B, Schneider J, Hartley D , et al. Incidence and predictors of hearing aid use and ownership among older adults with hearing loss. Ann Epidemiol 2011; 21 (7) 497-506
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 18 Thakur R, Banerjee A, Nikumb V. Health problems among the elderly: a cross-sectional study. Ann Med Health Sci Res 2013; 3 (1) 19-25
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 19 Soldera CLC, Teixeira AR, Bós AJG. Fatores associados à utilização de aparelhos de amplificação sonora individual em idosos residentes no estado do rio grande do sul. Revista estudos interdisciplinares sobre o envelhecimento (no prelo)
    Google Scholar
  • 20 Palmer CV, Solodar HS, Hurley WR, Byrne DC, Williams KO. Self-perception of hearing ability as a strong predictor of hearing aid purchase. J Am Acad Audiol 2009; 20 (6) 341-347
    Article in Thieme ConnectPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 21 Silman S, Silverman CA. Basic audiologic testing. In: Silman S, Silverman CA, eds. Auditory diagnosis: principles and applications. San Diego, CA: Singular Publishing Group; 1997: 44-52
    Google Scholar
  • 22 World Health Organization. Prevention of blindness and deafness: grades of hearing impairment. Available at: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/58839/1/WHO_PDH_91.1.pdf?ua=1 . Acessed May 25, 2015
    Google Scholar
  • 23 Fischer ME, Cruickshanks KJ, Wiley TL, Klein BE, Klein R, Tweed TS. Determinants of hearing aid acquisition in older adults. Am J Public Health 2011; 101 (8) 1449-1455
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 24 do Carmo LC, Médicis da Silveira JA, Marone SAM, D'Ottaviano FG, Zagati LL, Dias von Söhsten Lins EM. Audiological study of an elderly Brazilian population. Braz J Otorhinolaryngol 2008; 74 (3) 342-349
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 25 Pinheiro RS, Viacava F, Travassos C, Brito AS. Gênero, morbidade, acesso e utilização de serviços de saúde no Brasil. Cien Saude Colet 2002; 7 (4) 687-707
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 26 Guerra TM, Estevanovic LP, Cavalcante MdeÁ, Silva RC, Miranda IC, Quintas VG. Profile of audiometric thresholds and tympanometric curve of elderly patients. Braz J Otorhinolaryngol 2010; 76 (5) 663-666
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 27 Teixeira AR, Almeida LG, Jotz GP , et al. Qualidade de vida de adultos e idosos pós adaptação de próteses auditivas. Rev Soc Bras Fonoaudiol 2008; 13 (4) 357-361
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 28 Teixeira ARO. Uso de prótese auditiva na melhoria da qualidade de vida de idosos: um estudo comparativo entre usuários e não usuários [thesis]. Porto Alegre, Brazil: Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Programa de Pós Graduação em Gerontologia Biomédica; 2005: 95
    Google Scholar
  • 29 Lupsakko TA, Kautiainen HJ, Sulkava R. The non-use of hearing aids in people aged 75 years and over in the city of Kuopio in Finland. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2005; 262 (3) 165-169
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 30 Cardoso MM, Seimetz BM, Flores LS , et al. Idosos atendidos em um centro auditivo no Sul do Brasil: origem do encaminhamento, restrição de participação social e aquisição de prótese auditiva. Revista Transdisciplinar de Gerontologia 2014; VIII (1) 63-69
    Google Scholar
  • 31 Fialho IM, Almeida ES. Perda auditiva na percepção de idosos. In: Tomé MC, eds. Dialogando com o coletivo. 1st ed. São Paulo, Brazil: Santos; 2009: 225-258
    Google Scholar