Relationship between adaptation to hearing aids and the hearing-aid purchase rate

• Published in: AUDIOLOGY JAPAN Vol. 56; no. 4; pp. 306 - 312
• Main Authors: Suzuki, Nobuyoshi, Satou, Ririko, Iwasaki, Satoshi, Tazawa, Manami, Moteki, Hideaki, Takumi, Yutaka, Usami, Shin-ichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese; English
• Published: Japan Audiological Society 30.08.2013
• ISSN: 0303-8106; 1883-7301
• DOI: 10.4295/audiology.56.306

We investigated the relationship between hearing aid purchase decision making and the results of the adaptation test for hearing-aids. The guideline on hearing-aid adaptation tests recommends 8 tests, and 5 tests each were performed in 26 patients with sensorineural hearing loss at our facility, namely, the speech discrimination tests in quiet and noise, subjective test for environmental noise, threshold test for wearing hearing-aids and the questionnaire for hearing ability. The subjects' goodness of fit for hearing aids was estimated by performing these adaptation tests at 3 weeks after the first hearing-aid fitting. The results led to the purchase of hearing aids in 20 out of the 26 patients. There were no significant relationships between the results of the adaptation tests and the purchase rate of hearing aids. Our results indicated that adaptation to hearing aids is not the only factor motivating purchase of hearing aids.