[Acceptance of wearing hearing aids by children: a longitudinal analysis]

There exist no systematic longitudinal studies concerning the acceptance of hearing aids in Germany. This study examines the acceptance of a hearing aid (defined by its daily/weekly use) in the management of children with persistent sensorineural hearing loss over a period of years. 35 children with monaural or binaural hearing loss were treated with a hearing aid. All children had at least a 25-dB averaged mid-frequency pure-tone hearing loss (500, 1000, 2000, 4000 Hz). The data consist of standardized parent ratings at 4 points in time over a period of nearly 30 months. Unilateral-impaired children wore their hearing aids less often than bilateral-impaired children. This effect was not significant at the beginning (P = 0.85) but increased over time. By the end the difference was significant (P = 0.004). Mild to moderate monaural hearing-impaired children accepted their hearing aids, whereas children with severe to profound hearing loss refused to wear them. Bilateral hearing-impaired children demonstrated, a priori, a better wearing acceptance that even improved with time. There was never a significant difference between boys and girls in their average wearing time. A significant correlation of age and wearing acceptance was also not observed at any time. Hearing aids are an effective treatment with high acceptance and compliance, especially by children with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. The quality of acceptance of monaural hearing-impaired children needs to be studied further.