Practices and attitudes related to hearing: a survey of executives

Executives were surveyed about their hearing health-care practices and attitudes toward hearing loss (N = 140, mean age = 49, number of males = 133). In regard to hearing health-care practices, about one-third of the executives had not had a hearing test during the past 5 years. Fifty-one percent of the executives reported that a hearing test was conducted or recommended during their annual physical examinations. Twenty (14%) of the executives rated their hearing as fair or poor, but only two of them wore hearing aids. Executives who reported poorer hearing were less likely to have had recent hearing tests. When seeking a hearing evaluation, the executives indicated a two-to-one preference for medical doctors over audiologists--none preferred hearing aid dispensers. Regarding attitudes, approximately 90% of the executives felt that hearing aids were effective, but only two-thirds disagreed with the stereotype that hearing aids connote old age. Executives who tended to equate hearing aids with old age were less likely to be aware of hearing-impaired employees in their companies. Implications of these findings are discussed.