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Hearing aid affordability in the United States
Anna Marie Jilla1, Carole E Johnson1, Nick Huntington-Klein2
1Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
Disability and Rehabilitation. Assistive Technology
|October 28, 2020
Summary
High hearing aid costs make them unaffordable for most Americans with hearing loss. This financial barrier disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, highlighting the need for policy changes to improve hearing healthcare accessibility.
Area of Science:
- Health Economics
- Audiology
- Public Health Policy
Background:
- High out-of-pocket expenses for hearing aids limit access to hearing healthcare for older adults.
- Prevalence of hearing loss is significant among older populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the proportion of Americans with functional hearing loss for whom hearing aids are unaffordable.
- To determine how hearing aid affordability varies by sociodemographic factors.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 2016 American Community Survey data.
- Defined unaffordability as hearing aid costs exceeding 3% of annual income or falling below a poverty standard post-purchase.
- Employed chi-square tests to analyze sociodemographic variations.
Main Results:
- An average cost of $2500 for hearing aids was unaffordable for 77% of individuals with functional hearing loss.
- Hearing aid costs would push an additional 4% of the population into poverty.
- Affordability varied significantly by age, race, sex, education, and geographic location.
Conclusions:
- Hearing aids are unaffordable for three-fourths of Americans with hearing loss, leading to impoverishment for many.
- Reducing costs to $500 or $1000 could improve affordability.
- Policy changes are needed to address insurance coverage gaps, particularly for Medicare and Medicaid, to reduce out-of-pocket hearing care costs.
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