New hearing aid users' perception of the "hearing aid effect"

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Psychology
• Social Science

Background:

• The hearing aid effect describes negative attitudes associated with hearing aid use.
• Understanding user perception is crucial for hearing aid adoption and management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate new hearing aid users' experiences with the hearing aid effect.
• To assess users' perceptions of societal attitudes towards hearing aids.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire was administered before hearing aid fitting and 6 months post-fitting.
• Responses were analyzed based on hearing aid type (in-ear vs. behind-the-ear) and fitting (monaural vs. binaural).
• The influence of user age was also examined.

Main Results:

• Only approximately 10% of participants reported perceiving negative attitudes related to hearing aid use.
• Actual positive social feedback often did not meet user expectations.
• No significant differences were found based on hearing aid type or fitting configuration.

Conclusions:

• The perceived hearing aid effect appears less prevalent among new users than anticipated.
• Managing user expectations regarding social feedback is important for successful amplification.
• Further research could explore factors influencing these perceptions.