Study Finds Just One-Fifth of People with Hearing Problems Wear Hearing Aids

Researchers at the University of Manchester found that among the population with hearing problems just one fifth wears a hearing aid.

The study focused on 160,000 people in the United kingdom of ages 40 to 69. They looked at the habits of these adults and found that just 10.7 percent of them had hearing problems while listening in the presence of background noise and out of these just 2.1 percent used hearing aids.

Dr Piers Dawes from the University of Manchester's Audiology and Deafness research group said, "This is the first study to describe the prevalence of difficulties understanding speech in background noise in a large sample of the population, anywhere in the world. It shows hearing aids remain significantly under used despite significant improvements in both technology and their provision, and a high proportion of people who would benefit from treatment may not receive effective intervention..."

The study researchers noticed that one in 10 middle aged adults suffered from significant hearing problems and they mostly belonged to the working class or the minority background.

The reasons for not using hearing aids maybe because of  a lack of awareness on treatment options and also in knowing about the deficiency in hearing. Some  even find the hearing aids extremely uncomfortable or of little help.

Professor Kevin Munro, Ewing Professor of Audiology at the University of Manchester, a part of the study, said, "There still seems to be a stigma attached to wearing a hearing aid, where as there is little stigma now associated with vision loss and wearing spectacles. "This might be because eye care also involves lifestyle choices - it's available on the high street without the need to see a GP and onward referral to an audiologist in hospital, which emphasizes illness and frailty."