Prevalence of Hearing Aids Usage and Their Outcomes in Old Age Population

Hearing loss caused by old age or presbycusis is the type that occurs gradually as people age. Many people cover up their handicap by wearing hearing aids. Some sounds are ampli�ed by hearing aids so that people with hearing loss can listen, converse, and engage in more everyday activities. Objective: To determine the prevalence of hearing aids usage and the outcomes of hearing aids in old age population. Methods: Cross Sectional observational study was conducted to �nd the prevalence of usage and outcomes of hearing aids in old age population on a sample of 161 patients with both male and female with non-probability purposive sampling technique. The research was carried out in one hospital (University of Lahore Teaching Hospital). Duration of this study was 6 months from Jan 2023 to June 2023. Patients 50 years of age and older were included. Patients with other comorbid factors like congenital anomalies, conductive hearing loss were excluded. The data were gathered using a self-structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed through (SPSS) version 27.0 package. Results: Out of 161 patients, 86 (53.4%) of the participants were men, and 75 (46.6%) were women. Only 57 of them (35.4%) used hearing aids; 52 (91.2%) individuals got bene�t from hearing aids in daily activities; and 51 (89.5%) individuals were con�dent that using hearing aids would compensate their disability. Conclusions: This study found that among hearing aid users, the majority of participants got bene�t from their hearing aids.


I N T R O D U C T I O N
Hearing loss caused by old age or presbycusis is the type that occurs gradually as people age.Many people cover up their handicap by wearing hearing aids.Some sounds are ampli ed by hearing aids so that people with hearing loss can listen, converse, and engage in more everyday activities.Objective: To determine the prevalence of hearing aids usage and the outcomes of hearing aids in old age population.Methods: Cross Sectional observational study was conducted to nd the prevalence of usage and outcomes of hearing aids in old age population on a sample of 161 patients with both male and female with non-probability purposive sampling technique.The research was carried out in one hospital (University of Lahore Teaching Hospital).Duration of this study was 6 months from Jan 2023 to June 2023.Patients 50 years of age and older were included.Patients with other comorbid factors like congenital anomalies, conductive hearing loss were excluded.The data were gathered using a self-structured questionnaire.Data were analyzed through (SPSS) version 27.0 package.Results: Out of 161 patients, 86 (53.4%) of the participants were men, and 75 (46.6%)were women.Only 57 of them (35.4%)used hearing aids; 52 (91.2%) individuals got bene t from hearing aids in daily activities; and 51 (89.5%) individuals were con dent that using hearing aids would compensate their disability.Conclusions: This study found that among hearing aid users, the majority of participants got bene t from their hearing aids.

A R T I C L E I N F O
A B S T R A C T .The disadvantages brought on by hearing loss are somewhat overcome with hearing aids.In order to make up for the loss, hearing aids must enhance weak sounds more so than powerful noises.Even when using hearing aids, people with SNHL need a higher signal-to-noise ratio than usual in order to successfully converse.Contrarily, a problem with sound conduction simply causes the sound to be less loud as it travels through the middle ear, so the gain offered by hearing aids comes close to restoring normal hearing.
Hearing aids are described based on where they are worn.These categories are body, spectacle, behind-the-ear, inthe-ear, in-the-canal, and completely-in-the-canal, in decreasing order of size [12].Only 15% to 20% of Americans over the age of 70 wear hearing aids, despite the fact that two thirds of the population has hearing loss.) individuals were con dent that using hearing aid would make up for their disability.43 (75.4%)individuals reported that their self-con dence has improved after wearing hearing aids.People who were con dent that purchasing hearing aids is the right decision for them were 48 (84.2%) and 37 (64.9%)patients were satis ed with the hearing aid cost.
According to the study's ndings, 20 (35.1%) of the 57 hearing aid users in the older population were dissatis ed with the price of their current devices, while 37 (64.9%) of them were satis ed with the cost of their hearing aids.
Research done by Jilla et al., in 2020 with the purpose of hearing aids affordability in the United States of America concludes that three-fourths of Americans with functional hearing loss could not afford hearing aids, and hundreds of thousands of people would become impoverished if they did.Many Americans with hearing loss would no longer struggle with affordability if out-of-pocket hearing device fees were reduced to $500 or $1000 [20].The study's ndings indicate that, among the 57 hearing aid users in the older population, 52 (91.2%) people pro t from them in their everyday activities, whereas 5 (8.8%) of the population did not.Results of a study conducted by Polat et al., in 2022 show that without hearing aids, the best SRT and SDS values were determined to be 58.6 dB HL and 61.1%, respectively.With hearing aids, these values increased to 39 dB HL and 74.6%.For each group, a statistically signi cant difference was seen between the SRT and SDS values with and without the use of hearing aids [18].

C O N C L U S I O N S
The results of this study conclude that the majority of the participants bene t from hearing aids, especially in their workplaces.Hearing aids have helped users interact socially, and users' self-con dence has also improved after wearing hearing aids.As a result, it is preferable for the geriatric population the programs for hearing screening, testing and rehabilitation should be developed.Through media and television, awareness campaigns about the hearing loss challenges and bene ts of utilizing hearing aids should be bene cial.
elderly persons are more likely to use hearing aids.Higherincome individuals are more likely to seek out and receive proper hearing aid ttings because they frequently have better access to healthcare ser vices, including audiologists and hearing healthcare experts[16].Very limited data are available regarding it to focus on prevalence of hearing aids usage and their outcomes in old age population in developing countries like Pakistan.
The severity of hearing loss is classi ed as mild (26-40 dB HL), moderate (41-60 dB HL), severe (61-80 dB HL), or profound (>80 dB HL)[13].Socioeconomic characteristics have a profoundly affects their everyday lives, those with lower incomes are frequently less likely to use hearing aids due to their high cost.Senior citizens in lower socioeconomic categories may experience a decreased quality of life as a result of this imbalance[15].Higher socioeconomic statusM E T H O D S

Table 1 :
Demographics congenital anomalies and other co-morbidities were e x c l u d e d f r o m t h i s r e s e a r c h .S e l f-s t r u c t u r e d questionnaire was used to accumulate the data.Researcher guided the patients and took the written consent from the patients; the questionnaire was lled by the patients.With the help of questionnaire, the outcomes of hearing aids in old age population were assessed.The results were compared between the groups.Data were analyzed through SPSS version 27.0 package.Table2shows that out of 161 old adults with hearing loss, 57 (35.4%) were hearing aid users and non-hearing aid users were 104 (64.6%).Out of 57 hearing aid users, 22 (38.6%)patients reported outer ear infections because of hearing aid usage.Patients who bene t from hearing aid in their

Table 2 :
Response of participants