title: Satisfaction of elderly individuals with hearing aids in the first six months of use.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the hearing aid satisfaction after one, three and six months of use.
  
  
  METHODS
  Longitudinal study with 22 elderly individuals who participated in a selection and adaptation process for sound amplification devices in a high complexity health service. The study was carried out at the institution on the day of hearing aid fitting and on the follow-up appointments after one, three and six months of fitting. The data is part of the application of the Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Life (SADL) questionnaire. In order to assess the consistency of the items composing the positive effects category of the SADL survey after one, three and six months of hearing aid use, the Cronbach's coefficient alpha was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were improvements to the SADL scores in the period between the first use of the hearing aid and the following six months. Cronbach's coefficient alpha was calculated excluding questions 9 and 10, simultaneously. The coefficient values were 0.75 after a month, 0.69 after three months, and 0.81 after six months. Questions 9 (Do you feel more confident when you use hearing aids?) and 10 (The sounds that you hear with your hearing aids are normal?) created inconsistency in the assessment after one and three months of amplification use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results obtained with the SADL indicate a high level of satisfaction. The averages for positive effects, negative effects, and global score were different after one, three and six months of hearing aid use.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program (Master's degree) in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. erika.laperuta@gmail.com
authors.forename: Erika Biscaro
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Laperuta
authors.forename: Ana Claudia
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Fiorini
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors