title: Success and failure factors for hearing-aid prescription: results of a French national survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify epidemiological, socioeconomic, audiometric and environmental factors of success and failure of hearing-aid prescription, and to assess hearing-aid efficacy at 6-9 months after prescription.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective nationwide survey was conducted in France on 184 patients with age-related hearing loss. Inclusion data were collected by a questionnaire filled out by the ENT specialist and patient, and with a second questionnaire filled out by telephone contact with the patient 6-9 months later.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One-third of patients failed to fulfill the prescription, either for financial reasons or for lack of interest in correcting their disability. For the other two-thirds, the factors favoring consultation with a hearing-aid fitting specialist seemed to be: leisure activity requiring good hearing, living in a couple or family, spontaneous initial ENT consultation, strong motivation, monthly income greater than €1200, longstanding hearing impairment, and difficulty in listening to television and following a conversation in noise. Eighty percent of hearing-aid trials were successful; 60% of prescriptions were thus followed by hearing-aid purchase. The main three criteria determining purchase were the advice of the hearing-aid fitting specialist, and the price and the effectiveness of the apparatus on trial. In the four daily life situations presented in the questionnaire, the hearing-aid was worn for 8 hours or more in 90% of cases, found useful in 70% and proved satisfactory in 70%. Age-related hearing loss, whether metabolic or sensorineural, benefited from hearing-aid correction in 86% of cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Indications for hearing-aid prescription should take account of the patient's degree of motivation, awareness of disability, and income. The advice of the ENT and hearing-aid fitting specialists plays a key role in the patient's acceptance of the hearing-aid. Hearing-aids seem to enhance quality of life significantly in age-related hearing loss subjects.
authors.affiliation: Service ORL, hôpital Lariboisière, 2, rue Ambroise-Paré, 75010 Paris, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abdellaoui
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tran Ba Huy
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000191:economics; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055656:Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017755:Prosthesis Fitting; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Age-related hearing loss; Hearing-aid; National survey; Socioeconomic factors