Access to adults’ hearing aids: policies and technologies used in eight countries

Yong, Michael; Willink, Amber; McMahon, Catherine M.; McPherson, Bradley; Nieman, Carrie L.; Reed, Nicholas; Lin, Frank R.

doi:10.2471/blt.18.228676

Cited by 49 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…24 In China, there is almost no social insurance coverage for hearing aids, and patients pay out-of-pocket for hearing device. 24,26 With the implementation of "Guidance on Medical Rehabilitation for the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016)" and "Healthy China Initiative 2019 to 2030", investment in rehabilitation services is scheduled to increase dramatically, and knowledge of the factors that affect hearing aid preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for hearing aids contributes to understanding these government initiatives.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

<p>Preferences for Hearing Aid Attributes Among People with Moderate or Greater Hearing Loss in Rural China: A Discrete Choice Experiment</p>

Zhu

Shi²,

Nicholas³

et al. 2020

PPA

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Purpose: Hearing loss has not received sufficient attention, especially in low-and middleincome countries where more than 80% of the people with hearing loss reside. Little is known about the preference for hearing aids among people with hearing loss in developing countries. The aim of this study is to elicit the preferences for hearing aid attributes among rural Chinese adults with moderate or greater hearing loss and examine how preferences vary across different individual socioeconomic characteristics. Patients and Methods: We interviewed 125 adults in two rural counties in Shandong province in China. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) with eight attributes, comprising outof-pocket (OOP) costs, hearing aid style, effective in quiet settings and noisy settings, feedback (whistling), connectivity, water/sweat resistance and battery life, were employed to examine participants' preference for hearing aids. Mixed logit models were used for the statistical analyses. Results: While OOP costs, effectiveness in quiet settings, water/sweat resistance and battery life were significantly associated with choosing a hearing aid, rural Chinese adults with moderate or greater hearing loss valued effectiveness in noisy settings above other attributes of hearing aids, followed closely by lack of feedback. The preference of the attributes of OOP costs, in the canal hearing aids, effectiveness in noisy settings, connectivity and battery life varied across individual socioeconomic characteristics including sex, marriage, employment, income and education level. Conclusion: Our study supported the view that the development of noise suppression and feedback cancellation systems remained the main challenge for the hearing aid industry. Since OOP costs were also associated with choosing a hearing aid, the policy advice is to improve reimbursements from insurance schemes and/or reduce the costs of hearing aids.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

<p>Preferences for Hearing Aid Attributes Among People with Moderate or Greater Hearing Loss in Rural China: A Discrete Choice Experiment</p>

Zhu

Shi²,

Nicholas³

et al. 2020

PPA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…More importantly, approximately 23 million adults with hearing loss in the U.S. do not use hearing aids even though the negative impact of untreated hearing loss has been widely documented [7-9]. The low level of hearing aid adoption is associated with stigma and affordability of hearing aids [8, 15]. Adults with impaired hearing, who do not wear hearing aids demonstrate significantly higher rates of depression, anxiety, and other psychosocial disorders [9,10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of the use of hearing aids with the conversion from mild cognitive impairment to dementia and progression of dementia: a longitudinal retrospective study

Bucholc

McClean

Bauermeister

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background Hearing aid usage has been linked to improvements in cognition, communication, and socialization, but the extent to which it can affect the onset and progression of dementia is unknown. This study leveraged the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set to longitudinally examine the association between the use of hearing aids and risk of progression from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) to dementia as well as progression of dementia in hearing-impaired adults. Methods The sample included 977 participants aged >50 with MCI or all-cause dementia enrolled between 2005 and 2018. Participants were classified into four groups according to the definition of the duration of disease stage: Group 1, 450 participants with MCI at baseline that developed dementia during follow up; Group 2, 314 participants diagnosed with dementia at baseline and subsequently died during follow-up; Group 3, 126 healthy participants who were later diagnosed with MCI and then dementia at follow-up; Group 4, 87 participants with MCI at baseline who later converted to dementia and subsequently died during follow-up. Groups 3 and 4 were used to better capture the duration of MCI-to-dementia and dementia-to-death periods. Kaplan-Meier survival functions and survival analyses using Cox proportional hazards regression models were performed to assess the effect of hearing aid use on risk of MCI-to-dementia conversion and mortality risk in dementia participants. Sensitivity analyses were performed to control for confounding. Results Hearing aid users with MCI showed a reduced risk of developing dementia both in Group 1 (hazard ratio [HR] 0.56, 95%CI, 0.45-0.69; false discovery rate [FDR] p <.0001) and Group 3 (HR,0.42; 95%CI, 0.27-0.66; FDR p <.001). The mean progression rate in CDRSB was significantly higher for those who did not use hearing aids (p =.04). Hearing aid usage was also found to influence the progression of dementia. Hearing-aid users with dementia had a lower risk of death, both in Group 2 (HR,0.75; 95%CI, 0.60-0.95; FDR p =.038) and Group 4 (HR,0.53; 95%CI, 0.33-0.89; FDR p =.04). Our findings were robust subject to multiple sensitivity analyses. Conclusions Among hearing-impaired adults, hearing aid usage was significantly associated with reduced dementia risk and slower disease progression.

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“…Age-related hearing loss (AHL), characterized by the irreversible loss of cochlear hair cells [1], spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) and stria vascularis cells (SVs), is the most common sensory disorder in old people [2], in uencing the life quality older people by age 65 years or more [3]. AHL increases the risk of depression, cognitive impairment and dementia in aged adults [4,5]. Thus, it is important to explore the mechanism of AHL and identify new targets for clinical treatment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long noncoding RNA Gm44593 attenuates oxidative stress from age-related hearing loss by regulating miR-29b/WNK1

Zang

Sun

et al. 2020

Preprint

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AmisLong noncoding RNA has been reported to play important role in various disease. However, the function of lncRNA in age-related hearing loss still unclear. The aim of our study is to investigate the function and mechanism of lncRNA Gm44593 in AHLMaterials and methodsATP content, JC-1 assay, mitochondrial content, cell death rates and dual-luciferase reporter assay were performed to assess the function of lncRNA Gm44593 in HEI-OC1 cells and the mouse cochlea.ResultsThe expression of lncRNA Gm44593 was significantly upregulated upon H2O2 and starvation treatment. Overexpression of lncRNA Gm44593 manifestly reduced the cell death rates. The ATP content, mtDNA content and mitochondrial membrane potential were alleviated upon overexpression of lncRNA Gm44593. We also proved that miR-29b is the direct target of lncRNA Gm44593. Overexpression of miR-29b completely restored the effect induced by lncRNA Gm44593. In addition, we provided evidences that WNK1 is the direct target of miR-29b.Conclusionour research uncovers the role of lncRNA Gm44593 in age-related hearing loss. We provide new insights into potential therapeutic targets for the amelioration of age-related hearing loss.

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Access to adults’ hearing aids: policies and technologies used in eight countries

Cited by 49 publications

References 35 publications

<p>Preferences for Hearing Aid Attributes Among People with Moderate or Greater Hearing Loss in Rural China: A Discrete Choice Experiment</p>

<p>Preferences for Hearing Aid Attributes Among People with Moderate or Greater Hearing Loss in Rural China: A Discrete Choice Experiment</p>

Association of the use of hearing aids with the conversion from mild cognitive impairment to dementia and progression of dementia: a longitudinal retrospective study

Long noncoding RNA Gm44593 attenuates oxidative stress from age-related hearing loss by regulating miR-29b/WNK1

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