Hearing aid and hearing assistance technology use in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe factors that are related to hearing aid and hearing assistance technology ownership and use in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Design: Adults with hearing impairment living in New Zealand were surveyed regarding health-related quality of life and device usage. Audiometric data (hearing sensitivity and speech in noise) were collected. Study sample: Data were obtained from 123 adults with hearing impairment: 73 reported current hearing-aid use, 81 reported current hearing assistance technology use. Results: In both analyses, device users had more difficulty understanding speech in background noise, had poor hearing in both their better and worse hearing ears, and perceived more consequences of hearing impairment in their everyday lives (both emotionally and socially) than non-hearing-aid users. Discriminant analyses showed that the social consequences of hearing impairment and the better ear hearing best classified hearing aid users from non-users but social consequences and worse ear hearing best classified hearing assistance technology users from non-users. Conclusions: Quality of life measurements and speech-in-noise assessments provide useful clinical information. Hearing-impaired adults in New Zealand who use hearing aids also tend to use hearing assistance technology, which has important clinical implications.