Dataset Information

Factors Associated With Longitudinal Patterns of Hearing Aid Use.

ABSTRACT:

Background and objectives

The objectives of this study are to identify patterns of hearing aid usage among U.S. National Health & Aging Trends Study (NHATS) participants and to examine users' characteristics associated with each pattern.

Research design and methods

Using data from 666 adults ages 65 and above from NHATS, we analyzed individuals' self-reported hearing aid use from eight waves of data, 2011-2018, using group-based trajectory modeling to identify clusters of individuals with similar utilization patterns of use over time. Potential risk factors associated with membership to a specific group included baseline sociodemographic characteristics, problems with activities of daily living, presence of a caregiver, and experiencing problems with their hearing aid. We compute and analyze the odds ratios between individuals' baseline characteristics and group membership.

Results

We identified three utilization group patterns: continued use (n = 510, 76.6%), interrupted use (n = 121, 18.2%), and ceased use (n = 35, 5.2%). Individuals with an income under the poverty line had 2.9 (95% CI: 1.09, 7.75) and 2.7 times (95% CI: 1.38, 5.27) the odds of being in the interrupted and ceased use group, respectively, compared with the continued use group. Other risk factors for interrupted and ceased use included lower education and having a caregiver.

Discussion and implications

Nearly a quarter of hearing aid users experience interrupted or ceased use of hearing aids. Socioeconomic factors, such as age, income, and education, may be relevant for how individuals use assistive medical devices over time and could inform policymakers to support maintained use of hearing aids.

SUBMITTER: Gahlon G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10941315 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Factors Associated With Longitudinal Patterns of Hearing Aid Use.

Gahlon Grace G Garcia Morales Emmanuel E EE Assi Lama L Reed Nicholas S NS

Innovation in aging 20240209 2

<h4>Background and objectives</h4>The objectives of this study are to identify patterns of hearing aid usage among U.S. National Health & Aging Trends Study (NHATS) participants and to examine users' characteristics associated with each pattern.<h4>Research design and methods</h4>Using data from 666 adults ages 65 and above from NHATS, we analyzed individuals' self-reported hearing aid use from eight waves of data, 2011-2018, using group-based trajectory modeling to identify clusters of individu ...[more]

PMID: 38496828

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Project description:ObjectivesChildren who are hard of hearing (CHH) have restricted access to acoustic and linguistic information. Increased audibility provided by hearing aids (HAs) influences language outcomes, but the advantages of appropriately fit HAs can only be realized if children wear their devices on a consistent basis. The purpose of this article was to characterize long-term HA use in CHH, based on parent-report measures, and identify factors that influence longitudinal trends in HA use.DesignParticipants were parents of 290 children with mild to severe hearing loss. At every visit, parents estimated the average amount of time the child used HAs per day during the week and on the weekends. Parent reports of daily HA use were analyzed to determine if different patterns of HA use were observed longitudinally during the study. Independent predictor variables were then related to longitudinal trends in HA use within three age groups (infant, preschool, school age).ResultsOn average across multiple visits, parents reported that their children wore their HAs for 10.63 hr per day (SD = 3.29). Data logging values were lower than parent-report measures (M = 8.44, SD = 4.06), suggesting that parents overestimated daily HA use. The majority of children in each age group wore HAs at least 8 hr per day from their first research testing interval to their last, based on parent-report measures. Maternal education level predicted longitudinal trends in HA use for infants and school-age CHH. Degree of hearing loss was related to trends in school-age children only.ConclusionsThese results indicated that the majority of CHH increased HA use over time, but a sizable minority demonstrated a low level of use or decreased use in the time period studied. Maternal education level influenced longitudinal trends in daily HA use. Degree of hearing loss influenced trends in school-age children only. Audiologists and early intervention service providers might aid in improving HA use by providing regular hands-on training with the HAs and individualized problem-based strategies to address the challenges families experience with attaining a high level of use. Families may also benefit from practical demonstrations of the benefits of consistent HA use, such as hearing loss simulations, examples of listening in noise with and without HAs, or listening to malfunctioning HAs.

Project description:ImportanceHearing loss has been suggested as a risk factor for dementia, but there is still a need for high-quality research to better understand the association between these 2 conditions and the underlying causal mechanisms and treatment benefits using larger cohorts and detailed data.ObjectiveTo investigate the association between hearing loss and incident dementia, as well as how hearing aid use contributes to this association.Design, setting, and participantsThis population-based cohort study was conducted in Southern Denmark between January 2003 and December 2017 and included all residents 50 years and older. We excluded all persons with dementia before baseline as well as those who did not live in the region 5 years before baseline, with incomplete address history, or who had missing covariate information.ExposuresIndividual hearing status based on the Hearing Examinations in Southern Denmark database, which contains data on all pure-tone audiometry examinations performed at public hearing rehabilitation clinics in Southern Denmark.Main outcomes and measuresIncident cases of dementia and Alzheimer disease as identified from national registries.ResultsThe study population comprised 573 088 persons (298 006 women [52%]; mean [SD] age, 60.8 [11.3] years) with 23 023 cases of dementia and mean (SD) follow-up of 8.6 (4.3) years. Having a hearing loss was associated with an increased risk of dementia, with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.07 (95% CI, 1.04-1.11) compared with having no hearing loss. Severe hearing loss in the better and worse ear was associated with a higher dementia risk, with an HR of 1.20 (95% CI, 1.09-1.32) and 1.13 (95% CI, 1.06-1.20), respectively, compared with having no hearing loss in the corresponding ear. Compared with people without hearing loss, the risk of dementia was higher among people with hearing loss who were not using hearing aids than those who had hearing loss and were using hearing aids, with HRs of 1.20 (95% CI, 1.13-1.27) and 1.06 (95% CI, 1.01-1.10), respectively.Conclusions and relevanceThe results of this cohort study suggest that hearing loss was associated with increased dementia risk, especially among people not using hearing aids, suggesting that hearing aids might prevent or delay the onset and progression of dementia. The risk estimates were lower than in previous studies, highlighting the need for more high-quality longitudinal studies.

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Dataset Information

Factors Associated With Longitudinal Patterns of Hearing Aid Use.

Background and objectives

Research design and methods

Results

Discussion and implications

Publications

Factors Associated With Longitudinal Patterns of Hearing Aid Use.

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