Keywords

hearing loss, hearing aids, hearing aid use, sociodemographic factors, adults with hearing loss

Subject Categories

Communication Sciences and Disorders | Health Services Administration

Abstract

Despite hearing aids becoming more accessible to adults with hearing loss, hearing aid uptake rates remain low, partly due to sociodemographic factors that influence an adults’ decision to pursue amplification. This study systematically reviewed research on how sociodemographic factors – to include age, gender, socioeconomic status, education level, race/ethnicity, and military status – contribute to the decision-making process. This review guided an analysis of these variables using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a large public health database. To ensure enough hearing aid users were included in the analysis, NHANES data were combined across survey cycles from 1999 to 2018. Results from a survey-weighted logistic regression show that age, race/ethnicity, education level, self-reported condition of hearing, and audiometric severity (worse-ear pure tone average, PTA) were all statistically significant predictors of hearing aid use. Additionally, predicted probability modeling revealed that the effects of age, race/ethnicity, and education level were strongly affected by both audiometric severity and self-reported hearing status on hearing aid use. Understanding how these factors shape the decision-making process of an adult with hearing loss can help inform counseling strategies, increase referral rates, and guide public health initiatives aimed at increasing the use of hearing aids.

Completion Date

2026

Semester

Summer

Committee Chair

Zahorik, Pavel

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Health Professions and Sciences

Department

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

Format

PDF

Document Type

Thesis

Language

English

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