Survey overview
EuroTrak France 2012 was designed and conducted by Anovum on behalf of the European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association (EHIMA). The study included a representative screening sample of 15,430 people and detailed interviews with 1,311 people with self-reported hearing loss, comprising 502 hearing aid owners and 809 non-owners.
Hearing loss and adoption
In EuroTrak France 2012, 9.4% of the total population reported hearing loss, rising to 11.5% among adults aged 18 and over.
Hearing aid adoption was 30.4% among people with self-reported hearing loss, compared with 29.8% in 2009. Among adults with hearing loss, adoption was also 30.4%, compared with 29.3% in 2009. Among hearing aid owners, 74% had binaural treatment, up from 58% in 2009.
Route to hearing care
29% of respondents had undergone a hearing test within the previous five years.
Among people with self-reported hearing loss, 76% had discussed their hearing loss with an ENT doctor and/or family doctor, while 48% were recommended hearing aids by one of these professionals.
GPs mainly acted as a referral point: 76% of GP consultations resulted in referral to an ENT, while 12% resulted in a recommendation for no further action. Among ENT consultations, 33% resulted in referral to a hearing aid dispenser or audiologist, 37% in a recommendation to obtain a hearing aid and 38% in a recommendation for no further action.
Hearing aid use and satisfaction
Hearing aids were worn for an average of 9.2 hours per day. 74% of currently owned hearing aids had been fitted in 2009 or later, and the average age of devices was 2.5 years. The median age of hearing aids before replacement was five years.
Overall, 80% of hearing aid owners were satisfied with their devices. Satisfaction was higher among people who wore their hearing aids for longer each day and among users with more recently acquired devices.
Users reported positive effects particularly in communication, relationships at home and social life. Hearing aid ownership was also associated with a lower reported risk of depression and forgetfulness compared with non-owners with hearing loss.
Reimbursement and awareness
77% of hearing aid owners received some form of third-party reimbursement.
Awareness among non-owners was considerably lower: 38% did not know whether insurance would contribute to the cost of hearing aids, while 30% believed that it would not.
Barriers to adoption
Among non-owners, the main reasons for not using hearing aids were affordability, the opinion of an ENT specialist and having more serious priorities.
Only 7% of non-owners intended to obtain a hearing aid within the following year. Worsening hearing loss, advice from ENT specialists, encouragement from significant others and advice from audiologists were among the most important influences on adoption, while cost was particularly important for non-owners.
Overall, EuroTrak France 2012 shows a modest increase in hearing aid adoption compared with 2009, alongside high satisfaction and substantial daily use among hearing aid owners. Affordability, professional advice and competing priorities remained important barriers among non-owners.
Source: Anovum – EuroTrak France 2012.
