First published 15 January 2019
14% of Italians aged 18 years or older say that they have a hearing loss. Nearly one in three (29.5%) of those who have a hearing loss use hearing aids, a study finds.
The survey, EuroTrak Italy 2018, on hearing loss and the use of hearing aids in Italy, shows that nearly one in seven Italians aged 18 or older think they have a hearing loss.
The number of people with hearing loss in Italy corresponds more or less to the results of similar surveys conducted in the rest of Europe and in the United States, where between one in seven and one in ten say that they think they have a hearing loss.
Use of hearing aids
29.5% of those in the Italian survey who say that they have a hearing loss use hearing aids. This is slightly lower than in other European countries such as Germany, United Kingdom, France and Switzerland.
61% of the hearing aid owners in Italy use two hearing aids (binaural treatment). This is higher than in the 2015 survey where 57% used two hearing aids but also slightly lower than in the other European countries.
88% of the hearing aid owners in the survey say their hearing aid works as expected or better. 72% of all hearing aid owners said that they should have gotten their hearing aids sooner. The main reason for this is missing out on social life.
Job and quality of life
97% of hearing aid owners in the survey said that their hearing aids in some way improve their quality of life and 98% of the hearing aid owners in work state that their hearing aids are useful on their job.
Hearing tests
38% of the Italian respondents had a hearing test in the last five years. This is much higher than in 2015 where only 31% said that they had a hearing test within the last five years. But nearly half of the respondents in the 2018-survey (47%) had never had a hearing test carried out.
Reimbursement
57% of the hearing aid owners received some kind of third party reimbursement. But 55% of the non-owners did not know whether a third party would pay any part of the hearing aids.
About the survey
EuroTrak Italy 2018 was designed and carried out by Anovum Zurich on behalf of ANIFA, the Italian National Association of Hearing Aid Importers and Manufacturers. The survey consisted of more than 15,000 interviews.
Source: EuroTrak Italy 2018, www.ehima.com
