First published 02 August 2022
In the Netherlands, nearly 45% of those who say they have a hearing loss use hearing aids, according to the survey EuroTrak Netherlands 2022.
The survey, EuroTrak Netherlands 2022, finds that 10.3% of all Dutch people say they have a hearing loss. Among those 18 or older, nearly 12% think they have a hearing loss. The number is quite similar to those found in the other EuroTrak surveys carried out in European countries. Among the Dutch aged 74 years or older, one in three (33%) say they have a hearing loss.
Use of hearing aids
Nearly 45% of those who say they have a hearing loss in the Netherlands use hearing aids, this is somewhat higher than in 2016 where a similar survey found that 41% of those with hearing loss used hearing aids. In the Netherlands, three out of four (76%) of those who use hearing aids use hearing aids in both ears.
Positive impacts of using hearing aids
The survey shows that the use of hearing aids has a significant positive impact on different aspects of life. Especially communication effectiveness, the ability to participate in group activities and social life improve with the use of hearing aids.
95% of hearing aid owners in the survey declared that their hearing aids improve their quality of life in some way.
The survey also found that hearing aid owners have a lower risk of being depressed and that quality of sleep seems to improve with the use of hearing aids. The use of hearing aids also had a positive impact at work.
67% of all hearing aid owners in the survey said that they should have gotten their hearing aids sooner. The main reason for this was missing out on social life without hearing aids.
Hearing test
In the survey, 26% of the participants had a hearing test within the last 5 years. Most of the tests were carried out by audiologists, followed by ENTs and family doctors.
Reimbursement
89% of the participants in the survey who use hearing aids received some form of 3rd party reimbursement. On the other hand, among hard of hearing non-owners, only 37% knew whether a 3rd party such as the government or insurance would pay any part of the hearing aids.
About the survey
The EuroTrak Netherlands 2022 survey was carried out by the Swiss analysis firm Anovum on behalf of GAIN in the Netherlands and EHIMA. More than 13,300 people participated in the survey.
Source: www.ehima.com
