First published 21 April 2020
Nearly 44% of Swiss who say that they have a hearing loss use hearing aids, according to a survey.
7.7% of Swiss say that they have a hearing loss. Among adults in Switzerland aged 18 or older, 9.1% say they have a hearing loss. Nearly 44% of those who say they have a hearing loss use hearing aids, according to the EuroTrak Switzerland 2018 survey.
The number of people who think they have a hearing loss in Switzerland is a bit lower compared to other countries where similar EuroTrak surveys have been carried out, such as Germany, France, United Kingdom and Italy. On average, one in ten in Europe say they have a hearing loss.
Use of hearing aids
In the survey, 43.7% of those who say they have a hearing loss said that they use hearing aids. This is a bit higher than the last survey in Switzerland where 41.4% said they use hearing aids. The rate of hearing aid users in Switzerland is higher than in the surveys carried out in the other European countries where typically between 30% and 40% of those who say they have a hearing loss use hearing aids.
81% of all hearing aid users in Switzerland use two hearing aids. This figure is also a bit higher than in other European countries, where around 75% of those who use hearing aids wear hearing aids in both ears.
Improvements
Hearing aids make everyday life and work easier. The hearing aid users reported that especially communication effectiveness, participating in group activities, social life, sense of safety and relationships at work improve with hearing aids.
94% of working hearing aid owners state that their hearing aids are useful in the workplace. Two out of three hearing aid owners felt more confident moving around a city since they began wearing hearing aids.
More than one out of three hearing aid owners in the survey said that they should have gotten their hearing aids sooner. The main reason was missing out on social life without hearing aids.
Hearing tests
34% of the participants in the survey said that they had a hearing test within the last five years. Most of the tests were carried out by family doctors or ENT-doctors.
Reimbursement
85% of those with hearing aids in Switzerland received some kind of 3rd party reimbursement.
About the survey
EuroTrak Switzerland 2018 was designed and carried out by the Swiss analysis firm Anovum on behalf of the European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association (EHIMA) to measure hearing loss prevalence and hearing aids usage. The survey consisted of around 14,600 interviews.
Source: www.ehima.com
