According to the latest figures published in the Eurotrak 2025 study, France has a hearing aid adoption rate of 55% – a record figure across Europe, if not the world, since the country has now matched Denmark’s record rate, which was until recently considered unattainable. There are no global figures for this, so certainty on a world standing evades us; intuitively, manufacturers say they can see no other country capable of matching the French climb.

The study also shows that 83% of French hearing aid wearers are satisfied, and 97% even claim that their hearing aids have improved their quality of life. Another victory for professionals, who can congratulate themselves on the quality of their work, since these figures are only 80% and 70% respectively for the rest of Europe.

The adoption rate for people with hearing loss in France was just 34.1% in 2015, 41% in 2018 and 45.7% in 2022. but during this period, a reform of state delivery of hearing assistance – the 100% Santé reimbursement scheme – came into force on January 1, 2021, enabling people to be fitted with hearing aids without any out-of-pocket expenses.

 

 

“We found that the higher the reimbursement rate for hearing aids in a country, the higher the adoption rate,” explains Xavier Temmos, vice-president of SNITEM (Syndicat National de l’Industrie des Technologies Médicales, which translates to French National Association for Medical Technology and Industries), who presented the results of the study. He points to a “colossal and historic” increase due to the success of the 100% Santé program in audiology.

“This shows that the 100% Santé reform has worked, and we can be proud of this as an industry,” said Fabrice Vigneron, President of SNITEM.

 

 

Generational stigma is a factor affecting hearing aid adoption

 

This adoption rate is higher among the over-65s, reaching 62.3% in 2025, up from 50.1% two years earlier.
Among the under-44s, the effect of 100% Santé has been more rapid, with the adoption rate reaching its current level by 2022, with even a slight decline thereafter. The adoption rate for the under-44s is 48.3% in 2025 (compared with 49.3% in 2022 and 36.4% in 2018). This rate is almost identical to that of 45-64 year-olds, where it stands at 47.2%.
The discrepancy in could be explained by a greater psychological brake due to stigmatisation among the under-65s.

The Eurotrak survey was launched in 2009. It is carried out every three years in the main European countries, by the various national associations. In France, it is carried out by the research firm Anovum and supported by EHIMA and SNITEM. The French section of Eurotrak 2025 involved 14,939 respondents in a representative sample of the population, as well as 1,304 hearing aid wearers, using the self-declaration method.

Source: Audio Infos France