EuroTrak France: the highest satisfaction

The EuroTrak survey also shows potential social cost savings due to the use of hearing aids: work competitiveness is increased, fewer depressive symptoms are shown and hearing aid wearers enjoying improved sleep quality.

15,061 people were surveyed about their hearingfor the EuroTrak study in France in 2018. The workwas designed and executed by Anovum on behalfof the European Hearing Instrument ManufacturersAssociation (EHIMA). 10% of the people surveyedhave a hearing loss and 41% of this group havehearing instruments. This hearing aid adoption rate hasjumped from 34.1% in 2015. 71% of hearing aid ownershave binaural products. The 2018 EuroTrak survey showsthe significant impact of hearing aids on different aspectsof daily life, especially with communication, participationin group activities and relationships at home. 97% ofFrench hearing aid owners declare that their hearing aidsimprove their quality of life at least sometimes and 65%wish they had obtained them sooner. When asked whythey should have obtained hearing aids sooner, 66% saidthey now had a better social life, 54% are experiencingbetter mental and emotional health and 37% say they areless fatigued in the evening.

Satisfaction

82% of those people wearing instruments state they areeither satisfied or very satisfied with their hearing aids. 75%believe their hearing aids work better than or as expected.As seen in previous EuroTrak surveys, satisfaction correlateswith usage, with the most satisfied being those that wear their hearing aids for the longest periods of time. Overallsatisfaction with hearing aids is highest in France forthose people with instruments purchased in the last twoyears and for those who wear their hearing instrumentsfor more than 8 hours per day.

Whilst 82% of people state they are satisfied with theirhearing aids, this number jumps to 89% for those whoseinstruments are less than 2 years old. Satisfaction increasesfrom 54% when worn for up to 4 hours per day to over88% when worn for longer than 8 hours a day.

Satisfaction with dispenser professionalism amongsthearing aid wearers is high at 87%, with quality of service,counselling and aftersales service also at 87%. Although89% are happy with their hearing aid performance whenin a one-to-one conversation, 85% at home with familymembers and 84% with listening to music, satisfactionwith performance in noisy situations is lower at 68%, sothere is still some work to do in the more complex auditoryenvironments.

Quality of life improvements

Hearing aids are seen to have a positive impact on jobsand promotion prospects. Hearing aid owners have a lowerrisk of being depressed and they also state that qualityof sleep seems to improve when hearing aids are used.95% of the working hearing aid owners’say their hearingaids are useful in their job. People recognise that hearingaids increase the chance of promotion for the hearingimpairedpopulation, help to get the right job and increasetheir salary.

The 2018 results once again show that hearing aid ownershave a lower risk of being depressed (PHQ-2 Screening)compared to impaired non-owners with comparable hearingloss. Hearing aid wearers report being less physically andmentally exhausted in the evenings and they are happierwith the quality of sleep they achieve.

Route to treatment

36% of those surveyed in France had a hearing test inthe last five years, with 17% having a test in the last 12months. The ENT doctor was most likely to do the testing(51%) and were the most important source of information– and therefore the major gatekeeper – along with familydoctors and hearing aid dispensers. Data from the Frenchresponses show on average three years pass betweenpeople becoming aware of a potential hearing loss andthe purchase of hearing aids. Hearings aids are typicallyreplaced after six years (although 13% replace thembetween 1 and 3 years).

87% of hearing aid owners received some form of 3rdparty reimbursement, however, knowledge about thirdparty payments among non-owners is still relatively lowbut has increased since 2015. A specialised hearing aidstore was the most popular choice for obtaining hearinginstruments, with 78% purchasing from these stores.Opticians accounted for 10% and pharmacy 6%. Whenasked where they would go for hearing instruments,80% of non-owners said they would visit the specialisedhearing aid store.

Reasons for not having hearing aids

The main reasons given by the French survey populationfor not obtaining hearing aids are financial (they cannotafford them), the opinion of the professional (ENTs, GPsand HCPs) and they also believe they will be uncomfortable.For those with hearing instruments, the most importantinfluencing factors for this group obtaining them wereworsening hearing loss, ENT and significant others influence.It will be interesting to see the 2021 EuroTrak results afterthe introduction of the new “full reimbursement” schemein 2019.

Article written from the data of the EuroTrak UK survey2018, completed by Anovum for EHIMA (European HearingInstrument Manufacturers’ Association)