The influence of culture on hearing help-seeking and hearing-aid uptake
- Details
- Published on 11 May 2015
Study

In a recently published study, researchers from a number of countries looked into the question of understanding cultural differences in seeking help for hearing loss and in adopting hearing aids.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has suggested that 90% of people with hearing loss could benefit from hearing aids. However, only a small proportion of them actually seek professional help for their condition. It is also known that there are cultural factors at play, with people in different countries having different rates of help-seeking and hearing aid-uptake. This is what prompted the group of researchers to review this aspect of the question.
The group included members from the UK, Sweden, China, and India. They discussed health-care systems, audiology services, and how they are used in the various countries represented. They also looked at theoretical approaches to understand how culture may affect hearing-related behaviors.
Results showed that different cultural value systems lead to different ways of perceiving and interpreting situations related to aging, disability, hearing loss, and hearing aid use. Specifically, negative stereotypes about aging and the perception of aging differ widely from one culture to another. The countries studied represented a broad spectrum on the individualism to collectivism scale, with the UK and Sweden being highly individual, and India and even more so China, showing collectivist attitudes. These factors are thought to moderate perceptions of health, disability, and disease, implying that cultural differences lead to different ways of perceiving and interpreting situations related to hearing loss and hearing aid use.
Source: Zhao F, et al. Exploring the influence of culture on hearing help-seeking and hearing-aid uptake. International Journal of Audiology 2015 Mar 11:1-9.

training
The Digital EUHA Spring Conference gets under way this Friday (March 31) with a useful update on Bluetooth LE Audio, a new public access system set to be the standard for users of hearing aids, headsets, and earbuds.

A severe problem in maintaining workforce numbers and quality is hitting the audiology profession and industry. This is a crisis, one likely to curb progress for years ahead. Audiology Worldnews sought the opinions of an industry expert, the UK's leading deaf children's charity, and a leading audiology education centre.

PROFESSION
A US ranking of health care jobs has the audiologist trailing in the heap of professionals at the bottom of the list, 23rd out of 29.

RECRUITMENT
The audiology profession and industry faces serious difficulties in recruiting new workers. This is a crisis, one likely to curb progress for years ahead. Audiology Worldnews sought the opinion of Raúl García-Medina, former President of the British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists (BSHAA).

RECRUITMENT
The audiology profession and industry faces serious difficulties in recruiting new workers. This is a crisis. Read this Audiology Worldnews interview with Samantha Lear, President of the British Academy of Audiology. (BAA)

hearing protection
London's High Court has awarded former Royal Marine, James Barry, over £700,000 in compensation for hearing damage suffered during "exposure to noise during service" between 2013 and 2017.

learning
EUHA's online ticket shop for the 2023 EUHA Digital Spring Conference is now open. Read on for details.
Company Directory
New products

hearing aids
Oticon's much publicised BrainHearing journey continues with the release this February 9 of a new product - Real - that brings innovative features, one to balance loud and soft sounds, and another to deal with noise from wind and device handling.
[ ... ]
hearing aids
GN Hearing has announced the expansion of its ReSound OMNIA family, which will now include the group's smallest rechargeable device, the miniRIE.
[ ... ]
3D-printing
Switzerland-based CAD software producer Cyfex has highlighted a growing trend for hearing aid dispensers to set up their own earmould production lines using 3D-printing.
[ ... ]