10 reasons why people still don't acquire hearing instruments

"It's time to talk about hearing loss the way we talk about vision or dental health." – Paul Surridge, Chairman of BIHIMA.

Despite rising satisfaction rates and life-changing technology, new EuroTrak UK 2025 data reveals that the top ten reasons people avoid getting hearing instruments has barely shifted since 2022.

This suggests a persistent resistance to seeking help – one that isn’t solely about access or technology, but something deeper: perception, identity, and long-held stigma. BIHIMA’s Chairman, Paul Surridge, reflects on the findings: “We’ve seen fantastic progress in satisfaction, app use, and daily wear time. However, when we ask why people delay getting hearing instruments, the answers haven’t changed much in three years since the last EuroTrak survey. That tells us this isn’t a technology issue, but rather a mindset issue. We believe that this mindset is still shaped by stigma, whether people realise it or not.”

What are the top 10 reasons people don’t get hearing instruments?

According to the latest EuroTrak data, the top 10 reasons why people are not getting hearing instruments are:

1. I hear well enough in most situations.

2. They are uncomfortable.

3. My hearing loss is not severe enough.

4. They do not work well in noisy situations.

5. They do not restore hearing to normal.

6. I have more serious priorities.

7. I cannot afford a hearing aid.

8. I would be embarrassed to wear a hearing aid.

9. They are bad designs.

10. I do not admit I have a hearing loss in public.

Compared to EuroTrak 2022, the order has shifted slightly, with I hear well enough now in the top spot. Some percentages have also softened. For example: They are uncomfortable dropped from 67% in 2022 to 63% in 2025.

I would be embarrassed to wear a hearing aid dropped from 58% to 51%.

I do not admit I have a hearing loss in public fell from 48% to 45%.

But the overall list is strikingly similar.

The illusion of not bad enough 

The top three reasons – hearing well enough, discomfort, and believing their hearing loss isn’t severe – all stem from subconsciously trying to minimise the problem.

This is despite research showing that any level of untreated hearing loss has significant links to isolation, loss of connection with others, and cognitive decline.

Surridge adds: “Many people tell themselves they’re coping fine, but what they’re really doing is adapting; withdrawing from noisy conversations, avoiding social settings, or relying heavily on others. That’s not coping, that’s missing out.”

Perhaps most telling are the more explicit markers of stigma: embarrassment, design concerns, and public denial.

While they’ve decreased slightly since 2022, the fact that half of respondents still express these concerns paints a worrying picture. Design dissatisfaction remains high at 50%, though we suggest this is more about perception of design rather than a reflection on the real products available.

Although modern hearing instruments are more sleek, AI-powered, and app-connected, many people still imagine clunky beige devices from the past – something that isn’t helped by poor media representations of hearing instrument users.

“We’re still fighting an outdated image,” Surridge explains. “Hearing instruments today are smart, connected and customisable. But if that’s not what people picture when they think of a hearing device, then perception wins out over reality.”

Even responses like cannot afford a hearing aid (52%) and have more serious priorities (56%) have roots in how hearing loss is culturally valued or, more importantly, devalued.

When hearing is not seen as urgent, it becomes easier to delay or deprioritise care. This is something BIHIMA has explored before, including in our recent blog on hearing protection – see QR code 1 – where despite the dangers of noise exposure, uptake of protection remains shockingly low.

Why? Because people don’t view their hearing as something worth safeguarding until it’s too late.

What is being done to change the narrative around hearing loss?

There is good news: stigma is slowly but steadily being challenged across the industry. Earlier this year, we celebrated DeafMetal‘s inclusion in the V&A’s Design and Disability exhibition – a powerful example of how hearing instruments can be reframed not as a medical device, but as an expressive, wearable piece of technology.

At the same time, organisations like the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) are tackling stigma head-on. Their research found that nearly half of hearing aid users felt society still hadn’t accepted hearing aids in the same way as glasses, and 11% would even prefer to live with hearing loss rather than wear one.

Their ongoing It Does Matter campaign – use QR code 2 – took these findings deeper, reporting that over half of their participants were regularly excluded from conversations, with people saying “it doesn’t matter” when they struggled to understand what had been said.

Through their campaign, people can sign up for free basic BSL lessons, while RNID has also committed to challenging misconceptions faced by people who are deaf or have hearing loss by mounting major celebrity and public awareness campaigns.

Meanwhile, hearing-technology manufacturers like GN (who produce ReSound instruments) launched The New Norm image bank on Unsplash: a powerful visual challenge to outdated stereotypes. Featuring modern-day athletes, musicians, and creatives sporting sleek hearing instruments, this campaign made bold strides in normalising hearing devices as desirable and dynamic accessories.

“It’s time to talk about hearing loss the way we talk about vision or dental health,” says Paul Surridge. “Nobody’s embarrassed to wear glasses. We need to get to the point where the same is true for hearing instruments.”

Where do we go from here?

The EuroTrak 2025 data makes it clear: awareness alone isn’t enough. We must also address identity, pride, and the subtle social cues that make people feel ashamed to seek help. As an industry, we must continue to:

Normalise hearing conversations in public and healthcare settings

Educate young people on the risks of hearing loss

Celebrate hearing technology as innovative and aspirational

Support audiologists to advocate with empathy, not just information

“The reasons some people avoid hearing instruments may be familiar, but that doesn’t mean we should accept them. It’s our job as an industry to shift the culture so that more people can benefit from hearing care sooner,” concludes Paul Surridge.