Hearing impairment among workers and satisfaction with the use of hearing aids

Background: Hearing problems can have adverse effects on an individual's job performance, as well as on unemployment or underemployment and increased risk of stress-related sick leave.

Objective: To investigate hearing impairment among workers and satisfaction with the use of hearing aids.

Methods: Cross-sectional study with workers who are hearing aid users. Subjects underwent pure tone audiometry and answered the Hearing Handicap Inventory for Adults and the Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Life questionnaires.

Results: Participants were 36 workers between 36 and 75 years old, with an average age of 53.47 years, 52.7% male and 47.3% female. There was a mild to moderate hearing handicap perception, with worse results for women in the emotional domain. As hearing loss increased, workers' frustration increased when talking to coworkers. Everyone was satisfied with the use of their hearing aids. Satisfaction increased with increasing age and decreased with increasing hearing loss. The greater the frustration when talking to co-workers, the lower the overall satisfaction with hearing aid use; the lower the satisfaction with the competence of the professional who assisted in adapting the hearing aid; the lower the satisfaction in environments with background noise and overall worse personal image. The worse the attitudes and emotional responses of workers regarding their hearing impairment, the lower the overall satisfaction with the hearing aid.

Conclusions: Despite the use of hearing aids, workers perceive having a hearing impairment, especially women. As hearing loss and frustration in talking with co-workers increased, satisfaction decreased.