Hearing aid satisfaction and differences in self-reported and data logged hearing aid usage time for experienced and first time users

Background: Hearing aid (HA) satisfaction is assessed by the self-administered International Outcome Inventory of Hearing Aids (IOI-HA) questionnaire. Objectives: The aims of the current study were to investigate the level of HA satisfaction for experienced and first time HA users, and to evaluate any difference between self-reported and objectively measured HA usage time (through data logging). Design: Self-reported questionnaire survey. Patients enrolled in the national BEAR project, from January 2017 to January 2018, answered the seven-item IOI-HA questionnaire targeting different hearing outcome domains; each scored from 1-5. Data logged HA usage time was obtained at two months follow-up visits and compared to the self-reported usage time obtained from the initial IOI-HA questionnaire item. Results: The study population (n=1649) comprised of both experienced (n=458) and first time HA users (n=1191). Total mean IOI-HA scores for experienced HA users increased by ∆0,36 (SD=0,92). Differences in levels of satisfaction between the two groups were further analyzed. Moreover, data logged usage time for experienced users was 10.4 hours (SD=5,10) and 8.35 hours (SD=1,02) for first time users. 15,9% of experienced users (n=422) reported in average a usage time from 4 to 8 hours whereas 21,5% of first time users (n=1152) reported in average 4 to 8 hours usage time.