A Prospective Study of Adult Danish Hearing-AID Users

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Abstract
100 adult hearing-aid candidates were monitored over a 7-year study. At the beginning of the period they were examined with the WAIS digit span test and the blood pressure level was measured. The results of these tests were within normal limits. The number of deaths during the observation period may be slightly higher than expected. It is thought permissible to state that our patient material conforms with a normal Danish population with regard to sex, education, short-term memory capacity, physical status and death rates. The result of hearing-aid treatment was evaluated both at the beginning and at the end of the observation period. Those who originally were new applicants showed some improvement during the 7-year period, while those who already were accustomed to a hearing-aid remained essentially unchanged. The 32 patients who died showed the same distribution as the long-term survivors at the initial hearing-aid fitting. At the final evaluation almost one-third of the patients were in the less satisfactory or unsatisfactory categories. In nearly all of these latter patients it was possible to identify specific factors preventing an optimal result. These factors were mainly psychic in nature but family conditions were also important.

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