Italy: One-in-seven say they have a hearing loss
A EuroTrak study shows, that 13.4% of the adult Italian population believe that they suffer from hearing loss ”? in other words, more than 7 million people. Of these, only 24.6% use hearing aids. This means that around 5.2 million hearing impaired Italians do not use hearing aids.
Even more have hearing loss
“The number of people with a measurable hearing loss is somewhat higher than when people evaluate their hearing loss themselves. If you measure hearing loss, instead of asking people if they have experienced hearing loss, the share of adults with hearing loss will typically be around one-in-six or between 15-20%. That is because a hearing loss can be measured before it can really be noticed,” says Secretary General Søren Hougaard, European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association (EHIMA).
Reimbursement
65% of the Italian hearing aid owners have received some form of third-party reimbursement. But only 22% are aware that a proportion of the costs of hearing aids can be paid for by their insurance and or the government.
Other findings
Other interesting EuroTrak 2012 Italy highlights include
- Only 29% have had a hearing test in the last 5 years. 56% of the population state their hearing has never been tested.
- 54% of the hearing aid owners use two hearing aids.
- 90% of hearing aid owners in employment state that their hearing aids are useful in the workplace.
- Hearing aids are believed to have a positive impact in the workplace.
- People with hearing aids tend to have a higher personal income compared with impaired non-owners.
- Hearing aid owners have a much lower risk of becoming depressed and a lower risk of forgetfulness compared to impaired non-owners.
- The more the hearing aids are worn per pay, the higher the level of satisfaction.
About the survey
The study, which was published in 2012, was carried out by the Swiss analysts Anovum on behalf of EHIMA, The European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association. Around 15,536 people were involved in the study in Italy. They were asked about their hearing and use of hearing aids.
Source: EHIMA, EuroTrak 2012