Japan: One-in-eight say they have a hearing loss
A JapanTrak study shows that 12.8% of the adult Japanese population believe that they suffer from hearing loss ”? in other words, nearly 14 million people. Of these, only 14.1% use hearing aids. This means, that around 12 million hearing impaired in Japan 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 number 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
12% of the Japanese hearing aid owners have received some kind of third party reimbursement. But only 6% of the Japanese know that some of the hearing aids costs can be paid by insurance or by the government.
Other findings
Other interesting JapanTrak 2012 highlights include:
- 49% have had a hearing test in the last 5 years. 37% of the population state their hearing has never been tested.
- Nearly 40% of the hearing aid owners use two hearing aids.
- 88% of the hearing aid owners in work state that their hearing aids are useful in the workplace
- Hearing aid owners have a 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 JHIMA, Japan Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association. Around 15,036 people were involved in the study in Japan. They were asked about their hearing and use of hearing aids.
Source: JHIMA, JapanTrak 2012