Interaction effect of self-efficacy and joint problems on hearing aid abandonment among older adults.

Objective: We assessed the interaction between self-efficacy and joint problems and self-efficacy and visual problems on the risk of hearing aid abandonment in older adults.

Design: A retrospective cohort study comprising older adults who received hearing aids in Chile was conducted. Hearing aid self-efficacy was measured using the S-MARS-HA questionnaire, while joint and visual problems were assessed through self-reported questions.

Association between the home-to-healthcare center distance and hearing aid abandonment among older adults.

Background: Access to audiology services for older adults residing in sparsely populated regions is often limited compared to those in central urban areas. The geographic accessibility to follow-up care, particularly the influence of distance, may contribute to an increased risk of hearing aid abandonment.

Objective: To assess the association between the home-to-healthcare-calibration-center distance and hearing aid abandonment among older adults fitted in the Chilean public health system.

Social determinants of health associated with attitudes towards hearing loss and hearing aids in older adults fitted in a Latin American country: validation of the ALHQ questionnaire into Spanish.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the association between certain social determinants of health (i.e. educational level, income, and social support) and attitudes towards hearing loss and hearing aids among older adults with hearing loss fitted in a Latin American country.

Attitudes to noise in young adults and associated factors: adaptation of the youth attitude to noise scale into Spanish using item response theory analysis.

Objective: This study aimed to identify the attitudes to noise in young adults and the possible effects of gender, age, and a positive history of auditory symptoms related to recreational noise exposure on the attitudes to noise in this population.

Design: The Youth Attitude to Noise (YANS) and the hearing symptom description (HSD) scales were adapted into Spanish to be used with young adults. The validity was determined using factor analyses and Item Response Theory (IRT) models.

Does educational level predict hearing aid self-efficacy in experienced older adult hearing aid users from Latin America? Validation process of the Spanish version of the MARS-HA questionnaire.

Hearing aids are the most common rehabilitation strategy for age-related hearing loss. However, 25% to 50% of older adults fitted with hearing aids do not wear them post-fitting. Hearing aid self-efficacy has been suggested as one of the key factors that may explain adherence to hearing aids in older adults.

Effects of auditory and socio-demographic variables on discontinuation of hearing aid use among older adults with hearing loss fitted in the Chilean public health sector.

Background: The percentage of older adults with hearing loss who stop using their hearing aids and the variables associated with this phenomenon have not been systematically investigated in South America. This problem is relevant to the region since countries such as Colombia, Brazil and Chile have public programmes that provide hearing aids to older adults. The aims of this study were to determine the percentage of older adults fitted with a hearing aid at a public hospital in Chile who subsequently stop using it and the auditory and socio-demographic variables associated with the hazard of discontinuing hearing aid use.