The disuse of hearing aids in elderly people diagnosed with a presbycusis at an old age home, in Johannesburg, South Africa: a pilot study.

Background: Hearing loss is the most common form of human sensory deficit with its prevalence highest within the geriatric population. Approximately a third of adults aged from 61 years exhibit the characteristics of presbycusis, a number one contributor to communication disorders among the elderly, thereby affecting the social, functional and psychological wellbeing of the elderly. Subsiquently, this leads to loneliness, isolation, dependence and frustration.