Effect of Physician Consultation on Satisfaction With Hearing Aid Use: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Hearing loss is one of the most common chronic disabilities in older adults, yet reported rates of users' satisfaction with hearing aids are low. Some believe that physicians can provide patients who are pursuing a hearing aid fitting an impartial opinion that will improve hearing aid satisfaction.

Objective: To determine whether a physician consultation increased or decreased patients' satisfaction with hearing aids compared with patients undergoing hearing aid fitting with a dispensing audiologist alone.