Subject: Fw: Hearing aid owner dissatisfaction From: Brent Edwards <brent(at)edwards.net> Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2004 10:50:57 -0800Not sure if this went through so am resending it. Sorry if it is duplicated. --Brent ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brent Edwards" <brent(at)edwards.net> To: <AUDITORY(at)LISTS.MCGILL.CA> Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2004 6:53 PM Subject: Hearing aid owner dissatisfaction > Following is some information on hearing aid owner dissatisfaction. > References are below. > > From an article published in 2000 on the hearing aid in the drawer > phenomenon, the top 20 reasons why hearing aid owners don't use their > hearing aids are: > > 1. Poor benefit > 2. Background noise/noisy situations > 3.Fit and comfort > 4. Negative side effects of hearing aid > 5. Price and cost of repairs > 6. Don't need help > 7. Hearing aid is broken > 8. Sound quality is poor > 9. Unspecified - do not wear > 10. Volume control adjustment > 11. Whistling and feedback > 12. Nuisance/hassle/annoying > 13. Poor service from dispenser > 14. High-frequency loss not helped > 15. Stigma of wearing hearing aids > 16. Work in limited situations > 17. Profound hearing loss not helped > 18. Too loud > 19. Battery life too short > 20. Forget to use > > In 1997, 16% of hearing aid owners did not use their aids. In 2000, 11% of > hearing aid owners did not use their aids. > > Also, in a survey of 2428 hearing aid owners on what improvements they > wanted to their aids published in 2002, the following were the top 10 > responses. The percentage of people who rated highly the desirability of > these improvements is also shown. > > 1. (95%) Speech in noise > 2. (88%) Better sound quality > 3. (85%) Less whistling and buzzing > 4. (84%) Lower price > 5. (83%) More soft sounds > 6. (82%) Longer lasting batteries > 7. (82%) Work better with telephone > 8. (81%) Speech in quiet > 9. (81%) Loud sounds less painful > 10. (78%) Better fit and comfort > > --Brent > > Kochkin, S. MarkeTrak V: Why my hearing aids are in the drawer: The consumer > 's perspective, Hearing Journal, Vol. 53(2) February 2000, pp. 34-41. > > > > Kochkin, S. MarkeTrak VI: 10-Year Customer Satisfaction Trends in the US > Hearing Instrument Market, The Hearing Review, Vol. 9(10) October 2002, pp. > 14-25, 46. > > > > Kochkin, S. MarkeTrak VI: Consumers Rate Improvements Sought in Hearing > Instruments, The Hearing Review, Vol. 9(11) November 2002, pp. 18-22. > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Al Bregman" <al.bregman(at)mcgill.ca> > To: <AUDITORY(at)LISTS.MCGILL.CA> > Sent: Monday, March 29, 2004 6:43 PM > Subject: Re: Yet again on hearing aids > > > > Dear Tom, > > > > You wrote: > > > > > if we delete the science from hearing aid fitting, what > > do we have left other than > > > witch craft? > > > > We have the subjective reports of the patient as to which > > settings he or she prefers. There may be other kinds of science > > relevant to this question, not just hearing science: for example > > psychology. Too bad there aren't more studies as to the > > variables that lead to the "dresser drawer" solution, since this > > question is arguably the most important one that exists > > concerning the fitting of hearing aids, because it's a question > > of the difference between some help and no help at all. > > > > Al > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: <g_brennantg(at)TITAN.SFASU.EDU> > > To: "Al Bregman" <al.bregman(at)mcgill.ca> > > Cc: "AUDITORY" <auditory(at)lists.mcgill.ca> > > Sent: Monday, March 29, 2004 11:05 AM > > Subject: Re: Yet again on hearing aids > > > > > > > Al, this is a bit out of context and not the original issue but > > a side issue > > > Barbara raised. The iriginal issue had to do with harmonic > > fitting of hearing > > > aids. I agree that fitting by formula never does better than > > get you somewhere > > > in the ball park but I would also point out that there are many > > hearing aids in > > > dresser drawers regardless of how they are fitted. Be all that > > as it may, if we > > > delete the science from hearing aid fitting, what do we have > > left other than > > > witch craft? > > > > > > Tom > > > > > > > > > Tom Brennan KD5VIJ, CCC-A/SLP, R/D - AU > > > web page http://titan.sfasu.edu/~g_brennantg/sonicpage.html > > > > > > > > > >