Evaluation of Factors Affecting Hearing Aid Use in Children

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the factors affecting hearing aid use in children and investigate how these factors affected their subjective auditory performance. METHODS: The study was carried out with 34 children aged three to six years who had mild or moderate sensorineural hearing loss and had used a bilateral hearing aid for at least six months. The daily hearing aid usage times of children were collected with the help of data logging software. Parent-child interactions were assessed with the Maternal Behavior Rating Scale (MBRS) and Child Behavior Rating Scale (CBRS) scores. To assess the parents’ levels of knowledge about hearing devices, the Hearing Aid Awareness Question Form for Parents, which was prepared by the researchers, was used. Finally, to evaluate the subjective hearing performance of the children, the Parents’ Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance of Children (PEACH) survey was implemented. RESULTS: Strong and significant correlations were found between the MBRS and CBRS scores, the results obtained from some questions in the Hearing Aid Awareness Question Form for Parents, the overall PEACH score, the QUIET subscale score, and the NOISE subscale score (p<0.001). According to the multivariate linear regression analyses, it was observed that the use of the pediatric clip hearing aids holder (question 17) had a significant effect in decreasing both the overall PEACH score (β=-3.07, p=0.008) and the PEACH-NOISE subscale score (β=-1.88, p=0.012). A unit increase in the score given to question 24 of the Hearing Aid Awareness Question Form for Parents (i.e., using the hearing aids longer) caused a 2.35-fold increase in the PEACH-NOISE subscale score, a 1.74-fold increase in the PEACH-QUIET subscale score, and a 4.06-fold increase in the overall PEACH score. CONCLUSION: Parent-child interaction and parents’ knowledge about hearing aid use are important factors affecting hearing aid use in children. These factors also affect the children’s subjective auditory performance. Parents should be given detailed information about hearing aid use and be more sensitive and responsive in their interactions with their children.