Time of Day and Hearing Aid Adoption

To date, there is little understanding of how contextual factors may influence the decisions individuals make regarding the adoption of options for hearing rehabilitation. This explorative retrospective study investigated whether hearing aid adoption and return rates are associated with the time of the day at which an appointment takes place. The study sample consisted of 24,842 patients experiencing their first audiology appointment. It was observed that hearing aid adoption was significantly associated with appointment times whereby lower hearing aid adoption rates were observed at noon and 4 p.m. It was also observed that hearing aid return rates were significantly associated with appointment times whereby lower return rates were observed at noon and 4 p.m. In light of the methodology employed in the study, it is not possible to unequivocally determine why time of day is associated with hearing aid adoption and return rates. Several possible explanations for the patterns of associations are discussed. In light of previous research observing that hunger lowers risk tolerance and glucose consumption increases risk tolerance, the results are consistent with an interpretation based on risk-aversion resulting from hunger. To establish causality between hunger and decision-making in audiology, additional research employing experimental methodologies are necessary.