Abstract

Hearing loss stands as a prevalent global health concern, impacting a significant number of individuals across the world. While the potential of hearing aids to ameliorate auditory deficits and enhance daily functioning is well-recognized, their adoption remains disproportionately low in numerous developing nations, Nigeria included. This study thus examined the prevalence of hearing aid usage and the associated factors among patients with hearing loss in selected teaching hospitals in Southwestern Nigeria.

Cross sectional research design was adopted for this study. The study’s population comprised persons with hearing loss in five (5) teaching hospitals in the South-western part of Nigeria. Using purposive sampling technique, a sample size of two-hundred and fifty (250) patients with hearing loss who have visited or are currently receiving treatment at the selected teaching hospitals served as the sample for this study.

The findings revealed a high prevalence of hearing loss in South-western part of Nigeria (𝑥 ̅̅=3.23). There is also a high prevalence of hearing aid usage in the region, with 99.5% of the respondents agreeing to using hearing aids. Most of the respondents 184 (85.6%) use hearing aid every day or most days (at least 5 days a week), while only 5.6% of the respondents rarely use hearing aid. The prominent factors that influence hearing aid usage are: significant improvement in ability to communicate (𝑥 = 3.32), improved self-esteem (𝑥= 3.22), enhancement of overall enjoyment of social interactions (𝑥 = 3.30) and improved confidence (𝑥 = 3.19). The finding also revealed that the use of hearing aid is very effective in improving the quality of life of people with hearing loss.
The study concluded that hearing aid serves as a valuable intervention for people with hearing loss, as it can enhance their communication, social participation and emotional well-being. There is therefore a need for more awareness and screening programs to identify and treat people with hearing impairment as early as possible.

Key words: Hearing loss, hearing aids, hearing aid usage, prevalence of hearing aid usage