Changing characteristics of first-time hearing aid applicants in The Netherlands in the past decade

This study assessed changes in the characteristics of firsttime hearing aid applicants in the past decade. Age, gender, date, type and ear of first hearing aid and audiometry were determined for a sample of 705 firsttime hearing aid applicants. Thirteen cohorts resulted, according to the year of first visit to the dispenser. Differences in age, hearing loss, gender and type and ear of first hearing aid between cohorts were analysed. The mean age of first-time hearing aid users increased from 59.52 years in 1987 to 71.84 years in 1999. The mean pure-tone average hearing loss in the better ear (1, 2 and 4 kHz) decreased from 69.06 dB in 1987 to 51.86 dB in 1999. Relatively more males than females were fitted with hearing aids. Our conclusions are that people are being fitted with hearing aids at older ages and with smaller degrees of hearing loss.