Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Department of noncommunicable diseases, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Int J Audiol. 2020 Mar;59(3):166-172. doi: 10.1080/14992027.2020.1721577. Epub 2020 Feb 3.
This article aims to estimate the global and regional needs, unmet needs and access to hearing aids, as well as the morbidity that can be averted by their use. The study was based on Global Burden of Disease data. Study sample: Hearing impaired individuals "in need" of a hearing aid were defined as those in the moderate, moderately severe, and severe categories. Globally, 401.4 million people are 'in need' of hearing aids. The large majority (83%) of them do not use hearing aids, with higher levels being in some regions such as the African region (90%). Accounting for hearing aid coverage reduced morbidity by 14.6% (95% UI 13.1- 16) - from 25 million YLDs to 21.3 million YLDs. It was estimated that if every single prevalent case in need would use a hearing aid, the burden of disease in this population would be reduced from the untreated 25 million YLDs to 10.3 million YLDs - a reduction of 59%. Development of innovative low-cost technologies with effective service delivery models, policy and regulatory changes to improve access, and combatting the stigma and lack of awareness are some of the potential solutions to improve access to hearing aids.
本文旨在估算全球和区域范围内对助听器的需求、未满足的需求以及获得助听器的机会，以及使用助听器可避免的发病情况。本研究基于全球疾病负担数据。研究样本：定义有听力障碍且“需要”助听器的个体为中度、中重度和重度患者。全球有 4.014 亿人“需要”助听器。他们中的绝大多数（83%）没有使用助听器，一些地区的使用率更高，如非洲地区（90%）。考虑到助听器的覆盖率，发病减少了 14.6%（95%置信区间 13.1-16），从 2500 万 YLD 减少到 2130 万 YLD。据估计，如果每一个有需求的患者都使用助听器，那么该人群的疾病负担将从未治疗的 2500 万 YLD 减少到 1030 万 YLD，减少 59%。开发创新的低成本技术和有效的服务提供模式、政策和监管改革以改善获得机会，以及消除污名和提高意识，这些都是改善助听器获得机会的一些潜在解决方案。
