Gallagher Tyler J, Hori Kaitlin, Choi Janet S
Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California Los Angeles California USA.
Caruso Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California Los Angeles California USA.
OTO Open. 2025 Jan 9;9(1):e70055. doi: 10.1002/oto2.70055. eCollection 2025 Jan-Mar.
We investigated use of hearing care among US veterans and explore motivations, barriers, and adherence to hearing healthcare.
Cross-sectional online survey.
US Veterans.
This cross-sectional, online survey-based study included 287 respondents who identified themselves as veterans on ResearchMatch (NIH-sponsored national registry of research volunteers). Questions regarding hearing loss, tinnitus, use of hearing care, and facilitators/barriers to hearing care were asked. Descriptive statistics were utilized for data analysis.
In this cohort, the rate of self-reported hearing loss and tinnitus were 61.0% and 74.2%, respectively. Among these, 66.9% of those with hearing loss and 36.2% of those with tinnitus reported seeking hearing care. Most important motivators of seeking hearing care (average on 1-5 Likert scale) included personal importance of hearing (4.0; SD = 1.1), difficulty hearing others (3.6; SD = 1.1), and degree of hearing loss (3.3; SD = 1.1). Most common barriers included uncertainty regarding who to reach out to for hearing care (42.9%), inability to get time off work (34.3%), and nervousness about seeing a provider (28.6%). Common reasons to decline hearing aids reporting that hearing was not bad enough for hearing aids (72.2%) and included inability to afford hearing aid (55.6%).
In this cohort, many US veterans sought care for hearing loss, though barriers still exist, including uncertainty regarding how to access appropriate care, being too far from a provider, and challenges with cost. Future studies should investigate methods to alleviate these internal and external barriers to hearing care and emphasize the importance of motivators for seeking care.
我们调查了美国退伍军人听力保健的使用情况，并探讨了其动机、障碍以及对听力保健的依从性。
横断面在线调查。
美国退伍军人。
这项基于在线调查的横断面研究纳入了287名在ResearchMatch（美国国立卫生研究院赞助的全国研究志愿者登记处）上自称退伍军人的受访者。询问了有关听力损失、耳鸣、听力保健的使用情况以及听力保健的促进因素/障碍等问题。采用描述性统计进行数据分析。
在这个队列中，自我报告的听力损失率和耳鸣率分别为61.0%和74.2%。其中，66.9%的听力损失患者和36.2%的耳鸣患者报告寻求过听力保健。寻求听力保健的最重要动机（1-5李克特量表平均分）包括听力对个人的重要性（4.0；标准差=1.1）、听他人说话困难（3.6；标准差=1.1）以及听力损失程度（3.3；标准差=1.1）。最常见的障碍包括不确定该向谁寻求听力保健（42.9%）、无法请假（34.3%）以及看医生时紧张（28.6%）。拒绝使用助听器的常见原因包括认为听力还没差到需要使用助听器（72.2%）以及无力支付助听器费用（55.6%）。
在这个队列中，许多美国退伍军人因听力损失寻求治疗，但障碍仍然存在，包括不确定如何获得适当的护理、距离医疗机构太远以及费用方面的挑战。未来的研究应调查减轻这些听力保健内部和外部障碍的方法，并强调寻求治疗的动机的重要性。
