Knowledge and Use of Hearing Aids Among Hearing Impaired Persons Visiting Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) Clinic at Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH)

Abstract

A hearing aid is a small electronic device that is worn in or behind the ear.  It makes some sounds louder for a person with hearing loss to hear, communicate and participate more fully in daily activities. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and use of hearing aids among hearing impaired persons visiting ENT clinic at Tamale Teaching Hospital. A quantitative cross-sectional design was used and 52 hearing impaired persons were selected using a purposive sampling. Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings suggest a significant proportion of respondents (36.5%) reported being slightly knowledgeable about the benefits of using hearing aids, (28.8%) considered themselves moderately knowledgeable about the benefits of hearing aids was whiles a small proportion (15.4%) of respondents claimed to be very knowledgeable about the benefits of hearing aids. Surprisingly, (19.3%) of respondents indicated that they had no knowledge at all about the benefits of hearing aids.  However, there are challenges related to access, affordability (19.2%), and sustained use of hearing aids that need to be addressed.  The deductions and inferences drawn from the results of the findings suggest that ENT Specialists, Audiologist in collaboration with management of TTH should develop and implement educational programs and awareness campaigns targeted at the hearing-impaired patients/clients visiting the clinic to improve their knowledge and understanding on the benefits of using hearing aids.