Only third of Belgians with hearing problems wear hearing aids | medical

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared March 3 as World Hearing Day. beMedTech seizes this opportunity for a debate about the relatively low use of hearing aids in Belgium. The reasons for this are varied, he said. For example, according to the study, only 32 percent of Belgians with hearing problems have undergone a test in the past five years, people wait an average of three years before buying a hearing solution and too few people know that hearing aids are reimbursed.

“Technological progress can change that story,” said Mark Laureyns, chairman of UCBA-CEUPA, the umbrella organization of Belgian hearing care professionals and audiologists. “Innovation is rapidly expanding the variety of hearing aids and their price.”

A debate over the figures with hearing experts, members of hearing care professionals and audiologist associations, professional associations, ear, nose and throat doctors and insurance companies resulted in several recommendations. For example, academic institutions could set up training programs to raise awareness, inform and educate health professionals about the consequences of untreated hearing loss. Policymakers and competent organizations must systematically organize hearing screening, it still sounds.

The government can also offer a central source, for example a website, with controlled information that is accessible to everyone. Finally, the experts believe it is important that insurance companies, government agencies and health professionals provide people with hearing loss with up-to-date information about reimbursement. According to the study, barely 31 percent of the hearing impaired in Belgium are aware of the reimbursement.

The three-yearly Eurotrak study was conducted in 2021 on 14,475 Belgians, 1,300 of whom indicated that they have hearing problems. Of these, 543 people wear hearing aids, 757 do not.