Factors Influencing Hearing Help-Seeking and Hearing Aid Uptake in Adults: A Systematic Review of the Past Decade.

The synthesis method used was vote counting, which reports the direction of associations but does not provide information on the magnitude of the effects. Most included studies were cross-sectional, meaning they measured exposure and outcome at the same time, which limits the ability to determine cause and effect. Seventy-nine percent of the studies relied on self-report measures for outcomes like hearing aid uptake, which may introduce recall bias. None of the included studies reported blinding, and only 7% provided a sample size justification or power description. The review excluded qualitative studies, limiting the depth of understanding regarding patient experiences and barriers.

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest and received no financial support for the research.

Do not interpret the lack of association between age/sex and uptake as evidence that these demographics are irrelevant to hearing loss prevalence; the review only shows they are poor predictors of who will actually seek help or buy aids. Furthermore, because most studies were cross-sectional and unblinded, these associations do not prove that specific interventions (like counseling) caused the uptake, only that these factors co-occurred.