Negative perceptions related to appearance, personality, and intelligence may exist among peers toward adolescents who use hearing aids. This phenomenon, known as the "hearing aid effect," may discourage adolescents from using their devices....
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Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
No immediate practice change, but findings can inform counseling conversations with adolescent patients and parents about social stigma and hearing aid acceptance.
Understanding current peer attitudes toward hearing aids in adolescents helps audiologists and counselors address stigma and support hearing aid uptake in a critical developmental population.
- 01Examines whether the 'hearing aid effect' — negative peer perception of hearing aid users — persists among today's teenagers.
- 02Published in JAAA 2026, reflecting updated social context of modern hearing aid designs.
- 03Findings have implications for counseling adolescent patients and encouraging consistent hearing aid use.
- 04Peer attitudes can strongly influence whether teenagers choose to wear and continue using hearing aids.
- 05Study population is adolescents, a group often underserved in hearing aid adherence research.
The 'hearing aid effect' — negative peer perception of hearing aid wearers — is being investigated in the mid-2020s adolescent context.
studyunclear- PMID
- 42763532
- DOI
- 10.3766/jaaa.250109.
- Journal
- Journal of the American Academy of Audiology
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 4
- Population
- Adolescents evaluating peers who wear hearing aids
- Intervention
- Assessment of peer attitudes toward hearing aid users
Primary outcomes
Adolescent attitudes and perceptions toward hearing aid-wearing peers; Presence or absence of the hearing aid effect in mid-2020s