Hearing impairment is a growing public health challenge among older adults in India, with low uptake of hearing aids despite potential benefits for communication, social participation, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study evaluated the cost-utility of hearing aid provision for older adults (≥60 years) with hearing impairment in India to inform policy and financing decisions....
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Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
No immediate practice change for clinicians outside India, but the findings reinforce the importance of addressing hearing-aid uptake barriers — cost, awareness, and stigma — especially in low- and middle-income settings.
Documents a significant gap between hearing-aid need and uptake in India's rapidly aging population, with implications for global hearing health equity and health-economic policy.
- 01Economic evaluation of hearing aid use among older adults with hearing impairment in India.
- 02Low device uptake was observed despite documented communication and social quality-of-life benefits.
- 03Published in Frontiers in Medical Technology (doi: 10.3389/fmedt.2026.1800134).
- 04Findings highlight cost, access, and awareness as major barriers in a low- and middle-income country context.
- 05Provides health-economic evidence to support hearing aid provision policies in India and similar settings.
Hearing aid use is associated with improved communication and social quality of life in older adults with hearing impairment in India.
studysupportedUptake of hearing aids among eligible older adults in India remains low.
studysupported- PMID
- 42205592
- DOI
- 10.3389/fmedt.2026.1800134.
- Journal
- Frontiers in Medical Technology
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Older adults with hearing impairment in India
- Intervention
- Hearing aid use
- Comparator
- Non-hearing-aid users or unaided condition
Primary outcomes
Quality of life; Hearing aid uptake rates; Cost-effectiveness or economic outcomes