Abstract
Objective: To analyze hearing aid (HA) rejection factors in hearing impaired children.
Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional survey using convenient sampling recruited 150 hearing impaired students of both genders from 5th to 8th classes of three special education schools of Punjab, Pakistan from January to June 2019. Custom Questionnaire Battery Consumption IOI-HA was used for data collection.
Results: We found that 77(51.3%) students were unsatisfied with their HA with more females being unsatisfied compared to males (p<0.001). Noisy situation, poor sound quality, difficulty managing aids, poor fit and comfort were associated with satisfaction (p<0.05), while poor benefit was not associated with satisfaction (p=0.32). Regularity of use and laterality were associated with satisfaction (p<0.001). Frequency of battery change, hours of HA used per day, when current aid purchase, when first aid purchased, HA management and portion of day aid used were not associated with satisfaction and positive correlation between usage of hearing aid and satisfaction (p<0.01). A significant negative correlation between Satisfaction and factors rejecting HA (p<0.01) was noted.
Conclusion: 48.7% of students in special education schools are satisfied with their HAs, while 51.6% are unsatisfied. Factors affecting regular usage and satisfaction from HAs include female gender, noisy listening situations, poor sound quality, difficulty to manage, poor fit and control, irregular HA usage and hearing aid fitted in left ear.

Key words: Hearing aid, hearing loss, satisfaction, speech-language development.