Hearing impairment (HI) affects 1/6 of the total population in the UK, this figure is rising due ... more Hearing impairment (HI) affects 1/6 of the total population in the UK, this figure is rising due to ageing of the population from the baby-boom era (Matthews, 2014). It has been noted that HI can have a substantial impact on one’s life, physically and emotionally. For example, 70% of people with hearing loss say that it affects their ability to fulfill tasks at work (Arrowsmith, 2014), this costs the UK £24.8m in lost productivity (Greengross, 2014). Reduction in communication can lead to feelings of isolation, and consequently other mental health decline, such as depression and cognitive decline. HI is the most modifiable factor in reducing instances of dementia; direct costs are estimated at 26 billion a year (Prince et al., 2017). Despite these factors and the availability of free-of-charge (FOC) hearing aids (HA), ownership and frequency of use of such devices are minimal in the UK. Only 1/5 of 40-69 year olds with ‘substantial’ HI use a HA (Dawes et al., 2014). The premise of this project was to identify the reasons for low ownership and frequency of use of HAs among those with HI and propose potential solutions. An extensive review of literature was carried out, the major reasons for this include stigmatisation of disability, poor comfort, perceived lack in benefit and issues with attainability. A review of existing devices and technology suggests that alternative listening devices are not currently capable to replace HAs, however, the qualities that would achieve this were defined: Be affordable, effective in improve hearing, self-fitting, desirable and have battery life to last a day. Interviews with specialists and users were carried out to explore the potential obstacles of developing such a device and inform the design process. The solutions proposed suggest effective ways of tackling the issue. Further development and testing is required to evidence the feasibility of the concepts.
Hearing impairment (HI) affects 1/6 of the total population in the UK, this figure is rising due ... more Hearing impairment (HI) affects 1/6 of the total population in the UK, this figure is rising due to ageing of the population from the baby-boom era (Matthews, 2014).
It has been noted that HI can have a substantial impact on one’s life, physically and emotionally. For example, 70% of people with hearing loss say that it affects their ability to fulfill tasks at work (Arrowsmith, 2014), this costs the UK £24.8m in lost productivity (Greengross, 2014). Reduction in communication can lead to feelings of isolation, and consequently other mental health decline, such as depression and cognitive decline. HI is the most modifiable factor in reducing instances of dementia; direct costs are estimated at 26 billion a year (Prince et al., 2017).
Despite these factors and the availability of free-of-charge (FOC) hearing aids (HA), ownership and frequency of use of such devices are minimal in the UK. Only 1/5 of 40-69 year olds with ‘substantial’ HI use a HA (Dawes et al., 2014).
The premise of this project was to identify the reasons for low ownership and frequency of use of HAs among those with HI and propose potential solutions. An extensive review of literature was carried out, the major reasons for this include stigmatisation of disability, poor comfort, perceived lack in benefit and issues with attainability. A review of existing devices and technology suggests that alternative listening devices are not currently capable to replace HAs, however, the qualities that would achieve this were defined: Be affordable, effective in improve hearing, self-fitting, desirable and have battery life to last a day.
Interviews with specialists and users were carried out to explore the potential obstacles of developing such a device and inform the design process.
The solutions proposed suggest effective ways of tackling the issue. Further development and testing is required to evidence the feasibility of the concepts.
Hearing impairment (HI) affects 1/6 of the total population in the UK, this figure is rising due ... more Hearing impairment (HI) affects 1/6 of the total population in the UK, this figure is rising due to ageing of the population from the baby-boom era (Matthews, 2014). It has been noted that HI can have a substantial impact on one’s life, physically and emotionally. For example, 70% of people with hearing loss say that it affects their ability to fulfill tasks at work (Arrowsmith, 2014), this costs the UK £24.8m in lost productivity (Greengross, 2014). Reduction in communication can lead to feelings of isolation, and consequently other mental health decline, such as depression and cognitive decline. HI is the most modifiable factor in reducing instances of dementia; direct costs are estimated at 26 billion a year (Prince et al., 2017). Despite these factors and the availability of free-of-charge (FOC) hearing aids (HA), ownership and frequency of use of such devices are minimal in the UK. Only 1/5 of 40-69 year olds with ‘substantial’ HI use a HA (Dawes et al., 2014). The premise of this project was to identify the reasons for low ownership and frequency of use of HAs among those with HI and propose potential solutions. An extensive review of literature was carried out, the major reasons for this include stigmatisation of disability, poor comfort, perceived lack in benefit and issues with attainability. A review of existing devices and technology suggests that alternative listening devices are not currently capable to replace HAs, however, the qualities that would achieve this were defined: Be affordable, effective in improve hearing, self-fitting, desirable and have battery life to last a day. Interviews with specialists and users were carried out to explore the potential obstacles of developing such a device and inform the design process. The solutions proposed suggest effective ways of tackling the issue. Further development and testing is required to evidence the feasibility of the concepts.
Hearing impairment (HI) affects 1/6 of the total population in the UK, this figure is rising due ... more Hearing impairment (HI) affects 1/6 of the total population in the UK, this figure is rising due to ageing of the population from the baby-boom era (Matthews, 2014).
It has been noted that HI can have a substantial impact on one’s life, physically and emotionally. For example, 70% of people with hearing loss say that it affects their ability to fulfill tasks at work (Arrowsmith, 2014), this costs the UK £24.8m in lost productivity (Greengross, 2014). Reduction in communication can lead to feelings of isolation, and consequently other mental health decline, such as depression and cognitive decline. HI is the most modifiable factor in reducing instances of dementia; direct costs are estimated at 26 billion a year (Prince et al., 2017).
Despite these factors and the availability of free-of-charge (FOC) hearing aids (HA), ownership and frequency of use of such devices are minimal in the UK. Only 1/5 of 40-69 year olds with ‘substantial’ HI use a HA (Dawes et al., 2014).
The premise of this project was to identify the reasons for low ownership and frequency of use of HAs among those with HI and propose potential solutions. An extensive review of literature was carried out, the major reasons for this include stigmatisation of disability, poor comfort, perceived lack in benefit and issues with attainability. A review of existing devices and technology suggests that alternative listening devices are not currently capable to replace HAs, however, the qualities that would achieve this were defined: Be affordable, effective in improve hearing, self-fitting, desirable and have battery life to last a day.
Interviews with specialists and users were carried out to explore the potential obstacles of developing such a device and inform the design process.
The solutions proposed suggest effective ways of tackling the issue. Further development and testing is required to evidence the feasibility of the concepts.
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It has been noted that HI can have a substantial impact on one’s life, physically and emotionally. For example, 70% of people with hearing loss say that it affects their ability to fulfill tasks at work (Arrowsmith, 2014), this costs the UK £24.8m in lost productivity (Greengross, 2014). Reduction in communication can lead to feelings of isolation, and consequently other mental health decline, such as depression and cognitive decline. HI is the most modifiable factor in reducing instances of dementia; direct costs are estimated at 26 billion a year (Prince et al., 2017).
Despite these factors and the availability of free-of-charge (FOC) hearing aids (HA), ownership and frequency of use of such devices are minimal in the UK. Only 1/5 of 40-69 year olds with ‘substantial’ HI use a HA (Dawes et al., 2014).
The premise of this project was to identify the reasons for low ownership and frequency of use of HAs among those with HI and propose potential solutions. An extensive review of literature was carried out, the major reasons for this include stigmatisation of disability, poor comfort, perceived lack in benefit and issues with attainability. A review of existing devices and technology suggests that alternative listening devices are not currently capable to replace HAs, however, the qualities that would achieve this were defined: Be affordable, effective in improve hearing, self-fitting, desirable and have battery life to last a day.
Interviews with specialists and users were carried out to explore the potential obstacles of developing such a device and inform the design process.
The solutions proposed suggest effective ways of tackling the issue. Further development and testing is required to evidence the feasibility of the concepts.
It has been noted that HI can have a substantial impact on one’s life, physically and emotionally. For example, 70% of people with hearing loss say that it affects their ability to fulfill tasks at work (Arrowsmith, 2014), this costs the UK £24.8m in lost productivity (Greengross, 2014). Reduction in communication can lead to feelings of isolation, and consequently other mental health decline, such as depression and cognitive decline. HI is the most modifiable factor in reducing instances of dementia; direct costs are estimated at 26 billion a year (Prince et al., 2017).
Despite these factors and the availability of free-of-charge (FOC) hearing aids (HA), ownership and frequency of use of such devices are minimal in the UK. Only 1/5 of 40-69 year olds with ‘substantial’ HI use a HA (Dawes et al., 2014).
The premise of this project was to identify the reasons for low ownership and frequency of use of HAs among those with HI and propose potential solutions. An extensive review of literature was carried out, the major reasons for this include stigmatisation of disability, poor comfort, perceived lack in benefit and issues with attainability. A review of existing devices and technology suggests that alternative listening devices are not currently capable to replace HAs, however, the qualities that would achieve this were defined: Be affordable, effective in improve hearing, self-fitting, desirable and have battery life to last a day.
Interviews with specialists and users were carried out to explore the potential obstacles of developing such a device and inform the design process.
The solutions proposed suggest effective ways of tackling the issue. Further development and testing is required to evidence the feasibility of the concepts.