Direct Bluetooth connectivity results in better hearing aid compliance in children.

OBJECTIVE

To determine if hearing aid use in school aged children is impacted when upgraded to direct Bluetooth® enabled technology. We hypothesized that because children are better able to connect to their devices and headphones, they would be more inclined to use their hearing aids throughout the day, resulting in an increase in hearing aid compliance.

METHODS

This retrospective analysis examined changes in datalogging of hours of usage per day in 51 school aged children who underwent an upgrade from non-direct Bluetooth® hearing technology to direct Bluetooth®-enabled hearing technology.

RESULTS

Hours per day of hearing aid use in all hearing aid users significantly increased after upgrading to DBT enabled technology (6.82 vs 9.82, <0.001). There were no significant differences noted in hours before and after upgrade depending on race (p = 0.147), gender (p = 0.887), developmental delay (p = 0.749), type of hearing loss (p = 0.218), and degree of hearing loss (p = 0.551). However, when comparing private versus Medicaid insurance, there was noted to be a significant difference with the odds of an increase in hours of usage after upgrade being higher for those patients privately insured (OR = 1.247, p < 0.001, 95 % CI 1.093-1.422).

CONCLUSION

Direct Bluetooth® enabled hearing technology positively impacts children's hearing aid compliance, which has the potential improve speech and language outcomes.