Predictable Factors of People with Asymmetrical Hearing Loss Wearing a Hearing Aid in the Worse Ear Only

In patients with bilateral asymmetrical hearing loss (AHL), where only one hearing aid is available, it is difficult to decide which ear to amplify. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of hearing aid use for AHL patients fitted with a hearing aid in their worse ear only. One-hundred-two adults with asymmetrical-mixed or sensorineural hearing loss were retrospectively included. AHL was classified into three subgroups: unilateral hearing loss (UHL) and AHL type 1 (AHL1) and type 2 (AHL2). The main outcome measures were (1) the time spent wearing a hearing aid, (2) the hearing in a noise test (HINT), (3) the sound localization test and (4) the Korean version of the International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids (IOI-HA). The 1 kHz-hearing threshold of the better ear was significantly better in the successful users than in the intermittent users for UHL. Younger age was associated with significantly better outcomes than older for AHL1 and AHL2. Among the etiologies of AHL, sudden hearing loss was associated with significantly better outcomes of hearing aid use for AHL, UHL and AHL1 patients. In this study, the success rate and usage rates were 43.1% and 67.6% in AHL patients wearing a hearing aid in the worse ear. This study identified the hearing threshold of 1 kHz from the better ear, age and etiology of sudden hearing loss as audiometric and non-audiometric factors that affected the outcomes of hearing aid use.