Effect of changes in the hearing aid subsidy on the prevalence of hearing loss in South Korea
ObjectivesSouth Korea's National Health Insurance has provided hearing aids to registered individuals with hearing disabilities since 1989. In 2015, hearing aid subsidies increased to approximately US$1,000. This study aimed to understand hearing loss categories in Korea by analyzing patients b...
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| Format: | Article |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Neurology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2023.1215494/full |
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| author | Chul Young Yoon Chul Young Yoon Junhun Lee Junhun Lee Tae Hoon Kong Tae Hoon Kong Young Joon Seo Young Joon Seo |
| author_facet | Chul Young Yoon Chul Young Yoon Junhun Lee Junhun Lee Tae Hoon Kong Tae Hoon Kong Young Joon Seo Young Joon Seo |
| author_sort | Chul Young Yoon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ObjectivesSouth Korea's National Health Insurance has provided hearing aids to registered individuals with hearing disabilities since 1989. In 2015, hearing aid subsidies increased to approximately US$1,000. This study aimed to understand hearing loss categories in Korea by analyzing patients between 2010 and 2020 and the effect of the 2015 hearing aid policy change on the prevalence of hearing loss.MethodsThe participants were patients registered on the National Health Insurance Service database from 2010 to 2020 with hearing loss. A total of 5,784,429 patients were included in this study. Hearing loss was classified into conductive, sensorineural, and other categories. Patients with hearing loss were classified according to the International Classification of Diseases diagnostic code. Disability diagnosis and hearing aid prescription were defined using the National Health Insurance Disability and Hearing Aid Code.ResultsThe increase in hearing aid prescriptions and hearing disability registrations following the subsidy increase impacts hearing loss prevalence. Hearing aid prescription and hearing disability were found to have an effect on increasing hearing loss prevalence in univariate and multivariate analyses. The r-value of each analysis exceeded 0.95. Other hearing losses increased rapidly after the increased subsidy.ConclusionA hearing-impaired individual must be diagnosed with a hearing disability and prescribed a hearing aid to receive the subsidy. The prevalence of hearing loss was affected by increased hearing disabilities following changes in the hearing aid subsidy and the number of people prescribed hearing aids. Therefore, caution should be exercised when studying hearing loss prevalence over mid-long-term periods. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-2295 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:21:09Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Neurology |
| spelling | doaj.art-1c897efd8dc641b0b4a8e4826b85dfe52023-09-13T04:40:57ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neurology1664-22952023-09-011410.3389/fneur.2023.12154941215494Effect of changes in the hearing aid subsidy on the prevalence of hearing loss in South KoreaChul Young Yoon0Chul Young Yoon1Junhun Lee2Junhun Lee3Tae Hoon Kong4Tae Hoon Kong5Young Joon Seo6Young Joon Seo7Research Institute of Hearing Enhancement, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Biostatistics, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do, Republic of KoreaResearch Institute of Hearing Enhancement, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Biostatistics, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do, Republic of KoreaResearch Institute of Hearing Enhancement, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do, Republic of KoreaResearch Institute of Hearing Enhancement, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do, Republic of KoreaObjectivesSouth Korea's National Health Insurance has provided hearing aids to registered individuals with hearing disabilities since 1989. In 2015, hearing aid subsidies increased to approximately US$1,000. This study aimed to understand hearing loss categories in Korea by analyzing patients between 2010 and 2020 and the effect of the 2015 hearing aid policy change on the prevalence of hearing loss.MethodsThe participants were patients registered on the National Health Insurance Service database from 2010 to 2020 with hearing loss. A total of 5,784,429 patients were included in this study. Hearing loss was classified into conductive, sensorineural, and other categories. Patients with hearing loss were classified according to the International Classification of Diseases diagnostic code. Disability diagnosis and hearing aid prescription were defined using the National Health Insurance Disability and Hearing Aid Code.ResultsThe increase in hearing aid prescriptions and hearing disability registrations following the subsidy increase impacts hearing loss prevalence. Hearing aid prescription and hearing disability were found to have an effect on increasing hearing loss prevalence in univariate and multivariate analyses. The r-value of each analysis exceeded 0.95. Other hearing losses increased rapidly after the increased subsidy.ConclusionA hearing-impaired individual must be diagnosed with a hearing disability and prescribed a hearing aid to receive the subsidy. The prevalence of hearing loss was affected by increased hearing disabilities following changes in the hearing aid subsidy and the number of people prescribed hearing aids. Therefore, caution should be exercised when studying hearing loss prevalence over mid-long-term periods.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2023.1215494/fullhearing lossbig-datahearing aidhearing disabilityprevalence |
| spellingShingle | Chul Young Yoon Chul Young Yoon Junhun Lee Junhun Lee Tae Hoon Kong Tae Hoon Kong Young Joon Seo Young Joon Seo Effect of changes in the hearing aid subsidy on the prevalence of hearing loss in South Korea Frontiers in Neurology hearing loss big-data hearing aid hearing disability prevalence |
| title | Effect of changes in the hearing aid subsidy on the prevalence of hearing loss in South Korea |
| title_full | Effect of changes in the hearing aid subsidy on the prevalence of hearing loss in South Korea |
| title_fullStr | Effect of changes in the hearing aid subsidy on the prevalence of hearing loss in South Korea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of changes in the hearing aid subsidy on the prevalence of hearing loss in South Korea |
| title_short | Effect of changes in the hearing aid subsidy on the prevalence of hearing loss in South Korea |
| title_sort | effect of changes in the hearing aid subsidy on the prevalence of hearing loss in south korea |
| topic | hearing loss big-data hearing aid hearing disability prevalence |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2023.1215494/full |
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