Keywords
Satisfaction
Unified Health System
Abstract
Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the level of satisfaction of hearing aid users by the Unified Health System. Methods: Study analytical, quantitative, cross-sectional and exploratory. The sociodemographic and clinical data of 50 participants were collected from the medical records and during the interview, selected for convenience in the follow-up sessions and delivery of the hearing aids at the Hearing Health Sector of the State Center of Rehabilitation and Readaptation Dr. Henrique Santillo (CRER). To assess user satisfaction, the Satisfaction With Amplification in Daily Life (SADL) questionnaire was used, with evaluation subscales such as: positive effects, negative factors, personal image, services and costs. Results: The sample of this study had 50 participants, with a prevalence of 66% female and mean age of 62 years. This data raises the hypothesis that the female population has a more active role in the search for health care. Regarding auditory symptoms, most patients complained of hypoacusis (86%) and tinnitus (76%) as signs that motivated them to seek specialized care. The prevalent type of hearing loss was sensorioneural (77%) of moderate degree (50%), an audiological characteristic with the highest percentage in both ears. Through the data obtained from the application of the SADL questionnaire, it can be observed that the subscale Service and Costs (5.85) and Positive Effects (5.84) showed a higher mean compared to the other subscales, indicating greater satisfaction with such conditions provided by the hearing aids. CONCLUSION: Due to the analyzed data, it is concluded that hearing aid users are satisfied with this device. The short time among the audiological diagnosis and the granting of hearing aids, type and degree of hearing loss, together with periodic follow-up to monitor the adaptation process, were essential to provide good audibility, adequate speech understanding and, above all, improvement in the quality of life.