The Use of Hearing Aids by Hearing Impaired Students in the United States. Series S, No. 2.

A 1974 Office of Demographic Studies-Gallaudet College study on hearing aid use surveyed 997 hearing-impaired students in special education programs across the United States. The extent of hearing aid use was examined in three contexts: classroom, school outside the classroom, and home or dormitory. Overall, 78% of the students were reported to wear a hearing aid at least some of the time. Whether and in what situations they were reported to wear the aid, as well as the type of aid worn, were found to be related to nine separate variables: degree of hearing loss, age, sex, type of special educational program, hearing status of parents, family income, ethnic background, cause of hearing loss, and age at onset of hearing loss. (Appended are a report on the Office of Demographic Studies, Gallaudet College; copies of survey questionnaires; and a list of schools participating in the study). (Author/DLS)