How do I know if I need a hearing aid? Using self-categorisation theory to understand symptoms of hearing loss in older people

Although 98% of the UK population with hearing loss is >50 years old, demand for hearing aids from older people is especially low. This anomaly has been attributed to discrepancies between subjective and objective hearing difficulty, due to increased inaccuracy. Based on Self-Categorisation Theory we hypothesised a two-way interaction between salient self-category and hearing difficulty: older participants who self-categorised as “older� would report more hearing difficulty than those who self-categorised as “individuals� on subjective, but not objective measures. Methods Design 2X2 mixed Independent variables Salient self-category (older/individual) Hearing difficulty (subjective/objective), repeated measures Dependent variable Severity of difficulty Participants N = 50; age > 62 years Procedure Bristol University Experimental Psychology Research Ethics Committee ensured compliance with BPS guidelines. Participants completed “The Hearing Handicap Inventory – Elderly� (HHI-E) and had hearing threshold levels (HTLs) measured under salient “older� or “individual� identity conditions. Findings 2X2 mixed ANOVA on standardised scores showed participants who self-categorised as “older� reported more hearing difficulty than “individuals�, but a two-way interaction showed a greater increase for the subjective measure (Fs: (1, 46) = 5.40, 5.38, respectively, p