Objective: The aim of the current study was to examine the social representation (SR) of hearing aids in people with hearing loss (PHL) in India, the Republic of Korea (ROK), the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States of America (US).
Design: The study used a cross-sectional survey design. The data collected by using a free association task were analysed qualitatively (i.e. content analysis) and quantitatively (i.e. chi-square analysis, similarities analysis, prototypical analysis).
Study sample: 424 participants with hearing loss.
Results: The most commonly reported categories across all countries were "beneficial," "cost and time," and "appearance and design." Approximately 50% of the associations reported were negative. There were variations in terms of the categories that were predominant in the SR of each country. "Others actions and attitude" category was predominantly reported by PHL in India. "Disturbance" and "dissatisfaction" of hearing aids and the "repairs and maintenance of hearing aids" categories were mainly reported from the ROK and the US, respectively.
Conclusions: The current results highlight the main aspects that PHL report spontaneously when they think about hearing aids. The findings will help to further inform public health campaigns and will contribute to develop culturally appropriate media materials regarding hearing aids.
Keywords: Hearing aids; attitude; cross culture; hearing loss; perception; social representation; stigma.