Financing hearing aids for patients with congenital deafness in Indonesia

Indra Zachreini, Jenny Bashiruddin, Semiramis Zizlavsky, Susyana Tamin, Harim Priyono, Widayat Alviandi, Natasha Supartono, Damayanti Soetjipto, Respati Ranakusuma, Heditya Damayanti, Dina Alia, Tengku siti Hajar haryuna, Juliandi Harahap, Nirza Warto, Hidayatul Fitria, Ika Dewi Mayangsari

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: The appropriate management of patients with congenital deafness is installing hearing aids, either external hearing aids or implanted in the ear (cochlear implant), aiming to reduce the medical and social burden, besides improving the quality of life of the sufferers. Objective: To ascertain the cost of hearing aids in patients with congenital deafness, in the form of external hearing aids or cochlear implants. Method: A descriptive study with cross-sectional design using questionnaires through interviews. The sample size was 535 mothers whose children had congenital deafness at 24 hospitals with facilities for establishing a diagnosis of congenital deafness in 17 provinces in Indonesia. Result: Most respondents were aged 30-39 years (55%), occupations were housewives (71.8%), and education level was high school (52.5%). The type of hearing aid used mostly was external (92.7%), with 45.9% paid by personal expense. The surgically planted hearing aids in 22 children was mostly cochlear implants (95.5%), which were financed by the Indonesian Healthcare and Social Security Agency (BPJS) plus personal costs (50%). Discussion: This study found that the most common type of hearing aid used by children with hearing impairments was external hearing aids (92.7%) through independent financing (45.9%). Only 7.3% of patients chose surgery in hearing habilitation, and 95.5% were cochlear implants. The small percentage of surgery were due to the high-priced of cochlear implants, and the government did not cover all financial expenses. Conclusion: Most external hearing aids were paid independently-out-of-pocket, while cochlear implant surgeries were funded by BPJS, plus extra costs independently.
Original languageEnglish
JournalOTO RHINO LARYNGOLOGICA INDONESIANAOTO RHINO LARYNGOLOGICA INDONESIANA
Volume52
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 4 Jul 2022

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