Abstract
Objective: This study seeks to assess the prevalence of hearing difficulties and hearing healthcare system utilization among English-speaking migrants living in Thailand. Design, Setting, and Participants: A cross-sectional survey was digitally distributed to online forums and communities for English-speaking migrants living in Thailand. Ninety participants were included in the study. Results: Seventy-seven percent of men and 75.8% of women reported at least some hearing difficulty. People who reported hearing loss were more likely to be white, and people who reported greater social disruption due to hearing difficulty were more likely to be younger or transgender. Though people with more hearing loss had received hearing testing more recently than peers with less hearing loss, very few participants treated their hearing loss with hearing aids and no participants received their hearing healthcare services in Thailand. Conclusion and Relevance: This study shows that English speaking migrants living in Thailand may have hearing difficulty and low rates of hearing healthcare utilization. These results highlight the need for additional research to understand the hearing healthcare needs of this population.
Journal Section:
Research Article
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