Costs of hearing aid rehabilitation in two Finnish hearing centres

Abstract

The aim of this study was to ascertain the costs of fitting and providing hearing aids in Finland, and to enable comparison of these costs between countries by using a detailed template for recording the costs. All the direct hospital costs due to fitting and providing hearing aids in two Finnish hospitals, Kainuu Central Hospital (KCH) and Oulu University Hospital (OUH), were compiled and analysed. The hospitals were considered to be representative of all Finnish hearing centres although the population covered by these two hearing centres is about 8.8% of the Finnish population and the number of the HAs provided is approximately 9% of all HAs provided in Finland. The proportion of personnel costs was approximately 35%, and hearing aids accounted for 43% of the total costs of the fitting procedure. There was no significant difference in the direct costs between these two hospitals, the respective figures being 897 € for KCH and 919 € for OUH. In conclusion, by recording carefully, and in detail,...