Implicit and Explicit Attitudes toward Hearing Aids: The Role of Media Language

Abstract

Despite widespread hearing problems among older adults, only a minority uses hearing aids. The stigma associated with such aids represents a key factor modulated by language. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of different forms of media communication on both implicit and explicit attitudes toward hearing aids. A preliminary analysis highlighted an over-representation of “technical” and “medical” terms in the corpus linguistic commonly used by the press. These results were used to design an online experimental study. The results suggested that the exposure to a language that includes informal words—as opposed to the technical terms commonly used by the press—favors positive implicit and explicit attitudes toward hearing aids, particularly among people who have direct contact with older adults. Overall, the use of an informal language in the press could generate a style of communication that positively influences people’s attitudes toward hearing aids.