Hearing Impairment and Labor Supply - Measurement Issues, the Effect of Assistive Aids and Recognition of Impairment

About 11 percent of the adult population suffers from hearing loss - a disability that has far-reaching effects on the individual's social and professional life. Using unique representative data containing both self-reported and clinically measured hearing ability for the Danish population aged 50-64, we estimate the effect of a hearing impairment and the use of alternative coping strategies on the receipt of disability pension taking into account the possible endogeneity of functional hearing abilities. We find that a hearing loss significantly increases the likelihood of going on disability pension for both men and women. Surprisingly, we find that using different coping strategies to deal with the impairment increases women's likelihood of exiting the labor market via disability pension, whereas it decreases men's likelihood