OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between the restriction of social participation, through referral, the intention of purchasing and procurement of equipment for hearing aid (AASI) in an elderly group. MATERIAL AND METHODS: They were part of this study 20 subjects, 10 males (50%) and 10 females (50%) aged between 62 and 96 years old who attended a hearing center for selection of hearing aids. The elderly were evaluated by clinical history, audiometry and instrument Hearing Handicap Inventory for Elderly short version (HHIE-S). RESULTS: The elderly subjects had mild hearing loss (25%), moderate (35%), moderately severe (25%) and severe (15%). Most (85%) had participation restrictions, classified as mild to moderate (50%) or significant (35%). The most common means of referral were the doctor (30%) and family (25%). At the time of evaluation, 14 (70%) subjects reported having intention to acquire hearing aids, and the purchase was made by 15 (75%) subjects. There were no statistically significant associations between the means of routing and acquisition (p = 0.3) between the restriction of participation and intention to purchase (p = 0.06) nor between participation restrictions and the purchase of hearing aids (p = 0.1). CONCLUSION: We found that there was no association between participation restrictions, the source of referral, the intention of effecting the acquisition and purchase of hearing aids in elderly subjects.