Over-the-counter hearing aids: What will it mean for older Americans?

In October 2021 the Food and Drug Administration released draft rules creating a new class of hearing aids to be sold over the counter. Since Medicare does not cover hearing aids, the ready availability of low-cost aids is potentially good news for the millions of older Americans with hearing loss, a disorder that is associated with isolation, depression and poor health. However, better financial access to hearing aids will not necessarily translate into better hearing: many older people will need assistance in fitting, using and maintaining their aids.

The HEAR-VA Pilot Study: Hearing Assistance Provided to Older Adults in the Emergency Department.

Background/objectives: Poor communication is a barrier to care for people with hearing loss. We assessed the feasibility and potential benefit of providing a simple hearing assistance device during an emergency department (ED) visit, for people who reported difficulty hearing.

Design: Randomized controlled pilot study.

Marketing Claims About Using Hearing Aids to Forestall or Prevent Dementia.

This cross-sectional study surveys the websites of 16 leading hearing aid brands for claims that using hearing aids can forestall or prevent dementia.

Application of Rasch Analysis to the Evaluation of the Measurement Properties of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly.

Objectives: The aim of this research was to evaluate the measurement properties of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly (HHIE). The HHIE is one of the most widely used patient-reported outcome measures in audiology. It was originally developed in the United States in the 1980s as a measure of the social and emotional impact of hearing loss in older adults.

Difficulty Hearing Is Associated With Low Levels of Patient Activation.

Background/objectives: Patient activation encompasses the knowledge, skills, and confidence that equip adults to participate actively in their healthcare. Patients with hearing loss may be less able to participate due to poor aural communication. We examined whether difficulty hearing is associated with lower patient activation.

Hearing Loss: Why Does It Matter for Nursing Homes?

Over the past decade, hearing loss has emerged as a key issue for aging and health. We describe why hearing loss may be especially disabling in nursing home settings and provide an estimate of prevalence using the Minimum Data Set (MDS v.3.

Studies of Physician-Patient Communication with Older Patients: How Often is Hearing Loss Considered? A Systematic Literature Review.

Hearing loss is remarkably prevalent in the geriatric population: one-quarter of adults aged 60-69 and 80% of adults aged 80 years and older have bilateral disabling loss. Only about one in five adults with hearing loss wears a hearing aid, leaving many vulnerable to poor communication with healthcare providers. We quantified the extent to which hearing loss is mentioned in studies of physician-patient communication with older patients, and the degree to which hearing loss is incorporated into analyses and findings.

Opening the Market for Lower Cost Hearing Aids: Regulatory Change Can Improve the Health of Older Americans.

Hearing loss is a leading cause of disability among older people. Yet only one in seven US adults who could benefit from a hearing aid uses one. This fraction has not increased over the past 30 years, nor have hearing aid prices dropped, despite trends of steady improvements and price reductions in the consumer electronics industry.

Relating Hearing Aid Use to Social and Emotional Loneliness in Older Adults.

Purpose: Hearing loss is a risk factor for social isolation and loneliness. We investigated the buffering effects of hearing aid use on perceived social and emotional loneliness.

Method: Forty older adults participated.

Meeting the Hearing Health Care Needs of the Oldest Older Adult.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the auditory needs of and approaches to management of the oldest older adult.

Method: This article is an overview of principles of geriatric care and implications of untreated hearing loss for function, management, and care of the oldest older adult.

Conclusions: Person-centered care is at the heart of health care delivery to the oldest older adult, who typically suffers from multimorbidity.

Cross-cultural adaptation of an Arabic version of the 10-item hearing handicap inventory.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to translate and culturally adapt an Arabic version of the hearing handicap inventory for the elderly - screening (HHIE-S).

Design: The HHIE-S was translated following cross-cultural adaptation guidelines, and pretested in 20 elderly patients with hearing impairment. Next, the adapted Arabic HHIE-S underwent psychometric evaluation.

Tool kit for screening otologic function of older adults1.

Purpose: To propose a hearing health care tool kit, for use in primary care, that includes a new, comprehensive, and easy-to-administer self-report tool, namely, the Screening for Otologic Functional Impairments (SOFI). The target population for the proposed tool kit includes older adults with multimorbidity who are (a) at risk for hearing-related functional deficits and/or (b) likely to benefit from targeted audiologic interventions designed to optimize function, support independence, maximize safety, and cultivate self-sufficiency and social connectedness (American Academy of Nursing's Expert Panel on Acute and Critical Care, 2012).

Method: Twenty-nine older adults with varying levels of hearing impairment drawn from 2 ear, nose, and throat clinics and 1 university clinic underwent hearing testing and completed a series of self-report tools designed to assess otologic function and depression.