TY - JOUR
T1 - Access to adults’ hearing aids
T2 - policies and technologies used in eight countries
AU - Yong, Michael
AU - Willink, Amber
AU - McMahon, Catherine
AU - McPherson, Bradley
AU - Nieman, Carrie L.
AU - Reed, Nicholas S.
AU - Lin, Frank R.
N1 - Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.
PY - 2019/10
Y1 - 2019/10
N2 - As the proportion of older adults in the world’s total population continues to grow, the adverse health outcomes of age-related hearing loss are becoming increasingly recognized. While research has shown that age-related hearing loss is the single greatest modifiable risk factor for dementia, use of hearing aids remains low worldwide, even in many middle-and high-income countries. Reasons for poor uptake of hearing aids are likely to involve a combination of factors, ranging from increasing costs of hearing aid technology to a widespread lack of insurance coverage. This article aims to identify the current state of access to hearing aids, focusing on eight middle-and high-income countries. We discuss how to facilitate greater access to hearing aids for patients by addressing changes in how devices are regulated, technological advancements in hearing devices, the need to adjust reimbursement schemes and the importance of adaptation among the community workforce for hearing-care.
AB - As the proportion of older adults in the world’s total population continues to grow, the adverse health outcomes of age-related hearing loss are becoming increasingly recognized. While research has shown that age-related hearing loss is the single greatest modifiable risk factor for dementia, use of hearing aids remains low worldwide, even in many middle-and high-income countries. Reasons for poor uptake of hearing aids are likely to involve a combination of factors, ranging from increasing costs of hearing aid technology to a widespread lack of insurance coverage. This article aims to identify the current state of access to hearing aids, focusing on eight middle-and high-income countries. We discuss how to facilitate greater access to hearing aids for patients by addressing changes in how devices are regulated, technological advancements in hearing devices, the need to adjust reimbursement schemes and the importance of adaptation among the community workforce for hearing-care.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85073437439&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/97/10/en/
U2 - 10.2471/BLT.18.228676
DO - 10.2471/BLT.18.228676
M3 - Article
C2 - 31656335
AN - SCOPUS:85073437439
SN - 0042-9686
VL - 97
SP - 699
EP - 710
JO - Bulletin of the World Health Organization
JF - Bulletin of the World Health Organization
IS - 10
ER -