26-28 October 2018
University of Cape Town,
South Africa
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Abstract Details
<< Back to Schedule
10/27/2018 |
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
| Kramer Lecture Theater 3
Low-Cost, User-Centered Over-the-Counter Hearing Technology: Lessons from Community-Delivered Hearing Care for Older Adults
Although, age-related hearing loss is highly prevalent and an almost universal experience of aging, few older adults with hearing loss receive hearing health care. Disparities in hearing health care exist among vulnerable populations, particularly those living in low resource communities. Affordability and accessibility of hearing technology remain barriers to care. Low-cost, high-quality over-the-counter (OTC) hearing technology is currently available and provides a powerful tool in advancing access to hearing health care. Although numerous OTC products exist, devices vary widely in quality, cost, and suitability for older adults.
This presentation will provide an evidence-based framework for assessing OTC hearing technology informed by audiologic principles and a human factors approach to ensure user-centered hearing care. Lessons from the use of OTC hearing technology in a low resource setting will be shared based on experiences from HEARS (Hearing Equality through Accessible Research & Solutions). HEARS is an evidence-based, theory-driven hearing care program delivered by community health workers that incorporates OTC devices to improve the affordability and accessibility of hearing care for older adults.
With recent legislative changes in the regulation of OTC hearing aids in the United States, there is growing impetus for hearing care providers, especially those in low resource communities, to be able to evaluate OTC technologies for affordability, quality, and usability and counsel older adults on the rapidly changing landscape of hearing care. OTC hearing technology represents a potentially powerful tool in ensuring all older adults have access to effective communication.
- Analyze key components and applicability of over-the-counter hearing technology for older adults with hearing loss in low resource communities.
- Compare newly available over-the-counter hearing technology for older adults by affordability, quality, and suitability for older adults.
- Discuss anticipated international implications of recent changes in United States regulation around hearing technologies for age-related hearing loss.
Presentation:
18607_9893CarrieNieman.pdf
Handouts:
No handouts have been uploaded.
Jonathan Suen (Co-Author), Cochlear Center for Hearing & Public Health (Johns Hopkins University), suen@jhmi.edu;
Jonathan Suen, AuD, is an audiologist, research fellow in Dr. Frank Lin’s lab at the Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health (Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health), and a PhD student in the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. He was previously an instructor for Gallaudet University’s Peer Mentor Program, a training program for individuals with hearing loss to serve as peer educators and liaisons between the public and aural rehabilitation professionals. Drawing upon experiences in community engagements for public health initiatives and clinical care, he is interested in studying innovative approaches for increasing the accessibility of hearing healthcare utilization by older adults.
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ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
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AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
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Sara Mamo (Co-Author), University of Massachusetts, Amherst, smamo@umass.edu;
Sara K. Mamo is an Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences in the Department of Communication Disorders. She completed her clinical (Au.D.) and research (Ph.D.) training in audiology at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Her research interests include the aging auditory system and speech perception deficits among older adults along with innovative approaches to hearing care for older adults, including persons with dementia.
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ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
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AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
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Nicholas Reed (Co-Author), Johns Hopkins University, nreed9@jhmi.edu;
Nick Reed AuD is an Assistant Professor in the Johns Hopkins Department of Otolaryngology-HNS and a core faculty member in the Cochlear Center for Hearing & Public Health. He is interested in audiology from a public health perspective, including the epidemiology of hearing loss and increasing the accessibility and affordability of hearing loss treatment for people with age-related hearing loss.
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ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
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AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
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Frank Lin (Co-Author), Johns Hopkins University, flin1@jhmi.edu;
Frank Lin, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Otolaryngology and Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Bloomberg School of Public Health. He is the Director of the Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health. Dr. Lin's clinical practice is dedicated to otology and the medical and surgical management of hearing loss. His research is primarily focused on studying the interface between hearing loss and aging. In particular, Dr. Lin has established multiple collaborations with gerontologists, cognitive scientists, epidemiologists, and auditory scientists that form the basis for his current research program studying the impact of hearing loss on the cognitive and physical functioning of older adults and the potential role of aural rehabilitative strategies in mitigating these effects.
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ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
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AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
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Carrie Nieman (POC,Primary Presenter,Author), Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Dept. Otolaryngology-HNS, cnieman1@jhmi.edu;
Carrie Nieman MD, MPH is an Assistant Professor in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a core faculty member in the Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Nieman is also the co-founder of Access HEARS, a social enterprise committed to affordable, accessible hearing care. As a clinician, researcher, and social entrepreneur, her commitment to social justice is inseparable from her drive to provide innovative solutions to address disparities in the nascent field of community-delivered hearing care and develop a sustainable model to provide accessible and affordable hearing care. Her work translates research in gerontology, social design, intervention development, community-based participatory research, and a human factors approach to design to advance research in hearing care disparities and bring innovation to underserved communities.
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ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
Has a Personal
relationship for Board membership.
Has a Personal
relationship for Board membership.
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AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Receives support from NIH NIDCD R21/R33, NIH NIA K23, Access HEARS.
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