Role of general practitioners in managing age-related hearing loss.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the extent to which general practitioners in Australia are engaged in identifying age-related hearing loss and facilitating its management.


METHODS
Cross-sectional analysis of data collected between 1998 and 2000 from the Blue Mountains Hearing Study (BMHS), a representative population-based cohort of people aged >or= 50 years in two postcode areas west of Sydney. Also analysed were data collected between 2003 and 2008 from random samples of Australian GPs who participated in the Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) study, a national continuous cross-sectional survey of GP activity.


METHODS
Rate of facilitating management and identification of hearing loss in older patients; content of GP-patient encounters with hearing-impaired people; characteristics of participants seeking help from their GP.


RESULTS
Of older people in the BMHS with measured (objective) bilateral hearing loss, about a third reported seeking help from their GP. BEACH survey data showed that only about 3 per 1,000 GP consultations with patients aged >or= 50 years involved management of age-related hearing loss. For every 100 age-related hearing problems managed, GPs undertook 12 procedural treatments, provided 20 referrals to specialists, and made 29 referrals to allied health professionals.


CONCLUSIONS
In their routine consultations with patients, GPs have opportunities to identify hearing loss and appropriately refer patients to specialists or allied health professionals. Although GPs are responding to patient presentations for hearing loss, referring around 50% of cases, there appear to be relatively few cases in which hearing loss is identified opportunistically. Levels of identification and management of hearing loss by GPs in Australia are relatively low.
Schneider
Julie M
JM
Menzies Centre for Health Policy, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Gopinath
Bamini
B
McMahon
Catherine M
CM
Britt
Helena C
HC
Harrison
Christopher M
CM
Usherwood
Tim
T
Leeder
Stephen R
SR
Mitchell
Paul
P
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002983:Clinical Competence; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006312:Hearing Loss, Bilateral / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010819:Physician's Role; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011304:Presbycusis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data