Personal Sound Amplifiers for Adults with Hearing Loss.
Age-related hearing loss is highly prevalent and often untreated. Use of hearing aids has been associated with improvements in communication and quality of life, but such treatment is unaffordable or inaccessible for many adults. The purpose of this review is to provide a practical guide for physicians who work with older adults who are experiencing hearing and communication difficulties. Specifically, we review direct-to-consumer amplification products that can be used to address hearing loss in adults. Helping adults with hearing loss navigate hearing loss treatment options ranging from being professionally fitted with hearing aids to using direct-to-consumer amplification options is important for primary care clinicians to understand given our increasing understanding of the impact of hearing loss on cognitive, social, and physical functioning.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md; Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Md. Electronic address: smamo1@jhmi.edu.
Sara K
SK
Mamo
Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md; Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Md.
Nicholas S
NS
Reed
Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md; Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Md.
Carrie L
CL
Nieman
Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md; Department of Psychiatry and Behavior Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md; Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md.
Esther S
ES
Oh
Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md; Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Md; Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Md.
Frank R
FR
Lin
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000669:Amplifiers, Electronic / Q000191:economics; D004867:Equipment Design; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans
Age-related hearing loss; Amplification; Audiology; Hearing aids