According to the findings of a randomized clinical trial conducted under the direction of researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine, a first-of-its-kind program that trains trusted older adult community health workers to fit and deliver low-cost hearing technology to peers with hearing loss significantly improved communication function among participants.
According to the National Institutes of Health, two-thirds of adults 70 and older have clinically significant hearing loss, but less than 20% of adults with hearing loss use a hearing aid. A first-of-its-kind program that trains trusted older adult community health workers to fit and deliver low-cost hearing technology to peers with hearing loss significantly improved communication function among participants, according to the results of a randomized clinical trial led by researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Low-income adults have even lower rates of using hearing aids because of the high cost of the devices, a lack of insurance coverage, and a lack of access to hearing professionals. A lack of use of hearing aids among older African Americans with hearing loss is also a result of health disparities based on race and ethnicity.
The National Academies, the White House, and the World Health Organization are now focusing on national and international initiatives to address hearing loss, which is more than just an inconvenience that comes with getting older. The growing awareness of how hearing loss can increase the risk of dementia, cognitive decline, higher health care costs, and other negative outcomes is the source of this worldwide attention to hearing loss.
Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers created HEARS (Hearing health Equity through Accessible Research and Solutions) to train community health workers (CHWs) to work one-on-one with their peers who live in affordable independent housing in order to close the access gap to hearing care.
The CHWs, prepared and administered by nearby audiologists, led two-hour meetings with clients, directing them about the nuts and bolts old enough related hearing misfortune and correspondence systems, then conveying and fitting them with minimal expense, over-the-counter intensification gadgets given by the HEARS program
Otologist Carrie N-I-E M-A N, M D, M P H, core faculty at the Johns Hopkins Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health, first author of the clinical trial and co-creator of the HEARS model, stated that the program is not intended to replace hearing loss-specialized audiologists and otolaryngologies.
CHWs, unlike hearing care professionals like myself, can build trust and connect with their patients from this vantage point. 151 people from 13 Baltimore, Maryland, community sites, including senior centers and affordable independent housing complexes, were recruited for this study
20 in the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that, in comparison to the control group, participants reported significant improvement after a three-month follow-up. It helped with well-being and was insightful as well. Activities were taking place as people left their apartments.
This trial confirms a hearing care model that gives community health workers the ability to reach older adults with untreated hearing loss. N-I-E M-A N stated, "The HEARS program connects individuals with the necessary education and a hearing device." Over-the-counter hearing aids, which provide older adults with the tools they require to age well, expand the HEARS program's reach.
According to N-I E-M-A N, the HEARS program will undergo additional trials at three Maryland locations and is looking for collaborators and funding to expand globally. Frank Lin, Joshua B-E T S, Emmanuel Garcia Morales, Jonathan S U-E N, Jami T R U M B O, Nicole M-A R O N-E, H-A-E R-A Han, and Sarah S Z-A N T O N make up the cross-disciplinary research team
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