Dataset Information

Prevalence, Characteristics, and Treatment Patterns of Hearing Difficulty in the United States.

ABSTRACT: Importance:Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions in the United States and has been associated with negative physical, social, cognitive, economic, and emotional consequences. Despite the high prevalence of hearing loss, substantial gaps in the utilization of amplification options, including hearing aids and cochlear implants (CI), have been identified. Objective:To investigate the contemporary prevalence, characteristics, and patterns of specialty referral, evaluation, and treatment of hearing difficulty among adults in the United States. Design, Setting, and Participants:A cross-sectional analysis of responses from a nationwide clustered representative sample of adults who participated in the 2014 National Health Interview Survey and responded to the hearing module questions was carried out. Main Outcomes and Measures:Data regarding demographics as well as self-reported hearing status, functional hearing, laterality, onset, and primary cause of the hearing loss were collected. In addition, specific data regarding hearing-related clinician visits, hearing tests, referrals to hearing specialist, and utilization of hearing aids and CIs were analyzed. Results:Among 239.6 million adults, 40.3 million (16.8%) indicated their hearing was less than "excellent/good," ranging from "a little trouble hearing" to "deaf." The mean (SD) age of participants was 47 (0.2) years with 48.2% being men and 51.8% women. Approximately 48.8 million (20.6%) had visited a physician for hearing problems in the preceding 5 years. Of these, 32.6% were referred to an otolaryngologist and 27.3% were referred to an audiologist. Functional hearing was reported as the ability to hear "whispering" or "normal voice" (225.4 million; 95.5%), to "only hear shouting" (8.0 million; 3.4%), and "not appreciating shouting" (2.8 million; 1.1%). Among the last group, 5.3% were recommended to have a CI, of which 22.1% had received one. Of the adults who indicated their hearing from "a little trouble hearing" to being "deaf," 12.9 million (32.2%) had never seen a clinician for hearing problems and 11.1 million (28.0%) had never had their hearing tested. Conclusions and Relevance:There are considerable gaps between self-reported hearing loss and patients receiving medical evaluation and recommended treatments for hearing loss. Improved awareness regarding referrals to otolaryngologists and audiologists as well as auditory rehabilitative options among clinicians may improve hearing loss care.

SUBMITTER: Mahboubi H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5833589 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Prevalence, Characteristics, and Treatment Patterns of Hearing Difficulty in the United States.

Mahboubi Hossein H Lin Harrison W HW Bhattacharyya Neil N

JAMA otolaryngology-- head & neck surgery 20180101 1

<h4>Importance</h4>Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions in the United States and has been associated with negative physical, social, cognitive, economic, and emotional consequences. Despite the high prevalence of hearing loss, substantial gaps in the utilization of amplification options, including hearing aids and cochlear implants (CI), have been identified.<h4>Objective</h4>To investigate the contemporary prevalence, characteristics, and patterns of specialty referral, ...[more]

PMID: 29167904

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Project description:ImportanceTelehealth services, which allow patients to communicate with a remotely located clinician, are increasingly available; however, prevalence of telehealth use, including videoconferencing visits, remains unclear.ObjectiveTo measure the use of and willingness to use telehealth modalities across the US population.Design, setting, and participantsThis survey study, conducted between February 2019 and April 2019, asked participants about their use of different telehealth modalities, reasons for not using videoconferencing visits, and willingness to use videoconferencing visits. Questions were continuously posed to panel members and closed after 2555 responses were obtained, at which point 3932 panel members had been invited, for a 65.0% response rate.ExposuresDemographic characteristics (ie, age, sex, race, rural/urban residency, education level, and income).Main outcomes and measuresSelf-reported use of specific telehealth modalities, reasons for nonuse, and willingness to use videoconferencing in the future.ResultsA total of 2555 individuals completed the survey with a mean (SD) age of 57.2 (14.2) years; 1453 respondents (weighted percentage, 51.9%) were women, and 2043 (weighted percentage, 73.4%) were White individuals. Overall, 1343 respondents (weighted percentage, 50.8%) reported use of a nontelephone telehealth modality, ranging from 873 respondents (weighted percentage, 31.9%) for patient portals and 89 respondents (weighted percentage, 4.2%) for videoconferencing visits. Although 1309 respondents (weighted percentage, 49.2%) overall answered that they were willing or very willing to use videoconferencing visits, respondents who were Black individuals (OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.38-0.91), aged older than 65 years (OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.40-0.66), or had less education (high school or less vs advanced degrees: OR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.25-0.56) were less likely to express willingness.Conclusions and relevanceDespite the focused policy attention on videoconferencing visits, the results of this survey study suggest that other forms of telehealth were more dominant prior to 2020. Targeted efforts may be necessary for videoconferencing visits to reach patient groups who are older or have less education, and payer policies supporting other forms of telemedicine may be appropriate to enhance access.

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Dataset Information

Prevalence, Characteristics, and Treatment Patterns of Hearing Difficulty in the United States.

Publications

Prevalence, Characteristics, and Treatment Patterns of Hearing Difficulty in the United States.

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