Audiology Visits After Screening for Hearing Loss: An RCT

Background:

Hearing impairment is one of the most common disabilities in veterans. The decreased ability to communicate is troubling in itself, but the strong association of hearing loss with functional decline and depression adds further to the burden on the hearing-impaired. Although hearing amplification improves quality of life, hearing evaluations are offered infrequently to older patients. Only 25 percent of patients with aidable hearing loss receive treatment. Up to 30 percent of patients who receive hearing aids do not use them. We contend that an effective formal screening program should identify hearing-impaired patients who are motivated to seek evaluation and who derive benefit from treatment.

Objectives:

The first specific aim is to determine if formal screening programs for hearing loss can increase visits to audiologists. The second specific aim is to determine which specific screening strategy leads to the most frequent audiology visits.

Methods: