The loss of hearing - be it gradual or acute, mild or severe, present since birth or acquired in older age - can have significant effects on one's communication abilities, quality of life, social participation, and health. Despite this, many people with hearing loss do not seek or receive hearing health care. The reasons are numerous, complex, and often interconnected. For some, hearing health care is not affordable. For others, the appropriate services are difficult to access, or individuals do not know how or where to access them. Others may not want to deal with the stigma that they and society may associate with needing hearing health care and obtaining that care. Still others do not recognize they need hearing health care, as hearing loss is an invisible health condition that often worsens gradually over time. In the United States, an estimated 30 million individuals (12.7 percent of Americans ages 12 years or older) have hearing loss. Globally, hearing loss has been identified as the fifth leading cause of years lived with disability. Successful hearing health care enables individuals with hearing loss to have the freedom to communicate in their environments in ways that are culturally appropriate and that preserve their dignity and function. Hearing Health Care for Adults focuses on improving the accessibility and affordability of hearing health care for adults of all ages. This study examines the hearing health care system, with a focus on non-surgical technologies and services, and offers recommendations for improving access to, the affordability of, and the quality of hearing health care for adults of all ages.

As the population in the U.S. becomes more diverse, health care professionals have a responsibility to adapt their services to meet the needs of the diverse populations they serve. However, many providers lack access to the appropriate resources to provide high quality care to their Spanish-speaking patients. Audiology Services in Diverse Communities is a professional resource designed to decrease language barriers, improve patient-clinician interactions, and create more culturally competent hearing services. Written by a clinician for clinicians working on a daily basis with minority communities experiencing existing systemic barriers, this unique text begins with an overview of cultural competence and the barriers that exist in audiology services. The text continues an evidence-based, cross-cultural approach to addressing some of those barriers and generating a discussion of what professionals can do in their own clinical settings. The final, and largest, section of the text is a language tool presented in both English and Spanish to aid clinicians as they communicate and work with Spanish-speaking patients. Key Features: * The only book that provides clinicians with a compilation of resources, in English and Spanish, ready to use in clinic * More than 25 resources such as clinical history forms, test instructions, standardized questionnaires, self-assessment tools available in English and Spanish to help clinicians provide with language concordance during clinical encounters. * Evidence-based ideas that can help clinicians assess, develop, implement, and monitor cultural-competent services * A unique format that allows clinicians to visualize English resources on the left-side and Spanish resources on the right-side, facilitating communication between patient and clinician

One in seven people in England suffer from hearing loss of some kind, and the advent of digital hearing aids proved of great benefit to many patients. The Modernising Hearing Aid Services (MHAS) programme to improve audiology services, introduced in 2000, aimed to provide NHS patients with digital hearing aids. But the demand from people upgrading from older models was not predicted, and this led to very long waiting lists and times. The Committee regards the Government's new framework for audiology, "Improving access to audiology services in England" (Dept of Health, March 2007, http://www.18weeks.nhs.uk/public/default.aspx?main=true&load=ArticleViewer&ArticleId=570) as primarily reiterating previous announcements. A main concern is that audiology is kept outside the 18-week referral to treatment target that applies to consultant-led services, which compounds the waiting time problem. There is a need to increase capacity, and the Department of Health should undertake an examination of the medium- and long-term demand for digital hearing aids. The Committee notes the variation in practice in NHS audiology departments, and believes many could operate more efficiently. They should examine the skill mix and levels of training or experience necessary, and look at more flexible approaches to service provision. The report also comments on the involvement of the private sector to provide additional capacity, and the entry into the market of others such as opticians. The private services need to be monitored and the quality of care assessed on the same basis as that used for the NHS.

This Texas Department of Health (TDH) site provides links to information and programs offered by the audiology services division.

This is the first book written and published that is dedicated solely to hearing loss in older adulthood and, importantly, the processes involved in serving the special needs of older adults who are hearing impaired. It is a concise book, but provides important information for those entering many fields that have as their intent to serve older adults either as a supplement to other texts on communication disorders in aging, or as a concise primary text.

Essential Audiology for Physicians evolved from the author's audiology lecture series for otolaryngology residents. Clearly written, the book reviews concisely the various audiologic tests, procedures, and devices used to assess and assist hearing impaired patients, with all terms clearly defined and in bold face when first introduced. The text provides physicians with the essential audiology information in a straightforward, easy-to-read format, with self-assessment questions to assist the physician in assimilitating the information into daily clinical practice.

Rehabilitative Audiology: Children and Adults balances theory with practical applications that demonstrate how rehabilitative principles work in the clinical setting. Completely revised, the Third Edition of this popular text offers a large number of tables, appendices, and illustrations making the material easier to learn and retain. The content is organized to highlight various areas of concern, and new advancements in cochlear implants and assistive devices are included to help your patients get the most out of the newest technologies. Special needs of children, early identification of hearing loss, assessment and intervention with pre-school and school-age children, and management of hearing problems in the educational setting are covered in detail.