NAS Hearing Report and Recommendations : The Good, The Bad, and the Unknown (Q3 2016)-NAS Hearing Report and Recommendations : The Good, The Bad, and the Unknown (Q3 2016)

NAS Hearing Report and Recommendations : The Good, The Bad, and the Unknown (Q3 2016)

Pdf Summary

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NAS) Committee on Accessible and Affordable Hearing Care for Adults has released its long-awaited report on improving access to hearing healthcare for adults. The report covers a variety of topics including the health and societal implications of hearing loss, the regulatory framework, accessibility and affordability of hearing healthcare, and innovative approaches to improving accessibility. The report was funded by several federal agencies and the Hearing Loss Association of America. During the release of the report, the committee shared its recommendations which include improving population-based data on hearing loss, developing and promoting measures to assess and improve the quality of hearing healthcare, removing the FDA regulation for medical evaluation or waiver, empowering consumers and patients in their use of hearing healthcare, improving access to hearing healthcare for underserved populations, promoting hearing healthcare in wellness and medical visits, implementing a new FDA device category for over-the-counter wearable hearing devices, improving compatibility and interoperability of hearing technologies, improving the affordability of hearing healthcare, evaluating and implementing innovative models of hearing healthcare, improving publicly available information on hearing health, and promoting individual, employer, private-sector, and community-based actions to support and manage hearing health. The NAS report provides a well-rounded summary of hearing loss, hearing devices, research, challenges, and opportunities to increase utilization. However, there are some recommendations that the NAS report has made which raise significant concerns. The report suggests the removal of the FDA regulation for medical evaluation or waiver, the establishment of a new category for over-the-counter wearable hearing devices, and the development of over-the-counter hearing aids. IHS strongly opposes these recommendations as they lack well-formed evidence and could potentially jeopardize patient safety and well-being. Despite this, IHS supports other recommendations in the report such as improving access to hearing healthcare, promoting transparency in fee structure, and increasing public awareness and understanding of hearing health. IHS will closely monitor future actions and developments stemming from the report and will provide support and resources for its members as needed.

Keywords

National Academies of Sciences

Engineering and Medicine

Committee on Accessible and Affordable Hearing Care for Adults

improving access to hearing healthcare

health and societal implications of hearing loss

regulatory framework

accessibility and affordability of hearing healthcare

innovative approaches to improving accessibility

federal agencies

Hearing Loss Association of America