A new clinical practice guideline from America recommends hearing screening for patients aged 50 and above, stating there is favourable evidence that early detection and management can minimise the negative effects of untreated hearing loss.
The suggestion is supported by Specsavers Audiology ANZ who said it would welcome a national screening program in Australia for those over 50, including widening the Hearing Services Program eligibility criteria to people over 50.
The US guideline provides evidence-based recommendations for age-related hearing loss (ARHL) including recommending “clinicians should screen patients aged 50 years and older for hearing loss at the time of a health care encounter.”
While previously proposed measures defined ARHL as starting at 60 years of age, the guideline broadens the age of inclusion for screening down to 50.
‘‘The target patient for the guideline is anyone at least 50 years old, regardless of whether they have been diagnosed with hearing loss,” the authors wrote. “The target audience is any clinician who encounters patients over 50.”
The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) published the Clinical Practice Guideline: Age-Related Hearing Loss as a supplement in the May 2024 issue of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery.
The foundation said the guideline identified quality improvement opportunities and provided clinicians trustworthy, evidence-based recommendations about the identification and management of ARHL in patients 50 years and older. A framework includes 11 key action statements.
The guideline authors said there was a “preponderance of benefit over harm” for screening from age 50.
“Identifying hearing loss by screening is critical to prevent harmful effects of untreated hearing loss. The guideline development group feels that despite limited literature on screening, there is preponderance of evidence supporting early treatment of hearing loss to prevent harmful effects of untreated hearing loss,” they wrote.
Specsavers already offers screening over 50
Mr Nick Taylor, chief audiology officer at Specsavers Australia and New Zealand, said that as part of its commitment to providing its patients with the best possible care, the network already offered all patients over the age of 50 a hearing screening as part of their healthcare journey with the business.
“Specsavers Audiology is very supportive of the recent guideline issued in the US recommending the screening of patients over 50 for hearing loss,” he told Hearing Practitioner Australia (HPA.)
“While many of the recommendations in the AAO guideline are already part of the Specsavers Audiology customer journey, we’d welcome a national program to widely screen and provide accessible and affordable hearing care to patients over 50 to help raise awareness and identification of hearing health within communities across Australia.”
Taylor said to the best of his knowledge there wasn’t any guideline like this in Australia.
“We’d love to see a national program of screening,” he told HPA.
“With the government funded Hearing Services Program, the current eligibility criteria is those over 65. I think as an industry we would welcome widening that access to people over 50.
“To my knowledge there also is no wider screening program across Australia. Specsavers were the first providers to introduce a screening program to a significant portion of the public. Some other providers screen on a smaller basis but we would love to see a national program of screening to really help educate the public in terms of the importance of hearing healthcare.”
Taylor said the screening that Specsavers offered provided an early indication of patients experiencing hearing loss, giving them information and the opportunity to seek further care with their qualified audiology professionals.
“We know that the earlier someone is aware of their hearing loss and the management care available to them, this can reduce the negative impacts associated with hearing loss and increase overall quality of life,” he added.
He said Specsavers Audiology had screened the hearing of more than three million Australians and 370,000 New Zealanders, demonstrating the value of equitable access to continual hearing care for all.
The AAO-HNSF said age-related hearing loss, which affects about 466 million people worldwide, was underdiagnosed and undertreated despite being the most common sensory deficit in the aging population.
The guideline group included experts in otolaryngology, otology, audiology, neurology, geriatrics and primary care, and also included a consumer representative, a public health expert, and staff members from the academy foundation.
Read the guideline, executive summary and plain language summary.
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