Age-related hearing loss (presbycusis) affects a substantial proportion of older adults and is frequently encountered in family medicine and primary care settings, yet it remains significantly under-detected and under-managed despite its impact on communication, cognitive function, and quality of life....
Audiologists should be aware that referral gaps exist at the primary care level; advocate for standardized screening protocols in primary care settings to improve early identification and referral of older adults with hearing loss.
Strengthening the primary care–audiology pipeline is critical to reducing the widespread under-identification and delayed treatment of age-related hearing loss in older populations.
- 01Systematic review examines primary care screening and management of presbycusis (age-related hearing loss) in older adults.
- 02Hearing loss is frequently undetected in primary care settings, leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment.
- 03Standardized screening tools and clear referral pathways are identified as key gaps.
- 04Primary care providers play an underutilized role in early hearing loss identification.
- 05Published in Cureus, an open-access peer-reviewed journal.
Hearing loss in older adults is under-screened and under-managed in primary care settings.
studysupportedStandardized screening protocols in primary care could improve early identification of hearing loss.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42245861
- DOI
- 10.7759/cureus.108230.
- Journal
- Cureus
- Publication type
- systematic_review
- Evidence level
- 1a
- Population
- Older adults with or at risk of age-related hearing loss seen in primary care settings
- Intervention
- Primary care screening and management strategies for hearing loss
Primary outcomes
Prevalence and accuracy of hearing loss screening in primary care; Management and referral practices for older adults with hearing loss
