People with intellectual disabilities (ID) are 5-10 times more likely to have hearing loss than the general population, yet it often remains undetected and untreated. To address this gap, the study HörGeist examined the feasibility, outcomes, barriers, and costs of an outreach program with hearing screening, diagnostics, intervention, and monitoring in everyday environments to implement a universal program in...
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Audiologists should adopt proactive, adapted hearing screening protocols for patients with intellectual disabilities, as standard identification pathways fail this population at a clinically unacceptable rate.
The dramatic under-detection and under-treatment of hearing loss in people with intellectual disabilities represents a major equity gap that audiology services must address through adapted screening and outreach.
- 01Individuals with intellectual disabilities are 5–10× more likely to have hearing loss than the general population.
- 02Hearing loss in this group is frequently undetected and untreated in routine care.
- 03German cohort design provides real-world epidemiological data on a neglected population.
- 04Published in PLOS Global Public Health, an open-access peer-reviewed journal.
- 05Findings support the need for systematic, adapted audiological screening for people with intellectual disabilities.
Individuals with intellectual disabilities are 5–10 times more likely to have hearing loss than the general population.
studysupportedHearing loss in people with intellectual disabilities frequently goes undetected and untreated.
studysupported- PMID
- 42616729
- DOI
- 10.1371/journal.pgph.0006872.
- Journal
- PLOS Global Public Health
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Individuals with intellectual disabilities in a German cohort
- Intervention
- Audiological screening and assessment in individuals with intellectual disabilities
- Comparator
- General population hearing loss prevalence data
Primary outcomes
Prevalence of hearing loss in individuals with intellectual disabilities; Rate of undetected and untreated hearing loss in this population
