To quantify progression through the hearing care pathway among US adults aged ≥65 years with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and describe variation across geographic and community contexts.
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Audiologists and cochlear implant programs should audit their own referral-to-implantation pathways to identify where patients are lost, as system-level attrition — not just patient reluctance — appears to be a significant barrier to cochlear implantation in older adults.
Quantifying attrition across the cochlear implant care pathway exposes structural gaps in hearing healthcare that, if addressed, could substantially increase appropriate cochlear implant uptake in an aging population.
- 01Study tracks US adults ≥65 with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss from audiology referral through cochlear implantation.
- 02Significant patient attrition was documented at multiple stages of the care pathway.
- 03Many older adults who may meet cochlear implant candidacy criteria never progress to evaluation or surgery.
- 04Findings published in Otology & Neurotology Open.
- 05Results highlight access and equity concerns in cochlear implant care for older adults.
Substantial attrition occurs at each step of the hearing-care pathway from audiology referral to cochlear implantation among US adults ≥65.
studysupportedMany older adults with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss who are eligible for cochlear implants do not receive them.
studysupported- PMID
- 42787880
- DOI
- 10.1097/ONO.0000000000000096.
- Journal
- Otology & Neurotology Open
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- US adults aged 65 and older with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss
- Intervention
- Audiology referral and cochlear implant care pathway
Primary outcomes
Rate of access at each stage of the audiology and cochlear implant care pathway; Rate of attrition from audiology referral to cochlear implantation