The purpose of the meeting is to determine the non-surgical directions and recommendations for people diagnosed with hearing loss, including the meaningfulness of a medical evaluation conducted by a licensed physician (or signed waiver), as a potential barrier to accessibility or affordability of hearing aids.
- Impact of hearing impairment and use of services
- Hearing healthcare providers and scope of practice
- Affordability and coverage
- Hearing health care service delivery
- Hearing devices
- Consumer perspective
Meeting Open to the Public
The study is being conducted under the auspices of the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Established in 1970 it operates under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, and is charged with providing “independent, objective, evidence-based advice to policymakers, health professionals, the private sector, and the public“.
This June/July meeting is the result of an initial two-day public workshop on Hearing Loss and Healthy Aging that took place in January 2014. This was followed by an ad hoc committee meeting in March that reviewed the comments of the January workshop and set the goals for a full study. An open session of the fully-formed Committee on Accessible and Affordable Hearing Health Care for Adults was held in April of this year.
Attendance at the upcoming meeting is open to the public. Interested parties are encouraged to contact [email protected] for additional information.
*featured image courtesy wikimediacommons
