Condition: Bilateral Hearing Loss · Health Services Research · Sponsor: University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
Hearing loss is a major public health concern due to its negative association with emotional well-being, cognition, and physical ailments, such as diabetes. Access to audiologists and otolaryngologists in many regions across the US is poor or extremely limited. Rural populations are older, less educated, and have lower household incomes compared to populations in metropolitan areas. Also, with increasing age adults experience greater rates of hearing loss. Fortunately, the 2022 FDA Final Rule for Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids (OTC HAs) could revolutionize assess to hearing aids and hearing healthcare by allowing adults with perceived mild-to-moderate hearing loss to purchase these devices over the counter, without medical clearance or care from an audiologist. Pharmacies located in rural areas now have the option to provide OTC HAs, something previously not possible. Currently, however, there are no established guidelines for effective provision of these devices in pharmacies located in rural communities. Educating pharmacy technicians to provide basic hearing healthcare related to OTC HAs use could address a critical need and create a new care delivery model to ensure sustainable, long-term access to hearing healthcare. The long-term goal of this study is to create a sustainable interprofessional collaborative between audiologists and pharmacists for the development of a hearing healthcare model that improves access and affordability of care in rural regions across the count…
This description comes directly from the study's public registry record.
Marcia J Hay-McCutcheon, PhD · 205-348-4572 · mhaymccu@ua.edu
Abigail Hubbard, AuD · 205-348-2585 · aflesley@ua.edu
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| The Department of Communicative Disorders, Box 870242 | Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States | Recruiting |
| The Department of Communicative Disorders | Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States | Recruiting |
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Source record: clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06864273