Description of Collaborative Activity: |
This study provides background on the importance of hearing to individual and societal health including issues such as isolation, social connectivity, well-being, and economic productivity. It will examine federal regulations for non-surgical hearing aid dispensing by asking if current regulations provide a clinically meaningful benefit to adults with hearing loss and what the required federal regulatory paradigm should be. The study will also address the affordability of non-surgical devices and services. It will look at how affordability can be improved, how current approaches can be used or modified to increase access, how new and innovative approaches (such as telehealth, mobile health, and team-based care) can be used to increase access and affordability, and will discuss challenges for select populations such as older adults and transitioning young adults. The committee will provide short- and long-term recommendations for solutions to these questions. |
