Transcript What will a Hearing Aide Bank help accomplish?

Hearing Aid Loan Bank
Project leader: Richard Harward
Members: Andrew Cobabe, Teresa Garcia, Sachin
Pavithran, Robert Robinson
Background
infants with confirmed hearing loss should
receive appropriate intervention by six
months of age
 initial costs of appropriate amplification
can be in excess of $5000
 hearing aids are not a covered expense by
many insurance companies

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Demographics


Prevalence of congenital hearing loss
◦ Varies from different sources from 1 to 6 per
1000 births
An estimated 15% of children and teens have
hearing loss
◦ Includes both permanent and temporary
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The Cost of Hearing loss

CDC estimates the cost for all people born
in 2000 with hearing loss to be $2.1
billion (2003 dollars)
◦ 30% of these costs are direct non medical
costs, including special education

Infants fit with hearing aids by 6 months
of age have a greater chance of starting
school with skills the same as their peers
with normal hearing
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What will a Hearing Aid Bank help
accomplish?
Improve over all language development
 If the family decides to go with an oral
approach, it will provide early access to
sound.
 Provide families with a time period to
help find ways to fund hearing aids.
 Provide opportunity to have amplification
before possible cochlear implant
 Provide amplification while solving other
medical problems

Professional Views
One thought for this project was “ what
is the view of pediatric audiologists”
 What is the need for a loan bank?
 What type of hearing aids are needed.

◦ Are most of the children that would qualify
for the use of a loan bank, present with a mild,
moderate, or severe hearing loss?
◦ How do we understand the need for a loan
bank?
 Poll the professionals
Survey

Main points of the survey
◦ Do you as professional have hearing aids that
you loan low income families?
◦ How great is the need for a loan bank?
◦ If a loan bank was created would you use it?
◦ How long would these children need to have
access to a loaner hearing aid?
◦ What types of hearing aids are needed? Low
or high end.
How it works

Centralized location
◦ Department of health services
◦ Reasons why a university or a Pediatricians office might not be best.
◦ Central to multiple facilities that provide services for CSHCN.
◦ Easy contact for pediatric audiologist.

Logistics
◦ Who covers the fitting and the ear molds
◦ The aids will be loaned for three to six months depending on need
◦ Aides will be loaned with a minimal or no fee depending on families financial needs
◦ Application process to determine eligibility.
◦ Resources to get own aids (work with their audiologist)

Staffing needs
◦ Staff person to process application.
◦ Staff person that determines who meets eligibility.
◦ Staff to keep track of loaned out equipment.
◦ Follow up with borrowers.
◦ Who determines loan extension?
Questions and goals for the future
◦ Awareness for audiologist (use of flier or
pamphlets need to be developed)
◦ How to get additional funding to get more
hearing aids available
◦ Is it a possibility to work with insurance
companies for additional hearing devices such
as bone conditionals and cochlear implant
receiver?
◦ Working with the manufacturer is also an
option
Inventory

Hearing aids
Potential obstacles

 Multiple manufacturers?
 Match audiologist requests
 How many
 Tracking

Education/training materials for
audiologists

FM systems
 Match audiologist requests

Alternative communication
devices

Cochlear implant assistance


Bundled services: children
require a large amount of
attention in ensuring
appropriate amplification
Ongoing evaluation: will
require designing, conducting,
and analyzing surveys of
parents and audiologists
A hearing aid is only part of
the solution: family needs to
be enrolled in early
intervention and have a good
audiologist
Sustainability
Purchase newer/appropriate technology
in years ahead
 Location and access
 Getting the word out
 Grants and donations
 Accountability (parents and
audiologists)

URLEND Reflections