New Guidelines Improve Care and Practice Standards for Adults With Hearing Loss
International consortium unveil recommendations on World Hearing Day
The Mount Sinai Health System joined an international task force of 52 hearing experts to develop guidelines and guidance to improve the standard of hearing care for adults. The new Living Guidelines, released today on World Hearing Day, detail best practices for treating and diagnosing hearing loss. One of the nine recommendations includes assessing adults for cochlear implants.
“The guidelines are a major step forward in ensuring that health care decisions are based on the best available evidence,” says Maura Cosetti, MD, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Director of the Ear Institute of New York Eye and Ear of Mount Sinai, Director of the Cochlear Implant Program at the Mount Sinai Health System, and a member of the task force. “Before now, there were no international and patient-centred guidelines for hearing care and cochlear implants for adults in the United States and around the globe. The new codified recommendations are practice changing for accurately identifying hearing loss and those who would benefit from intervention and treatment. The Lancet journal has identified hearing loss as the No. 1 modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline—far exceeding things like smoking cessation and cardiovascular fitness. We know this will make a tremendous impact on patient care and in the lives of our patients.”
According to the World Health Organization, the number of people living with hearing loss is set to reach 2.5 billion by 2050. Hearing loss has been linked to decreased quality of life, cognitive decline, and depression, and a growing body of evidence suggests an association between hearing loss in older adults and neurocognitive disorders, such as dementia. Additionally, a person’s hearing loss can also have an impact on those close to them, including family and friends.
In New York, most adults do not have their hearing assessed as part of regular health check-ups. When patients do have hearing tests—which measure hearing loss in decibels—a level above 60 dB HL indicates severe hearing loss. However, among those who receive this result, few are referred to a hearing specialist to assess whether cochlear implants could be the most beneficial treatment option. Despite the potential benefits of cochlear implants, less than 1 in 10 eligible adults will receive one in their lifetime.
The new Living Guidelines make nine recommendations across hearing screening, specialist referral and evaluation, rehabilitation, and patient outcomes. The two-year research project looked at more than 13,000 peer-reviewed studies and involved a panel of 52 experts representing 58 organizations, including those living with hearing loss. The guidance and guidelines will be updated as new evidence is published.
“The message for adults is simple: know your hearing number, and know your options,” Dr. Cosetti says.
If you have hearing loss and would like to be evaluated by an hearing health expert, email einstitute@nyee.edu, call 212-979-4200 or visit https://www.nyee.edu/care/ent/ear-institute for more information.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. The Health System includes approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses across seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, a school of nursing, and schools of medicine and graduate school of biomedical sciences.
As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.
Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York and recognized as one of the world’s top Smart Hospital by Newsweek. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 11 among U.S. medical schools for National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.
For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube. To listen to news and stories from Mount Sinai, visit the Mount Sinai Podcast Network.