The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation has published a new guideline for age-related hearing loss (Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2024;170:1209-1227).
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June 2024The guideline offers 11 evidence-based recommendations for screening, testing, treating, and counseling patients aged 50 and older. Ten of the recommendations were designated a “strong recommendation” or a “recommendation” based on the evidence, with one considered an “option.” The guideline takes an algorithmic approach, starting with initial screening and advancing through testing, counseling and education, treatment recommendations, goal setting, and follow-up, based on the needs of individual patients.
“Age-related hearing loss is underdiagnosed and undertreated despite being the most common sensory deficit in the aging population. With almost 50% of the population over 75 reporting hearing loss, having a clinical practice guideline allows all clinicians to provide better healthcare to those with hearing loss based on research and best practices,” said Betty S. Tsai Do, MD, an otolaryngologist in the department of head and neck surgery at Kaiser Permanente in Walnut Creek, Calif., and chair of the guideline development group.