The impact on health and costs resulting from unmanaged hearing loss have been well documented. Unmanaged hearing loss is too often linked to more hospital stays, higher rates of readmission and higher incidence of costly medical errors. This is the case for acute care admissions. We also know that isolation, depression, cognitive decline and falls are some of the top reasons for admission to long-term care facilities.
Canada is unprepared for the challenges of hearing loss. Culturally, hearing loss is often written off as a normal part of aging and carries a stigma.
Screening for hearing loss is often not a part of an annual physical exam. Health care providers across the system are often unaware of the signs of hearing loss, the impact of unmanaged hearing loss and the importance of addressing the issue.
All this adds up to serious problems for senior women, and especially for women who have low incomes or who live in first nations communities. Most of the time, access to hearing health services isn't covered by the health care system, and these services aren't sufficiently available in northern, first nations and rural regions.
One of our goals at the Hearing Health Alliance of Canada is to have more women pay attention to their hearing health. There's a role for federal, provincial and territorial governments to collaborate with various communities of interest to adopt policies and actions to promote hearing health.
First, we all need to do much more to increase public awareness to prevent hearing loss, to identify and manage hearing loss and to destigmatize hearing loss.
Second, there is an urgent need to integrate hearing loss assessment, diagnosis, prevention and treatment into existing health programs and to facilitate collaboration among front-line health care providers to promote hearing health as part of overall health.
Third, governments must address existing models of government funding and tax benefits to provide equitable access to hearing health care and assistive devices.
There is no doubt that making hearing health a high public policy priority will provide immediate and long-term benefits in the form of significant savings to our health care system and increase the quality of life for our seniors, especially women.
We thank you for your attention and consideration.