Hearing services
Thursday, 07 Feb 2008 10:41
People with hearing problems can feel isolated and unsupported, RCP report says
Hearing services need to be improved in the UK to ensure that people receive appropriate care without lengthy delays, a report has concluded.
A Royal College of Physicians (RCP) working party study warns that some people with hearing and balance disorders can wait years to see an appropriate specialist.
It adds that patients often remain undiagnosed and inadequately managed.
Several recommendations have been advised by the report to bring about the required changes.
It is estimated that at least half the population suffers hearing and/or balance disorders at some point in their life.
Disorders of the ear, which represent nearly a quarter of all disabilities in the adult population, affect learning and development; can be socially isolating; and have economic consequences for those of a working age.
Despite the prevalence of hearing and balance problems, the RCP report says dedicated and specialised audiological/vestibular service is only available in a few specialist centres.
It also claims there is a severe shortage of state-of-the-art audiology, tinnitus or vestibular clinics and limited access to an integrated multidisciplinary team with the appropriate specialists.
The report recommends that hearing problems are given greater priority in medical training and calls for a drive to improve the number of audiovestibular physicians and paediatricians.
"Recent government and third-sector initiatives have significantly improved the provision of hearing aids especially for the elderly," said Professor Linda Luxon, chair of the working party and professor of audiological medicine at the University of London.
"But adequate medical and scientific resources for accurate diagnosis and optimal management of patients with complex hearing conditions and, particularly, balance disorders remain woefully inadequate throughout most of the UK."
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