Presentation at Governor's Advisory Council on Aging
July 8, 2016
On Friday July 8th, Drs. Nicole Marrone and Tom Muller partnered with the Arizona Council on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing on highlighting the problem of access to hearing aids by low-income Arizona residents. They presented to the Governor's Advisory Council on Aging the following facts:
- Over 1.1 million people in Arizona who have hearing loss: 739,035 are 60 years old or older; hundreds of thousands are between the age of 20 and 60; thousands are under the age of 20. For low-income adults with hearing loss, accessing hearing aids can be very challenging
- Untreated hearing loss is correlated with a higher risk for early dementia and a greater propensity for falls
- Hearing loss is also higher in people with diabetes.
- People with untreated hearing loss are at greater risk for social isolation, depression, and an inability to work or be physically active.
- Hearing loss is a significant health issue that is often overlooked, ignored, or diminished.
The aim of the presentation was to increase awareness that hopefully leads to increased funding support for these individuals.
The Arizona Affordable Hearing Aids Task Force members included:
- Tom Muller, AuD, CCC-A (Task Force Chair)
- Nicole Marrone, PhD, CCC-A
- Giau Le, AuD,
- Linda Norrix, PhD, CCC-A
- Stephanie Adamovich, PhD, CCC-A