Helping Patients with Hearing Loss Overcome Barriers to Surgical Procedures

Advances in medical/surgical intervention for hearing loss provide more alternatives than ever before for patients with progressive hearing loss. One of the most challenging situations, however, for both patients and providers is to consider WHEN traditional hearing aids are not enough. This panel session will consider the evidence basis, clinical considerations, and ethical dilemmas that often surround the decision to proceed with medical/surgical treatments for pediatric and adult otologic patients. Audience participation is strongly encouraged! Attendees will be able to: 1. List three objections listed by patients for why they delay medical/surgical treatments for hearing loss 2. Provide the evidence basis for cochlear implant candidacy, in terms of hearing thresholds and speech recognition scores 3. Discuss three clinical challenges with bilateral implants, hybrid/bimodal stimulation, middle-ear implantable devices, and bone-anchored devices that may provide barriers to medical/surgical intervention.