Educational and Collaborative Model for Early Detection and Intervention of Age-Related Hearing Loss to Enhance Health and Well-Being of the Aged

Age-related hearing loss is one of the most common chronic conditions; however, many people do not immediately see a doctor when they notice hearing loss. Untreated hearing loss can affect older adults' health and quality of life. In this chapter, we first describe age-related hearing loss, the physical and psychosocial effects, and how to cope with hearing loss, including the use of hearing aids and communication strategies. Following this, we will discuss the difficulties of early detection and intervention from the viewpoint of the Japanese social system and a standard of care that is not well known. Thirdly, we discuss the results of our survey conducted on local government officials throughout Japan, which revealed that few local governments in Japan conduct hearing tests for the elderly and that some local government officials do not know enough about hearing loss or how to deal with people with hearing difficulties. Based on the above, we next propose an educational and collaborative model that enables the early detection of hearing loss and intervention to help those with hearing difficulties. In this proposed model, municipalities, researchers, and physicians will work together to educate the general public, other municipalities, and schools to spread knowledge about hearing loss and hearing aids. In addition, local government officials and elderly members of local senior citizens' clubs who have received special education, will take the role of spreading knowledge to the next step. Finally, we introduce the Finger Rub/Finger Tap screening test for the early detection of hearing loss. This is a test that anyone can perform quickly and efficiently.