Deaf adults face 'iceberg of unmet needs' from health professionals

DIDCOT, U.K. - Oct. 3, 2013 - PRLog -- ADULT DEAFNESS – “AN ICEBERG OF UNMET NEED”

Many GPs are failing to take adult deafness seriously enough, with nearly half of all patients (45%) not being referred to specialists for assessment. As a result, many deaf people face social isolation, are more like to suffer from depression and dementia, and struggle to find work.

In addition, patients are missing out on the latest technology, such as the use of cochlear implants which can transform lives, because latest developments have outpaced NICE criteria and there is not enough information  available.

That’s the finding of a new report, due to be launched at a conference in London on October 15, to be held in The Donald English Room, Central Hall Westminster, Storey's Gate, London SW1H 9NH, starting at 4.30 pm.

The report says the cost of not addressing deafness in the community is vast, and imposes not only a social burden on individuals and families, but also a huge economic burden on the rest of society, that often goes unrecognised.

Jointly authored by Brian Lamb OBE, researcher and policy consultant and Sue Archbold PhD, Chief Executive of The Ear Foundation, it calls for a “national conversation” between health communities and the Government and an action plan to address hearing loss.

The report also calls on NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) to review its current guidance on cochlear implants, saying that in the four years since its last review, technology has improved and costs have come down, meaning many more people could benefit than currently fall within NICE’s strict criteria.

A key speaker at the conference will be GP Dr Andrew Dunlop, who developed sudden and profound hearing loss in April 2009 and received a cochlear implant in January 2010. He says: "I would like to think that I was always sympathetic to patients suffering from loss of hearing but now I actually know how it feels. I am passionate about encouraging and promoting the possibilities of cochlear implantation. I think there is an 'iceberg of unmet need' out there."

The conference will bring together leading researchers, practitioners, patients' groups and professionals to share the findings and implications of the latest research on the impact of adult hearing loss and access to today's technology.

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Notes to editors:

·         For more information on cochlear implants visit http://www.cochlear.com/wps/wcm/connect/uk/home or http://www.earfoundation.org.uk/

·         Speakers at the conference include: Brian Lamb OBE, (former Executive Director of Advocacy and Policy (https://www.linkedin.com/search?search=&title=Executi...) at Action on Hearing Loss (RNID)),  Sue Archbold PhD, Chief Executive The Ear Foundation and GP Andrew Dunlop.

·         A cochlear implant is made up of parts that are worn outside the body (microphone, sound processor and transmitter coil) and parts that are placed under the skin behind the ear (receiver–stimulator) and in the inner ear (electrodes) during an operation. The    microphone is often worn behind the ear like a hearing aid. It picks up sounds which are turned into electrical signals by the receiver–stimulator and sent to the brain by the   electrodes in the inner ear (cochlea). Sounds heard with a cochlear implant are not the same as those heard with the human ear. The cochlear implant team helps a person with a cochlear implant to use their implant to understand speech and other sounds.

·         Annual data shows that, for adults there has been a slow but steady growth in numbers of adults receiving cochlear implants per year from about 240 in 2003/2004 to about 500 in 2010/2011 with over 5,000 adults now fitted in the UK.

·         Over the next 20 years it is estimated that by 2031 over 14.5 million people will have a hearing loss with over 2 million of these experiencing severe hearing loss.

·         NICE has already reviewed the effectiveness of cochlear implants and in 2009 gave a positive, but restrictive, assessment on the criteria to be used for fitting of cochlear implants in adults. However since the NICE review there has been significant additional research, meta-analysis and technical assessments which have strengthened the case for a widening of criteria for fitting of appropriate candidates in adulthood and older people.  Further there have been significant developments in the technology which also alters the understanding of costs and benefits of cochlear implantation. Costs of the implant have reduced considerably, changing the health economics of providing more choice.

For media enquiries and to organise interviews with Brian Lamb or Sue Archbold or other speakers, contact:

Louise Esplin, Esplin PR, Tel: 01235 850115, Mobile: 07775 678237, Email: louise@esplinpr.co.uk