Listen: An ENT physician & an advocate on the high monetary and social costs of hearing loss

Although hearing loss is a common aging-related problem, affecting two in three Americans over age 70, many people still struggle to afford simple solutions such as hearing aids. In this week’s episode of the “First Opinion Podcast,” physician Frank Lin talks about how that may be changing with new federal legislation. Anne Madison, who once couldn’t afford hearing aids herself, explains how life changing the devices can be.

“When you move into a community with older people, you get on two mailing lists: the hearing aids mailing list and the cemetery lots mailing list,” Madison said. Despite all of those offers, she was still priced out of care, until she heard about a study that Lin was conducting to improve access in her community.

The conversation stems from Lin’s First Opinion essay, written with Charlotte Yeh and Christine Cassel, “Making hearing aids affordable isn’t enough. Older adults also need hearing care services.”

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You can download a PDF transcript of this episode here.

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