Conceptual Model of Hearing Health Inequalities - A short video abstract by Dr Dalia Tsimpida
Channel: Dr Dalia Tsimpida
Date: 2021-05-29

Landmark study proposes a model for hearing loss prevention during the life-course.
https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/23312165211002963

An estimated 466 million people worldwide have disabling hearing loss, which has been labelled as something which mostly affects the elderly.

A landmark study published in Trends in Hearing by University of Manchester researchers provides now a novel theoretical framework that argues that hearing loss in many older people is preventable if socioeconomic inequalities in hearing health are addressed early and appropriately.

The relationship between hearing health and socioeconomic resources is complicated because each one affects the other. This study is the first to examine the mechanisms and explain the relationship between socioeconomic inequalities and hearing health taking a life-course perspective.

People with hearing loss are more likely to have poorer educational achievement, higher rates of unemployment and lower annual family income than those with other health conditions. They also have more long-term conditions and a higher overall disease burden than older people without hearing loss.

Dr Dalia Tsimpida, who led the study, said: “Understanding hearing deterioration as a lifelong process and not as an inevitable accompaniment of ageing is an essential step in addressing the global burden of hearing loss.”

Dr Tsimpida, a postdoctoral researcher in the Institute for Health Policy and Organisation (IHPO), added: “The suggested cyclical nature of key determinants along the life course and their interdependency as described by the HHI model moves now the focus of age-related hearing loss away from simply the age of older adults to factors earlier in life, which if modified could reduce hearing loss in older age.”

“The life-course approach in hearing health can lead to the development of appropriate interventions and public health strategies that can have significant health policy and practice implications.“

Dr Tsimpida’s study is co-authored by Professor Evangelos Kontopantelis, Professor Darren Ashcroft, and Dr Maria Panagioti. 

Dr Maria Panagioti commented: “The HHI Model provides now a visual representation of the several modifiable factors of hearing loss in distinct life stages and their evolution over time, which is new thinking in hearing loss research.”

“Given the burden of adult-onset hearing loss, such a conceptual tool for hearing health inequalities has the potential of improving the physical, mental and social wellbeing of individuals.” 

A copy of the paper Conceptual Model of Hearing Health Inequalities (HHI Model): A Critical Interpretive Synthesis is available at:
https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/23312165211002963