American Journal of Audiology Vol.17 3-13 June 2008. doi:10.1044/1059-0889(2008/002)
© American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
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Clinical Focus | Innovation

Use of a Hearing and Balance Screening Survey With Local Primary Care Physicians

Jeffrey L. Danhauer and Kristina E. Celani

University of California, Santa Barbara

Carole E. Johnson

Auburn University, Auburn, AL

Contact author: Jeffrey L. Danhauer, Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences; 1476 N. Fairview Avenue, Goleta, CA 93117. E-mail: danhauer{at}speech.ucsb.edu.

Purpose: This investigation is a follow-up to a national survey of hearing/balance screening and referrals in elderly patients by primary care physicians (PCPs). This local study focused on PCPs who actually treated elderly patients and could be contacted and followed in a single community.

Method: PCPs in Santa Barbara, CA, were surveyed with a 35-item questionnaire via mailings, phone calls, and hand delivery to determine their participation in, knowledge of, and attitudes toward hearing/balance screening and referrals for the elderly. Potential respondents were 154 PCPs obtained from WebMD, Google, and telephone and provider directories for Santa Barbara. Of the 154 surveys mailed/delivered, 33 were returned undeliverable or unusable, and 32 were returned usable, producing an overall response rate of 26.5%.

Results: Results were similar to those of the national study; PCPs were unlikely to screen for hearing/balance problems unless patients complained. The PCPs were unaware of patient self-report screening methods and probably would not use them in the future.

Conclusions: These PCPs acknowledged the importance of hearing/balance problems in the elderly, but their responses demonstrated insufficiencies in knowledge and potential attitudinal, time, and reimbursement obstacles that could interfere with their screening for hearing/balance problems. Audiologists should partner with PCPs to improve ways of meeting patients' needs but must consider resource/payoff implications for such endeavours.

Key Words: balance, elderly, hearing, Medicare, screening, referral


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