Hearing health disparities

Hearing care in the United States is lacking for many communities who experience persistent barriers to care that manifest as disparities and worse outcomes. Applying a social epidemiologic lens to hearing health can aid in identifying and measuring disparities in hearing health and hearing care in order to move toward interventions that target specific populations and, ultimately, decrease disparities. An individual's educational level, employment and income, race, ethnicity, and rurality represent known social factors that can translate to disparities in hearing care. With new approaches, such as models of care that partner with community health workers or incorporate telehealth alongside national and local policy changes and personal efforts as clinicians, the influence of social factors and context on hearing health can be lessened.