Title: Hearing Health in Older Adults
Summary: Hearing loss is one of the most significant contributors to the global burden of disease. Up to 65% of adults in BC aged 60+ have hearing loss. Fewer than one-fourth of adults seek hearing healthcare or obtain hearing aids. Untreated hearing loss affects communication and quality of life and is linked to social isolation and greater risk of falls. Many adults wait up to 10 years before seeking help. When they do seek help, they often start with their primary care provider, who can play an important role in the hearing health journey. We will review hearing loss in adults, its consequences, and the role of primary care providers (PCPs). We will present data collected in BC with PCPs, patients, and hearing health practitioners and discuss how these data can support patients and PCPs to increase access to hearing healthcare.
Speaker Biographies: Lorienne Jenstad, PhD, is an audiologist and Associate Professor at the UBC School of Audiology and Speech Sciences, where she directs the Amplification Research Lab. Her teaching and research expertise includes hearing aid processing, hearing and aging, and hearing health care for older adults. Danielle Lafleur is a PhD student at the UBC School of Audiology and Speech Sciences and a practicing audiologist and hearing instrument practitioner. She serves on additional committees focused on hearing health advocacy in British Columbia, notably the Speech and Hearing BC Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Working Group.
Participants may attend the seminar in-person at the Rudy North Lecture Theatre in the Centre for Brain Health at UBC, or virtually via Zoom. Zoom details for virtual attendance can be found below. A light lunch will be provided for all those attending in-person.
Please register here for the seminar.
To join over Zoom:
Zoom Meeting ID: 91067 972164 | Passcode: 972164
Step 1: Open https://ubc.zoom.us/ and click on ‘Join a Meeting’.
Step 2: Enter the 11 digit Zoom Meeting ID & click ‘Join.’
Step 3: If you have the Zoom client, click ‘Open Zoom Meetings,’ otherwise, click ‘join from your browser.’
Step 4: Enter the passcode in the passcode field & click ‘Join Meeting.’