![]() ![]() Similarly, but more expansively, Montano and Spitzer (2014) describe these services as: The goals of AR are to alleviate the difficulties related to hearing loss and minimize its consequences (Gagne, 2000 Tye-Murray, 2009). Tye-Murray (2009) stated that AR is aimed at restoring or optimizing a patient's participation in activities that have been limited as a result of hearing loss and also may be aimed at benefiting communication partners who engage in activities that include persons with hearing loss. Montgomery and Houston (2000) described AR as services that "increase the probability that successful communication will occur between a hearing-impaired person and his or her verbal environment" (p. Similarly, the definition of aural rehabilitation has evolved. ![]() Typically, aural rehabilitation is the term used by most SLPs, and audiologic rehabilitation or rehabilitative audiology are the preferred terms of audiologists. Over the years, different terms have been propagated within the communication sciences and disorders discipline. ![]() As well, several noted clinicians and researchers have described preferred practices in the delivery of AR services (Alpiner & McCarthy, 2000 Hull, 2010 Montano & Spitzer, 2014 Tye-Murray, 2009). The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA 2001) has delineated the basic knowledge and skills audiologists and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) should possess prior to providing comprehensive adult AR services. Defining Aural Rehabilitation/Audiologic Rehabilitation Three specific steps, however, could be taken to drastically increase the availability of these services: improve the efficacy of the rehabilitation secure reimbursement rates for these services, especially for audiologists and increase the number of competent practitioners who can deliver AR services. ![]() Thus, while the number of adults with hearing loss who could benefit from comprehensive AR services is significant and increasing, obstacles remain. Montgomery and Houston (2000) would add one more factor to this list: the lack of well-trained personnel who can deliver effective AR services. Tye-Murray (2009) discussed how individuals with hearing loss are usually underserved or unserved due to a scarcity of available AR services, the attitudes of service delivery personnel, a lack of reimbursement for these services, and communication or environmental factors. Unfortunately, barriers exist to the delivery of effective AR services. Furthermore, the researchers support continued study of the role that aural rehabilitation (AR) has in mitigating these effects. More importantly, the prevalence of hearing loss is expected to rise because of the aging of the population, and research is needed to understand the impact of hearing loss on cognition, communication, and other functional domains (Lin, Niparko, & Ferrucci, 2011). Lin, Thorpe, Gordon-Salant, and Ferrucci (2011) discuss the impact of hearing loss on older populations and how hearing loss is associated with various conditions or situations, such as incident dementia (e.g., driving or walking difficulty), social isolation, cognitive and functional decline, and falls. The effects of hearing loss on the individual can be dynamic and significant, especially in older adults. By 2050, individuals in the United States with hearing loss will exceed 40 million (Kochkin, 2005) with about 80% experiencing irreversible hearing loss (Tye-Murray, 2009). Furthermore, the study demonstrated that, for individuals 12 years and older in the United States, nearly 1 in 8 has bilateral hearing loss, and nearly 1 in 5 has a unilateral or bilateral hearing loss. Lin and colleagues also found that hearing loss increases with every age decade (i.e., as people age into their 40s, 50s, 60s, etc.). In fact, from 2001 to 2008, there were an estimated 30 million Americans (or 12.7% of the population) ages 12 years or older who had bilateral hearing loss, and this estimate increased to 48.1 million (or 20.3% of the population) when individuals with unilateral hearing loss were included (Lin, Niparko, & Ferrucci, 2011). Hearing loss continues to be a defining health condition for many individuals as they age. ![]()
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