Jasleen Singh
University of Massachusetts, MA·Medicine & Clinical Research
Hearing loss is the third most common chronic health condition in the United States, affecting about 37 million people, yet only about 30% of those who could benefit from a hearing aid use one. In October 2022 the Food and Drug Administration approved over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, which people can buy without seeing a specialist.
- Fields
Medicine & Clinical Research
Public Health & Epidemiology
- Topics
hearing loss
over-the-counter hearing aids
OTC hearing aids
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Mar 2027
What they work on
- Develop HearEase, an interactive mobile health decision aid that guides potential buyers through deciding whether they are suitable users of an over-the-counter hearing aid before they purchase one.
- Create an implementation plan for HearEase together with hearing aid manufacturers and retailers, so the tool is adopted and offered to consumers at the point of sale.
- Address the shortcomings of the OTC hearing aid product information label, which consumers often skip or see only after purchase, by supplementing it with a pre-purchase interactive tool.
More about the research
The hope was that this would raise hearing aid use. But a survey of more than 1,000 consumers by this team found that only 16% would consider an OTC device. One likely barrier is that buyers cannot easily tell whether an OTC hearing aid is right for them, a question called "candidacy." Today the only tool for this is the product information label. The team's earlier work showed that consumers do not read the whole label, and they often see it only after buying.
Why it matters
Untreated hearing loss is estimated to add about two billion dollars to U.S. healthcare spending. A clear, pre-purchase candidacy tool could help adults with hearing loss judge whether an OTC hearing aid fits their needs. This may raise uptake of these cheaper, more accessible devices. It could also give manufacturers and retailers a practical way to deliver candidacy information that the current product label fails to convey.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Marcia Hay-McCutcheon
University of Alabama, AL·Medicine & Clinical Research
Determine an effective way to train pharmacy technicians in rural Alabama and Mississippi pharmacies to provide over-the-counter hearing aids, using a stepped-wedge clinical trial in which four groups start training at staggered times.
Jessica West
Duke University, NC·Public Health & Epidemiology·Early-career
Measure perceived, experienced and internalized hearing loss stigma, plus anticipated stigma about hearing devices, in U.S. adults with hearing loss using a web-based survey of validated Lancet Commission scales.
Esther Oh
Johns Hopkins University, MD·Medicine & Clinical Research
Refine a hearing care intervention for neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia by consulting clinical experts and end users, aligning it with theoretical frameworks and the latest evidence, and adapting it for delivery in settings including the home.
The school
University of Massachusetts: 28 labs on PI Pages, $282M a year on research, 337 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.