Key Takeaways

• Cross-sectional analysis of the prospective Low Vision Rehabilitation Outcomes Study included 28 US centers and assessed pre/post rehabilitation function using the Activity Inventory general capability MCID threshold.
• Hearing-impaired participants were less likely to achieve MCID gains than those with normal hearing (23% vs 31%; OR 0.58; 95% CI 0.34-0.95; P=0.03) despite similar baseline abilities.
• History of hearing aid use did not mitigate reduced MCID attainment (23% with aids vs 22% without), suggesting barriers extend beyond simple amplification access.
• Severe vision impairment (OR 3.32) and higher depressive symptoms (OR 1.38 per logit) correlated with greater MCID achievement, indicating complex, nonintuitive effect modifiers.
• Older age and lower physical health scores characterized hearing-impaired patients at baseline and follow-up, reinforcing the need to embed hearing assessment and accommodations within vision rehabilitation workflows.

The findings of a new study published in JAMA Ophthalmology¹ suggested that impaired hearing “is independently associated with a lower likelihood of functional gains from vision rehabilitation, underscoring the need for interdisciplinary rehabilitation strategies that are more effective for patients with dual sensory impairment,” according to the investigators led by first author Anas Obaideen, MBBS, MPH. He is from the Wilmer Eye Institute and the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.

This scenario emphasizes the need to gain an understanding of the role of hearing impairment in vision rehabilitation outcomes, particularly as they relate to functional independence.

Judith E. Goldstein, OD, and Chris Bradley, PhD, from the Wilmer Eye Institute, joined Dr. Obaideen in this study.

Sensory impairment of both vision and hearing loss is a complex barrier to daily functioning. Obaideen and colleagues estimate the global prevalence of dual sensory impairment to be 5.5%, and that is projected to increase by 27.2% by 2050; more than 40% of individuals with vision impairment are thought to also be hearing impaired.^2,3

Read more or listen: https://shorturl.at/wVkri

Source: Ophthalmolgy Times

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