Meeting the Hearing Health Care Needs of the Oldest Older Adult.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the auditory needs of and approaches to management of the oldest older adult.

METHOD

This article is an overview of principles of geriatric care and implications of untreated hearing loss for function, management, and care of the oldest older adult.

CONCLUSIONS

Person-centered care is at the heart of health care delivery to the oldest older adult, who typically suffers from multimorbidity. Given the high prevalence of moderate to severe hearing loss in this cohort and the functional limitations of untreated hearing loss, audiologists must become proactive in educating stakeholders on the importance of identifying and referring the oldest older adult for management of hearing health care needs. Audiologists have an integral role to play in collaborating with health care professionals in optimizing health care for the oldest older adult.