Mankato among sites for new hearing loss pilot

Senior living facilities in Mankato, Minnesota, are going to initiate a pilot program to address unidentified age-related hearing loss.

The average adult waits 15 years to consult a doctor on hearing loss, according to research from Johns Hopkins University.

This program will be a collaboration between statewide care providers, the Commission of Deaf, DeafBlind and hard of Hearing Minnesotans, and the University of Minnesota. “We want those providers to be resources for the family or the person themselves and have the basic knowledge,” said Emory David Dively, deputy director for the commission. “We want them to understand what potentially can happen if it’s ignored and not addressed and the strong negative health outcomes that have a correlation to them.”

The program may later extend to include nursing homes as well as a family component.

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