Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40290601›Full record

ReviewSeminars in hearing2025

An Innovative Approach for Increasing Access to Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids in Rural Communities of Alabama.

Marcia J Hay-McCutcheon, Lucas A Berenbrok, Elaine Mormer, Peter J Hughes

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Seminars in hearing, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Marcia J Hay-McCutcheonDepartment of Communicative Disorders, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Lucas A BerenbrokDepartment of Pharmacy and Therapeutics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Elaine MormerDepartment of Communication Science and Disorders, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Peter J HughesMcWhorter School of Pharmacy, Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama.

Funding

Improving Access and Affordability of Adult Hearing Healthcare: Effectiveness of Community-based Interventions in West Central and South AlabamaR33DC019073 · NIDCD · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN TUSCALOOSA · PI HAY-MCCUTCHEON, MARCIA JEAN · 2023 to 2025
$1.8M
Improving Access and Affordability of Adult Hearing Healthcare: Effectiveness of Community-based Interventions in West Central and South AlabamaR21DC019073 · NIDCD · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN TUSCALOOSA · PI HAY-MCCUTCHEON, MARCIA JEAN · 2021 to 2022
$410k
Increasing Access to Hearing Healthcare: An Assessment of Pharmacy Technician Educational Training for the Provision of Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids in Rural Alabama and Mississippi PharmaciesR21DC022070 · NIDCD · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN TUSCALOOSA · PI BERENBROK, LUCAS ALLAN, HAY-MCCUTCHEON, MARCIA JEAN · 2024 to 2024
$406k
NIDCD NIH HHS R21 DC019073NIDCD NIH HHS R21 DC022070NIDCD NIH HHS R33 DC019073
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Adults living in rural communities of Alabama have limited or no access to hearing healthcare for a variety of reasons. Hearing loss can result in decreased social contact, potentially leading to loneliness, and it has been associated with depression and cognitive decline. To improve access to hearing healthcare, the FDA released its Final Rule in 2022 stating that adults with perceived mild-to-moderate hearing loss can purchase over-the-counter hearing aids (OTC HAs) on their own without clearance from a physician or through the care of an audiologist. Current research suggests, however, that adults benefit from professional support when purchasing and setting their OTC HAs. Understanding how much support is needed and how to best provide the support will be necessary for successful OTC HA use. Considering that these devices can now be purchased at pharmacies, one model in rural areas could involve the pharmacy technician who could assist and support those with hearing loss in community pharmacies. This article outlines a pharmacy technician educational training program that will incorporate didactic, interactional, and experiential learning components to promote the use of OTC HAs. The outcomes from this project will provide the foundation for the development and implementation of one model for improving access to hearing healthcare in rural communities.

Indexed as

community pharmacy servicecontinuing pharmacy educationhearing lossrural health services

Identifiers

PMID40290601
PMCPMC12020531

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.