01 December 2017

NICE publishes draft adult hearing loss guideline

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published its draft guideline on adult hearing loss for consultation. The guideline offers advice on assessing and managing adult onset hearing loss.

Commenting on the draft guideline and consultation, Harjit Sandhu of the NCHA said: “The economic model built specifically for this guidance shows that providing two hearing aids based on communication difficulties, rather than thresholds, is very cost effective. As is encouraging people to come forward sooner, rather than later.

“Although the initial guidance is helpful, we do have some concerns and will provide the NICE committee with a robust analysis and helpful steer to ensure the final guideline serves patients, the NHS, and taxpayers.”

“This is a very important consultation and I would encourage all NCHA members to take part. You can do this by sending us your feedback by 5 January, or responding directly to NICE by 12 January if you are registered stakeholder.”