Using Supply and Demand to Identify Shortages in the Hearing Health Care Professional Workforce.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Hearing loss is a significant public health issue, affecting 23% of individuals 12 years and older in the US. While hearing loss can be efficaciously treated in many cases, shortages in the supply of hearing health care (HHC) professionals may limit uptake.

Objective

To quantify the US HHC professional workforce from 2012 to 2022 and identify areas experiencing HHC professional shortages in 2019.

Design, setting, and participants

In this quality improvement study, raw data from the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System were transformed to create a state- and county-level database of HHC professionals, including audiologists and hearing instrument specialists from 2012 to 2022, to assess HHC workforce supply. To assess HHC workforce demand, 2019 stat

SUBMITTER: Garuccio J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12314769 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature