Education & Events
by Cochlear Guest Author

New on-demand webinars: Otologic Management Services

October 26, 2020
Share

By Nicole Craig, Senior Manager of Managed Care and Market Access, Cochlear Americas

Cochlear’s Otologic Management Services (OMS) is now offering two webinars to help educate hearing health professionals on OMS services and on the Osia® System claim submission process. The OMS team consists of reimbursement specialists who are available, at no-cost, to help healthcare providers and candidates obtain the necessary insurance approval or to support appeals where coverage has been denied for Cochlear’s Nucleus®, Osia or Baha® Systems for medically qualified candidates. 

If you are a center that has recently completed the letter of agreement to utilize OMS, or are just curious about the process, the first webinar will introduce you to the team and walk you through what to expect when working with OMS.

Further, the Osia System represents a significant technological advancement in auditory osseointegrated implants. The digital piezoelectric stimulation of this active auditory osseointegrated implant (AOI) delivers effective high power output and the high frequency gain necessary for optimal speech perception. Based on guidance from the AMA, surgical implantation of transcutaneous AOI devices such as Osia Systems should be reported under an unlisted code until a new, more specific code has been established to report those surgeries in which a transcutaneous AOI is implanted. The second webinar will help you understand the authorization and claim submission process when using an unlisted code.

Watch these OMS webinars now!

About the author: Nicole Craig is the Senior Manager of Managed Care and Market Access for Cochlear Americas. She oversees OMS and managed care contracting for Cochlear’s external DME replacement parts and accessories.

Information provided by Cochlear Americas regarding insurance coverage or reimbursement is provided as guidance only and is not intended as reimbursement or legal advice. Cochlear Americas makes no representation or warranty regarding such information or its completeness, accuracy, fitness for a particular purpose, or that following such guidance will result in any form of coverage or reimbursement from any insurer. Information presented is subject to change at any time. To be sure that you have the most current and applicable information available for your unique circumstances, please consult your own experts and seek your own legal advice regarding your reimbursement needs. In all cases, products or services billed must be medically necessary, actually performed and appropriately documented in the medical record.

Author

Cochlear Guest Author

In an effort to keep our content fresh and reflective of a diverse industry, Cochlear Americas features a mix of employees and professional partners to contribute to Cochlear ProNews as Guest Authors.

View all posts

Related Posts
AAM

Normal hearing is 20/20: Audiology Awareness Month

October 7, 2020

New public health campaign seeks to establish a simple health metric to define normal hearing to better monitor hearing loss, refer for treatment

LONE TREE, Colo., Oct. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH), the global leader in implantable hearing solutions, launches the Hearing 20/20 campaign, a new public health initiative to adopt 20/20 as a common metric for normal hearing, during October’s Audiology Awareness Month. Supported by 10 hearing health nonprofit and industry partners, establishing a simple, common metric, defined as 20 decibels in each ear, can help simplify the ongoing conversation and actions related to monitoring hearing health and treating hearing loss, especially among adults 55 years of age and older.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hearing loss is the third most common chronic physical condition impacting adults in the United States, and hearing loss is more prevalent than diabetes or cancer.1 However, hearing is not a mandatory part of an individual’s annual physical screening and generally is deprioritized amongst consumers and primary care providers2, even though studies continue to prove untreated hearing loss has a sizable negative impact on an individual’s overall health3.

Research conducted by Cochlear found 93 percent of consumers know what normal vision is, but only 9 percent can define normal hearing.2 Seventy-seven percent of consumers turn to their primary care providers for hearing loss information, but 75 percent of consumers do not complete annual hearing exams.2 Additionally, 47 percent of consumers prioritize their pet’s annual exam over getting their hearing checked annually.2

“Hearing health should be prioritized as a significant part of a person’s overall health, especially as we age,” said Joanna T. Smith, MS CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert., AVT, Founder, CEO and Executive Director, Hearts for Hearing. “Like vision, normal hearing is 20/20. Everyone should get to know their hearing number by requesting a hearing test at their next doctor’s visit and should continue checking their hearing health annually thereafter. We all know hearing loss can negatively impact a person’s quality of life; however, hearing loss is treatable and not something we just have to live with.”

For healthcare providers treating patients during an annual physical, a simple way to screen for hearing loss is wash your hands during the appointment. With the water running and back to the patient, ask a few questions. If they do not respond or the answers do not match what was asked, it is appropriate to start a conversation about hearing loss and discuss referring for a hearing test.4 For consumers and their loved ones, they should request a hearing test at their next annual physical so they can learn their hearing number.

Proper audiometric testing is needed to determine a person’s hearing number. The testing, typically done by an audiologist, can provide a summary of a person’s hearing status via an audiogram. During the testing, hearing thresholds are measured in decibels (dB) for each ear using pure tones across a range of frequencies (Hz). Pure-tone average (PTA) refers to the average of hearing thresholds at a set of specified frequencies and can indicate a hearing level for each ear. As such, a hearing level from 0 to 20 dB PTA in each ear is considered normal. Numbers exceeding 20 dB could benefit from amplification, such as hearing aids, while levels above 60 dB suggest a referral for a cochlear implant evaluation.5 Cochlear is proposing hearing health professionals use the PTA as a simple, easy to remember metric for consumers to track their hearing levels.

“We understand a PTA measurement is a very simplified metric amongst a complex battery of testing that hearing health professionals perform. However, if we want to help more people hear, we need to communicate simple metrics and help consumers and referring professionals adopt them much like other health metrics. Then we can help those who need treatment, like hearing aids or cochlear implants that are widely underutilized, hear better sooner and help increase quality of life earlier as well,” said Patricia Trautwein, AuD, Vice President, Product Management & Marketing, Cochlear Americas.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), one in every three people 65 years of age and one in every two 75 years of age and over has hearing loss.6 The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there are 72 million people who could potentially benefit from the use of a hearing device, such as a hearing aid or cochlear implant.7 However, on average, people with hearing loss wait six years to get their hearing loss treated.8 By 2030, all Baby Boomers will be 65 years and older and this generation will live longer than any generation in history.9 Prioritizing hearing health is necessary now to help aging adults live active, healthy and independent lives as long as possible.

This is the first phase of a multi-year initiative to educate the public about the importance of hearing health. To learn your hearing number, find a local audiologist near you from the directories linked on the Hearing2020.com website. Industry and nonprofit partners supporting the campaign include American Academy of Audiology, Academy of Doctors of Audiology, Hearing Loss Association of America, A.G. Bell, Hearing Health Foundation, Hearing First, Hearing Industries Association, American Cochlear Implant Alliance, Songs for Sound and Ear Community.

About Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH)
Cochlear is the global leader in implantable hearing solutions. The company has a global workforce of more than 4,000 people and invests more than AUD$180 million each year in research and development. Products include cochlear implants, bone conduction implants and acoustic implants, which healthcare professionals use to treat a range of moderate to profound types of hearing loss.

Since 1981, Cochlear has provided more than 600,000 implantable devices, helping people of all ages, in more than 180 countries, to hear. www.cochlear.com/us

References

  1. Blackwell DL, Lucas JW, Clarke TC. Summary health statistics for US adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2012. Vital health statistics, series 10, no. 260. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Health Statistics, CDC; 2014. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_260.pdf
  2. May 29, 2019 Cochlear 20/20 hearing study. Survey of 1,250 conducted by Penn, Schoen, Berland, March 13, 2019. Data on file.
  3. Brody, J. E. (2018, December 31). Hearing Loss Threatens Mind, Life and Limb. Available from: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/31/well/live/hearing-loss-threatens-mind-life-and-limb.html.
  4. Strait, J.E. (2020, August 27). Cochlear implants should be recommended for adults more often. Available from: https://medicine.wustl.edu/news/cochlear-implants-should-be-recommended-much-more-often-for-adults-with-hearing-loss/#:~:text=An%20international%20group%20of%20hearing,than%20is%20the%20current%20practice.
  5. Zwolan TA, Schvartz-Leyzac KC, Pleasant T. Development of a 60/60 guideline for referring adults for a traditional Cochlear implant candidacy evaluation. Otol Neurotol 2020;41:895-900.
  6. Hearing Loss and Older Adults [Internet]. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders; c2018 [cited 11 Sept 2020]. Available from: https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing-loss-older-adults.
  7. Deafness and hearing loss fact sheet [Internet]. World Health Organization; c2020 [cited 11 Sept 2020]. Available from: https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs300/en/.
  8. Hearing Industries Association. MT10 MarkeTrak 10 Base Report. Washington, DC: Marketing Research, Inc; March 27, 2019.
  9. America Counts Staff (2019, December 10). 2020 Census Will Help Policymakers Prepare for the Incoming Wave of Aging Boomers. Available from: https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/12/by-2030-all-baby-boomers-will-be-age-65-or-older.html.

SOURCE Cochlear Limited

Please seek advice from your health professional about treatments for hearing loss. Outcomes may vary, and your health professional will advise you about the factors which could affect your outcome. Always read the instructions for use. Not all products are available in all countries. Please contact your local Cochlear representative for product information.

© Cochlear Limited 2020. All rights reserved.

Thought Leaders Meeting – Single Sided Deafness (SSD) May 4, 2024

September 30, 2024

A group of 25 leading clinicians in unilateral hearing loss (UHL)/single-sided deafness (SSD) gathered for a one-day follow-up meeting. Representing 21 U.S. clinics, attendees included surgeons, audiologists, psychologists, and research scientists. Doctors Kevin Brown and Daniel Zeitler moderated the event.

This meeting built upon the inaugural gathering held in December 2021, also led by Dr. Brown. The original meeting took place prior to the January 2022 SSD indication approval.

The objectives of the meeting were:

  • Assess the adequacy of our current clinical guidelines:
    • Identify areas where the guidelines might need to be revised​
    • If revisions are necessary, gain alignment on the revised guidelines​
  • Understand the use of terminology, SSD versus asymmetrical hearing loss (AHL)
  • Assess the impact on the market from the SSD indication approximately 2 years after approval and share new scientific data that deepens the understanding of this unique population

The agenda comprised a mix of scientific presentations and panel discussions.  The professionals were highly engaged and provided excellent feedback.  Some key takeaways included:

  • The SSD treatment pathway guidance for adults needs to be revised to include more emphasis on choosing the right patient, counseling (patient expectations/goals, patient motivation) and the importance of aural rehabilitation
  • The pre- and post-implant evaluation protocol needs to be updated to align with the MSTB-3 recommendations.  The primary metric to evaluate speech understanding in noise should be the AZBio sentences at a fixed signal to noise ratio (SNR) with an alternative metric the BKB-SIN
  • The post implant evaluation schedule should be updated to the Initial Activation, 1-, 3- and 12-month intervals
  • The current whitepaper, Clinical Recommendations for the Treatment of Unilateral Hearing Loss/Single Sided Deafness with Cochlear Implantation, needs to be updated to include the recommendations of the group
  • A separate “tiger team” should be formed to address pediatric considerations in the SSD population

With a consensus on revised guidance for evaluating and treating patients with unilateral hearing loss / single-sided deafness, updated professional resources will be available from Cochlear in the coming months.  Click here to learn more about treatment options for single-sided deafness.

Cochlear logo - white

©Cochlear Limited 2024. All rights reserved. ACE, Advance Off-Stylet, AOS, Ardium, AutoNRT, Autosensitivity, Baha, Baha SoftWear, BCDrive, Beam, Bring Back the Beat, Button, Carina, Cochlear, 科利耳, コクレア, 코클리어, Cochlear SoftWear, Contour, コントゥア, Contour Advance, Custom Sound, DermaLock, Freedom, Hear now. And always, Hugfit, Human Design, Hybrid, Invisible Hearing, Kanso, LowPro, MET, MP3000, myCochlear, mySmartSound, NRT, Nucleus, Osia, Outcome Focused Fitting, Off-Stylet, Piezo Power, Profile, Slimline, SmartSound, Softip, SoundArc, True Wireless, the elliptical logo, Vistafix, Whisper, WindShield and Xidium are either trademarks or registered trademarks of the Cochlear group of companies. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

 

This material is intended for health professionals. If you are a consumer, please seek advice from your health professional about treatments for hearing loss. Outcomes may vary, and your health professional will advise you about the factors which could affect your outcome. Always read the instructions for use. Not all products are available in all countries. Please contact your local Cochlear representative for product information.

 

Cochlear ProNews is monitored Monday through Friday, excluding some holidays. Questions and inquiries submitted over the weekends or holidays may see a delay in response. For immediate assistance please contact us directly. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other members of our Websites. Cochlear reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor disputes or communications between you and other members of our Websites. For a full list of Cochlear’s terms of use, click here.