This simple test can help kids hear better Susan Emmett
Listen to the sounds
of why hearing matters
to the Alaskan Native people.
Hearing loss makes it hard
to fish on the open water,
hunt caribou and harvest berries,
activities central
to Alaskan Native culture.
Hearing loss isn’t unique to rural Alaska.
It’s global.
The Global Burden of Disease Project
estimates there are 1.1 billion people
living with hearing loss worldwide.
That’s more people than the entire
population here in sub-Saharan Africa.
Over 80 percent are in low-
and middle-income countries,
and many have no access to hearing care.
The impact on people’s lives
is tremendous.
Anuk is a three-year-old boy
I treated in Alaska.
Ear infections started
when he was barely four months old.
His parents brought him into clinic,
worried he didn’t say much
compared to his brothers.
Sure enough, many rounds of infections
had resulted in hearing loss.
Without treatment, Anuk’s speech
will continue to lag behind.
He’s more likely to do worse in school,
have worse job prospects
and experience social isolation.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
The World Health Organization estimates
that half of all global hearing loss
can be prevented.
If Anuk’s hearing loss
is identified and treated promptly,
his life and the opportunities
he has as he grows up
could look vastly different.
I’m an ear surgeon working
with partners around the world
on new pathways
for hearing loss prevention.
This solution comes from my collaboration
with a tribal health organization
called the Norton Sound
Health Corporation.
Hearing loss evaluation traditionally
requires testing by an audiologist
in a soundproof room,
with a lot of permanent equipment.
An ear surgeon then examines
Anuk’s ears under a microscope
and decides a treatment plan.
These resources simply aren’t
available in remote settings.
In a state where 75 percent of communities
aren’t connected to a hospital
by road,
an expensive flight is required.
To overcome these barriers,
Alaska has developed
a state-of-the-art telemedicine system
that connects over 250
village health clinics
with specialists who triage
all types of health concerns.
My colleagues have validated
that ear-related telemedicine consults
are equivalent to an in-person exam.
In 2016, travel was prevented
for 91 percent of patients
receiving specialty telemedicine
in the Norton Sound region.
Telemedicine has saved over 18 million
in travel costs in this single region
over the past 15 years.
Our team is taking the power
of telemedicine to a new level,
through a project
funded by the Patient-Centered
Outcomes Research Institute.
For the first time,
we are merging telemedicine
with mobile screening technology
that extends the reach of expert triage
beyond health care settings.
This cell-based screen,
developed in South Africa,
costs over 10 times less
than traditional equipment
and does not require advanced training.
If I were screening Anuk at school,
sound-attenuating headphones
and noise monitoring
would take the place of a sound booth,
and I would use a phone adapter
instead of a microscope
to examine his ears.
In a matter of minutes,
screening and images are done.
We then apply Alaska
telemedicine technology
to transmit the data to specialists,
who connect Anuk
to the treatment he needs.
Our team is launching a randomized trial
in 15 communities along the Bering Sea
to study how well this intervention works.
Our goal is to prevent childhood
hearing loss across the state of Alaska.
But the concept is bigger
than a single state.
The impact is global.
Mobile telemedicine
can revolutionize access to care.
In Malawi, for example, there are only
two ear surgeons and 11 audiologists
for a population of 17 million.
This technology could empower teachers
and community health workers
to provide access to care
to children in places like Malawi.
Scaling up globally
could change children’s lives
who have never had access
to hearing care before,
using just the power of a cell phone.
It’s time to change the course
of preventable hearing loss.
Anuk and countless children like him
are depending on us.
Thank you.
(Applause)