Inter-relationships between hearing impairment, learning disability services and mental health: are learning disability services ‘deaf’ to hearing impairments?

Prevalence of hearing impairment is quite common in people with learning disabilities (double jeopardy). However, this debilitating co-morbidity remains largely undetected by carers and professionals due to presence of additional disabilities and complex clinical presentation in this population on the one hand, and lack of specialist hearing impairment service provision and difficulty in accessing generic audiology services on the other hand. This article aims to provide practical guidance on assessment and management of hearing impairment in people with learning disabilities by offering a narrative review of available literature on gaps in service delivery.