2017 Volume 120 Issue 12 Pages 1444-1448
The provision on certification of hearing impairment in the Japanese Law for the Welfare of Physically Disabled Persons was revised in April 2015, to state that “individuals who have not previously obtained a disability certificate related to hearing impairment, if diagnosed with level 2 impairment, must undergo an objective audiometric test, and attach the results,” and that in the event of new appointment of a designated physician related to hearing impairment, the physician must be, in principle, a specialist certified by the Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Society of Japan, “Board-Certified Otorhinolaryngologist”. The objectives of the present study were to determine the following: the number of individuals who underwent certification for hearing impairment and the results of and issues in (particularly in objective audiometric tests) certification; the proportion of otolaryngologists among the designated physicians for hearing impairment certification; the training level of the designated physicians. Questionnaire surveys were conducted at 112 local self-governing bodies (prefectures, designated cities, and core cities throughout Japan), and responses were obtained from 87 (response rate, 77.7%). In comparison with the results in 2014, the number of applicants for certification and the certification rate for level 2 hearing impairment, which now required objective audiometric test results, were lower in 2015. Otolaryngologists accounted for 76.2% of all designated physicians for hearing impairment certification; the figure increased to 96.5% when neurosurgeons and neurologists were included. Only three and two prefectures conducted training regularly and irregularly, respectively, for hearing impairment certification. The lack of training was attributed to the lack of training programs and inability to procure suitably qualified lecturers.
