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Objectives/Hypothesis Previous research has shown hearing handicap to be reduced following hearing aid use or cochlear implantation in short‐to‐medium follow‐up periods, yet the impact of interventions for hearing loss on hearing handicap in the long term remains understudied. This article reports hearing handicap at 6 months, 12 months, and 5 years after either hearing aid provision or cochlear implantation. Study Design Observational study. Methods A study of 115 participants from the Studying Multiple Outcomes after Aural Rehabilitative Treatment (SMART) study cohort assessed self‐reported hearing handicap using the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly Screening version (HHIE‐S) at baseline, 6 months, 12 months, and 5 years. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to estimate the population mean HHIE‐S score over time, accounting for the correlated nature of repeated measures data, and multiple imputation with chained equations was performed to impute missing data. Results Compared to baseline, mean HHIE‐S scores after hearing aid provision were significantly reduced at 6 months (mean = −7.96, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −10.40, −5.53), 12 months (mean = −6.58, 95% CI: −9.26, −3.90), and 5 years (mean = −4.58, 95% CI: −7.87, −1.30). After cochlear implantation, mean hearing handicap scores were also significantly lower compared to baseline at 6 months (mean = −8.18, 95% CI: −11.07, −5.30), 12 months (mean = −10.04, 95% CI: −12.92, −7.16), and 5 years (mean = −8.97, 95% CI: −12.92, −7.16). Conclusions This study found short‐term benefits from hearing aids and cochlear implantation on hearing handicap were maintained over 5 years. Laryngoscope, 131:1122–1126, 2021

Problem The COVID-19 pandemic has suspended the surgery clinical clerkship for third-year medical students at numerous institutions across the world. As a result, educators and students have adapted rapidly. There is a paucity of precedents regarding urgent and brusque formal curricular changes for medical students enrolled in surgical clinical rotations. Approach The University of California, San Francisco Department of Surgery created a surgically focused extended mastery learning rotation (EMLR). The surgery clerkship leadership designed a curriculum consisting of multiple learning strategies compatible with virtual learning environments. The primary aims of the newly developed EMLR were to help students consolidate their foundational science knowledge before their return to clinical medicine in an altered learning environment. The EMLR is currently underway, and further studies are necessary to evaluate its effectiveness.