Navigating Hearing Aid Marketing

As consumers have shifted the way they shop, businesses have also shifted the way they market. Today's consumers are reached through the traditional methods of marketing-print, radio and TV-as well as through a host of digital interfacing. Shopping, browsing, and information searches online have become part of daily life. As we do these searches online on our phones, computers and even our televisions, we reveal our habits and preferences and thus we are targeted with information and advertising on items, services and topics we have shown an interest in.

Customers can research products, compare prices, and find options for their specific needs. However, not all options are exactly what they seem – especially when it comes to your hearing health care. So how can you navigate the wide variety of marketing present in today's world? Who can you trust?

In order to navigate today's ads, there are a few simple things to remember:

1. Not everyone who wears a white coat is a doctor. An audiologist is a professional extensively trained in the science of hearing, balance and hearing technology. As of 2012 audiologists are required to have completed an undergraduate level degree and a doctoral level degree in audiology with a focus on learning to diagnose, treat, and monitor hearing and balance disorders. The degree earned by an audiologist is an Au.D. degree, which is a Clinical Doctorate in Audiology. The Au.D. degree requires completion of a supervised externship prior to issuance of state licensure and national certification. It is important to know whose ad you are reading, as many hearing aid dispensers and technicians advertise products while wearing a white coat. A hearing aid dispenser is an individual who applies for a license after meeting basic requirements, such as graduating from high school and passing an exam. These individuals are not licensed to perform comprehensive audiological evaluations. Some states require two years of basic college coursework that may be unrelated to the field of audiology.

2. Price driven tactics rarely result in the guaranteed product or discount advertised. Watch out for ads that have any of the following wording: "Buy One Get One Free," "Seeking Participants for a New Study," "Large Discounts," "Trade-in Available," or an asterisk (*) at the end of the price. These call-to-action terms attempt to instill urgency into the reader to "act now." These items are found in many marketing materials and are most likely a bait-and-switch tactic, which promises you something for free or an extremely discounted price-if you qualify.

3. A "Free Hearing Test" may seem like a good deal, but it is not always the best option. Audiologists are Medicare providers and therefore cannot legally perform a hearing test for free since services cannot be provided at no charge to one individual and then the same services be billed to Medicare for another. Hearing instrument specialists and dispensers are not licensed to perform complete audiological exams, which means that the testing they complete could miss an important diagnosis. Most individual insurance plans cover many hearing services, and some even offer coverage for hearing aids. By being lured in for a "free" hearing test, an individual may end up paying more for their hearing aids.

4. Shopping by price alone won't result in the best benefit. An individual's hearing loss is something to be taken seriously as it affects a person's general health and well-being, quality of life, and relationships with family and friends. Choosing hearing aids, which are complex medical devices fit to the individual, is one part of a person's journey to better hearing. Hearing aids are the product, but they require a strong partnership with an audiologist in order to provide proven benefit to the patient. Successful patients are the ones who work closely with their audiologist for ongoing fine-tuning and routine device maintenance of the hearing aids so that specific lifestyle demands are met, and they continue to work with an audiologist to monitor hearing loss with follow-up hearing evaluations. Oftentimes people who purchase a hearing aid based solely on a cheap price tag find themselves replacing the devices within a year or two because they "don't work." Satisfaction from your purchase results in obtaining the best value for your investment, not from paying the lowest price. Individuals who invest in more appropriate or effective devices, which includes a partnership with their audiologist, typically invest in new devices every 4 to 5 years.

5. Not every hearing aid clinic checks your insurance benefits. Any hearing aid clinic will offer various levels of technology, and the prices for these technology levels typically fall within a similar price range whether or not there is a doctorate-level audiologist overseeing your care or a hearing aid dispenser. Therefore, recognizing the true differentiation in out-of-pocket costs is often a matter of finding the clinic that works to verify your insurance benefits and makes sure you receive those benefits. If you have a realistic budget in mind, hearing aids within your price point can be found. Even if you don't have insurance, hearing aids are still within your reach since Johnson Audiology offers financing options as well as financial assistance programs.

As you sift through the advertisements, it is important to remember two very important adages – "you get what you pay for" and "if something seems too good to be true, it probably is." It is always best to approach your hearing health care as you would other areas of your health, as a close partnership between you and your healthcare professional.