Our colleague, Julie Fegebank, AuD, who for several years worked as a clinical audiologist in a major pediatric hospital in Florida, shared the following story with us:

Picture in your mind the face of sorrow as a parent is told their beautiful baby has significant hearing loss. Then picture that same face years later glowing with joy as their child thrives within the "hearing" world. Often, it is an audiologist's most difficult role to explain a diagnosis of severe hearing loss to the parents of a child who already has been diagnosed with other significant health or developmental problems.

In one such case, I counseled a child's mother regarding the treatment plan for her daughter that included hearing instruments and FM amplification in her educational setting. Mom became openly hostile. Her daughter had just dealt with wearing glasses and using a walker, and now I was recommending that she be fitted with two hearing aids! I "had to be kidding," she said. I persisted in counseling mom regarding the importance of amplification, and finally she agreed to a trial period for her daughter.

Her daughter wasn't my biggest fan when I first inserted the earmolds, but the minute she "heard" with her hearing instruments, the look on her face was one of sheer amazement. She is now seven years old and her hearing instruments are indeed her "ears." Best of all, her speech and language development has been amazing. She recently accepted an award at a United Cerebral Palsy city-wide benefit for being "the most inspirational person." Her mother called me and we both cried as she told me how she "hated me" for telling her that her daughter needed hearing instruments, but that if I had not persisted in helping her to understand the benefits of audiology services for her daughter, she shudders to think how different her daughter's life would be now.

Certainly, pediatric audiology has both its own set of challenges and its own set of rewards. However, just as in pediatric audiology, adult audiology care is a multi-faceted and multi-dimensional process that extends beyond hearing aids. Unfortunately, for many adult Americans with hearing loss, the nuances (and value) of audiology care is not yet fully understood or sought.

In a year-end industry analysis, it was projected that 2.6 million hearing instruments were likely to have been purchased in the U.S. during 2009.¹According to data gathered by iData Research, American consumers spent over $4 billion in 2009 on hearing aids, bone-anchored hearing aids, cochlear implants, and direct drive implants.² The "product" side of hearing healthcare is indeed a significant business enterprise. And, if one speculates that perhaps 10 percent of the revenue generated through these sales is reinvested in marketing, approximately $40 million a year is being spent marketing to American hearing care consumers. The question is, "How much of that marketing is about the nuances (and value) of audiology care?"

In the last installment of this column, it was noted that media is a powerful influencer of the thoughts and decisions that people make. If this is indeed the case, then media must also be the means by which the audiology value message is delivered to the American consumer. Some in the audiology community seek to lay the responsibility for engaging the media about audiology's value on the doorstep of their professional associations. Yes, certainly there is a meaningful public relations message embedded in the value of audiology care. But, press releases and a $40-million marketing effort are not the same thing.

To market the value and importance of audiology care meaningfully, the national audiology community must treat the task of promoting audiology care as a business enterprise. Look at your own advertising and marketing material. How much of it is extolling the importance of counseling, outcome-based measures, and/or the role accurate diagnosis plays in determining effective treatment, and how much of it is listing product brand names or "free" hearing screenings? Are you coordinating with other audiologists in an effort to leverage the economic influence of your practice and/or your position to the best advantage of your profession? Are you joining organizations or groups (both business and professional) that share your passion for the value and importance of audiology care?

There is no doubt that audiologists bring tremendous value and expertise to the patients they serve. And, if the audiology community works together, there is every reason to believe that all Americans can get that message in an effective and meaningful way.

David J. Smriga, MA, is president of AuDNet, Inc. Julie Fegebank, AuD, is a member of the AuDNet Audiology Network. For more information, www.NowiHear.com, dsmriga@aud-net.com.

References

1. Kirkwood, D. Resilient hearing aid industry records rising sales despite a troubled economy. The Hearing Journal, Vol. 62, No. 12,11-15.

2. Report Synopsis, U.S. market for hearing aids and audiology devices 2010. iData Research, accessed online at www.idataresearch.net/idata/reports_view.php?SubCategoryID=112&CategoryId=54.