While the Newsweek cover story this week is notable for the attention it gives to hearing loss as a major societal issue, it’s also notable for what it doesn’t cover. But at least the cover picture is worth a million words. When Bill Clinton announced he was buying a set of hearing aids a decade ago, people in the industry jumped for joy. They were certain the endorsement by the youthful President would jump-start demand from millions of other baby boomers who needed hearing aids but weren’t yet buying them. But then, nothing much happened. In fact, hearing-aid sales were close to stagnant for several years. Will we see a “Newsweek effect” that jump-starts sales of hearing aids and other assistive technologies, or will it prove to be the same lead balloon as the Clinton announcement?
A clue might be found midway through the story, where it talks about hearing-aid costs: “Despite such encouraging technical advances, there are about 21 million people in the United States who could benefit from hearing aids, but don’t use them. Many simply can’t afford them. Their costs range from a few hundred dollars for a basic analog device to $3,500 for high-end instruments, and are rarely covered by insurance.” Which brings me to the principal serious flaw with the Newsweek story. Why isn’t there investigation or discussion of the insurance industry’s failure to cover this basic health care need? And why isn’t there even a mention of legislative initiatives such as Congressman Jim Ryun’s very sensible proposal to offer a $500 tax credit to people older than 55 and younger than 18 who buy their first pair of hearing aids?
Instead of an analysis of how the market is — and isn’t — working today to help solve people’s hearing loss problems, the article devotes an enormous amount of attention to the gee-whiz future, including promising but very early-stage technologies such as middle-ear implants and other developments such as hearing-hair-cell regeneration that are decades in the future at best. In addition to the surprising lack of discussion about insurance and legislative efforts that would cost-effectively prime the pump, the article goes on to rehash many of the tried and true complaints:
Another reason some folks eschew aids is discomfort—they simply don’t like the feeling of walking around with a plugged ear canal. And even with digital technology, people can still have difficulty separating speech they want to hear from the background noise, a common hearing-aid problem. Yet another obstacle to wider use is stigma—many people associate hearing aids with aging, Slattery says, and would just as soon cup a hand behind their ear. “They’re afraid to look old, but they don’t mind looking dumb.”
Unfortunately there’s no research cited on the changing consumer attitudes that are rapidly eliminating the “stigma” issue, especially as the world of assistive listening technologies — as they integrate consumer standards such as Bluetooth — rapidly melds with the more glamorous world of consumer audio electronics.
Oh well, I guess half a loaf is better than none at all. And as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, or maybe in the case of Newsweek, a million.