Now Hear This

ECPs looking for a new source of revenue may want to look into expanding their practices to include audiology

Karlen McLean, NCLC, ABOC

By 2030, the number of baby boomer seniors who are hearing impaired is expected to total over 63 million, with one out of three seniors experiencing hearing impairment.

In addition, the six dominant hearing aid manufacturers worldwide are concerned that there aren't enough qualified audiologists and hearing aid specialists to service this market.

One answer may be for ECPs to include hearing aid dispensing in their practices. This offers seniors one-stop shopping for their eyewear and hearing aid needs. Premium hearing aids, like premium eyewear, are in demand and will increase in popularity as discriminating boomers seek hidden ear pieces and improved hearing devices and services.

A NATURAL ADDITION

With an established patient base, ECPs already have the business infrastructure in place to provide hearing testing, measuring, counseling, and hearing aid dispensing.

"In a down economy, most ECPs are looking for ways to enhance their practice revenues," points out Kirk Smick, OD, of Clayton Eye Center in Morrow, Ga. "Optometrists who have been in practice for several years have a large volume of senior patients suffering from eye conditions such as cataracts and glaucoma who are beginning to also have hearing difficulties."

After interviewing more than 100 patients ages 70 and older, Smick noted that a full 35 percent said they were beginning to have hearing loss and were considering having hearing testing done but didn't know where to go. "I've been investigating incorporating a hearing facility into my practice and plan to initiate this strategy during this fiscal year," he says.

"The fields are mirrors of each other, one focused upon vision, one focusing upon hearing," observes Dennis L. Gunn, BH-HIS, director of The Hearing Aid Academy, LLC, in Atlanta, Texas.

GETTING PREPARED

Gunn's Academy offers web-access video training combined with an on-site lab session and full-time support line to train students to pass state licensure exams for audiology, plus business skills, marketing, and sales.

"This program is for persons who are already established in health carerelated fields that want to add hearing aid services and products to their businesses, but can't interrupt their existing practices to obtain the required education and licensing," Gunn says.

If training yourself isn't an option, consider training someone in your office or hiring a graduate student.

A GROWING FIELD

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for audiology is in a growth mode due to the rapid growth and longer survival rate of older population groups and improving survival rates of premature infants and trauma victims. A number of states require that newborns are screened for hearing loss and receive early intervention services.

According to the National Institutes of Health, an estimated 15 percent of American adults report having some form of hearing loss, and nearly half of adults 75 years and older have hearing loss.

THE VISION-HEARING CONNECTION

A link between hearing loss and impaired vision was identified in a study reported by Science Daily, with 18 percent of U.S. adults older than 70 reporting impaired vision, 33 percent reporting hearing problems, and nine percent reporting both.

The authors found that both vision and hearing loss are regular consequences of aging, and that both "often occur in the same individual." Common risk factors, such as hardening of the arteries and diabetes, could predispose older adults to both conditions.

That said, age is not the only determining factor in hearing loss and hearing aid need.

"I have parents each month who ask if our office checks children for hearing problems," says Norris R. Philbeck, OD, of Jackson Davenport Vision and Hearing Center in Charleston, S.C.

ONE-STOP SHOPPING

"The largest advantage of having both vision and hearing services within the same office is the convenience to patients who require both services," says Philbeck. "The largest population in need of hearing services is the elderly, who happen to be the ones needing the most aid in walking. Vision and hearing services in the same location help reduce travel needs for both them and their caregivers or family."

Gaining new patients and establishing a base of new patient referrals is also a potential profit-maker. Adds Philbeck: "Because both vision and hearing services are available within the same office, one area has the opportunity to benefit from a new patient coming in for the need of the other. Within our office we have several mutual patients who have taken advantage of both services because they were together in one place."

Adding audiology to your practice—especially if you have elderly and low vision patients in your practice—could be a smart move. EB