Recently, Hearing Health & Technology Matters (HHTM) conducted a survey of hearing professionals regarding their experience with hearing aid maintenance and repair over the past year (2019), prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey, sponsored by Redux, found several interesting trends. Including:
- Hearing aid cleaning/troubleshooting are the leading reasons for clinic visits.
- 73% of offices spend an hour or more manually cleaning aids every single day.
- Nearly half of hearing aids dispensed are sent in for repair multiple times while under warranty.
- 76% of manufacturer repairs cost a patient more than $250.
The full survey results and key findings can be viewed below:
It seems as though this means that the majority of problems with hearing aids require direct intervention by a professional. Furthermore, this seems to downplay the effectiveness of telecare models in the hearing healthcare delivery system. I would be interested in a follow-up survey that explored the use of telehealth, effectiveness and patient satisfaction.
Thanks for the survey!