Why do patients wait, on average, seven years before seeking help with their hearing?
They don’t see the urgency. They don’t understand how it connects to their overall health and the health of their brain.
But what if you could show that urgency and monitor not only their hearing but their cognitive abilities?
“It’s one thing to be told you’re hearing is at 60% of what it should be,” says Tom O’Neill from Cognivue. “It’s an entirely different thing to be shown not only here’s your report on your hearing, but by the way, here’s an FDA cleared cognition screening we gave you.” Tom adds that when patients are shown the report that details their memory, their executive function, their visual and spatial abilities are all off where they should be. It makes their hearing loss a whole lot more substantial, more real, and creates the urgency you the practitioner needs to get them to take action and get the hearing aids they so desperately need.
Tom explains that cognitive decline isn’t inevitable. You can have a 90-year-old that’s sharp as a tack and a 60-year-old that has all kinds of issues or early dementia. Hearing loss, along with other things including diet, exercise, lifestyle, mindfulness, stress, anxiety, polypharmacy, diabetes, all have an impact on cognition. Giving people a simple report on any cognitive issues usually gets a ‘holy cow’ reaction from patients and a willingness to take action.
Cognition tests “give [audiologists] that stickiness to bring that patient back in, not only for a clean and check,” says O’Neill. “But let’s also see what it’s done for your cognitive health, for your brain health.”
What might that do for your acceptance rates?
Find out more about cognition tests and other unique ideas to sell more hearing aids this year. Let’s talk.