Is The July Consumer Reports Article On Hearing Care Accurate?

In the July 2009 issue of Consumer Reports, an article entitled “Hear Well In a Noisy Word – Hearing aids, hearing protection and more” was published. Although this article provided some extremely useful information about the hearing care industry and the type of hearing instrument technologies now available, there are some statements that AuDNet believes require further clarification.

• The “confusion” consumers experienced in determining the type of provider they encountered in an independent practice can easily be addressed by asking the following question: “Do you (or the person who will be testing my hearing) have either a master’s or doctorate degree in Audiology?” A graduate or professional degree in Audiology guarantees that you are receiving your hearing examination from the most highly trained and qualified non-medical professional.
• Although survey respondents who received hearing care in a doctor’s office gave that experience high marks, it should be pointed out that the “thoroughness in evaluating hearing loss” that was the reason for these high marks was likely care provided by an audiologist.
• The same high quality care can be and is available from audiologists who work in their own private practices. 
• For many adults, permanent hearing loss due to age, noise exposure and such is NOT medically treatable. Audiologists are thoroughly trained to test hearing and the auditory system. Audiologists can readily determine if a potentially medically treatable condition is present, and will refer to a physician when such findings are present. 
• Nationally, it is unusual that a pair of hearing instruments would cost as much as the “high-end” cost quoted in the article for hearing instruments purchased in the New York metropolitan area. 
• It is also important to note that the prices quoted in the article included more than just a hearing instrument. These prices also included the professional services and follow-up services of the provider.

AuDNet, Inc. is a nationwide network of independent audiology providers. All AuDNet audiologists have earned advanced university degrees in audiology, and are fully trained to interpret case histories, carefully test and evaluate all aspects of the auditory system, advise physicians on hearing loss and balance etiologies, and treat hearing loss and balance conditions that are not amenable to medical or surgical intervention. 

The first consideration in seeking hearing care is the expertise and skill of the care giver. Through the AuDNet network of audiology providers, patients have an easy and effective way of insuring that they are receiving hearing care and treatment from qualified and highly trained audiologists.