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BHI physician program found to increase use of hearing healthcare

The Better Hearing Institute (BHI) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose primary mission is to educate the public and medical communities about hearing loss and its treatment and prevention, and to improve access by people with hearing loss to hearing healthcare services. For people with hearing loss, the physician plays an instrumental role in leading them to seek a solution to their disability. In fact, MarkeTrak research reached the following key conclusions to illustrate this point: (1) If people with a hearing loss are given a positive recommendation by their physician, they are five times more likely to seek a hearing solution than if the physician gives a negative recommendation.1,2 (2) Medical doctors tend to give four times as many negative recommendations for hearing aids as they do positive.1 (3) Sixty percent of current hearing aid users would even view their physician as a reliable source in choosing a brand of hearing aid. Few hearing healthcare providers would disagree that educating physicians better could be an effective strategy for motivating people with hearing loss to seek out a solution from an appropriate hearing healthcare provider. To elevate the critical importance of achieving better hearing in this country, it is essential to enlighten physicians on the consequences of untreated hearing loss and to work to change their attitudes toward identification and treatment of hearing loss. To this end, BHI developed a physician referral development program (PRDP) in 2001 for hearing healthcare providers. Currently, nearly 2000 hearing healthcare practices have enrolled in this specialized program for study and training to educate members of the medical community about hearing loss and its treatment. Materials include a CME-accredited course on CD-ROM for physicians, physician assistants, and nurses, as well as four relevant articles: “The efficacy of treating hearing loss with hearing aids,”4 “The impact of hearing aids on quality of life,”5 and two current articles on the physician’s role in identification of hearing loss and the need for referral.6,7 Subjective surveys with PRDP participants in 2003 demonstrated significant increases in physician awareness as measured by referrals and new users of hearing aids. The study described here was conducted to validate objectively the impact of the BHI program on consumers seeking a solution for their hearing loss.