Jessica Lovell began by sharing her personal journey with hearing loss, which was not diagnosed until middle school. She described her experience living with undiagnosed unilateral hearing loss, her diagnosis with Meniere’s disease, and how these challenges influenced her passion for audiology marketing. Her delayed treatment and realization during the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of early intervention. Jessica emphasized the need for increased awareness of hearing health, especially preventative care, and detailed CareCredit’s recent research that examined stigma, attitudes, and motivators surrounding hearing care among younger and older demographics. Key findings included the persistence of stigma, a general lack of awareness around the health implications of untreated hearing loss (including links to dementia), and the critical role cost and access play in delaying care. Jessica highlighted opportunities for providers to advocate through education, financing options, and leveraging current patients as ambassadors.
Dr. Heather Malick continued by exploring the concept of hearing conservation, especially among the “headphone generation.” She introduced modern hearing care models, focusing on workforce adults and her experiences treating musicians and working professionals. Dr. Malick emphasized the need to decouple audiology services from product-centric models (e.g., hearing aids), suggesting a broader, service-focused relationship. She introduced data from surveys of workforce populations showing significant headphone use, high levels of listening fatigue, and rising tinnitus rates—particularly since the rise of remote work. Dr. Malick also addressed systemic gaps, like the fact that 56% of U.S. counties lack an audiologist, and offered examples of how telehealth platforms like Tuned are helping bridge these divides by providing accessible care and raising awareness.
The webinar concluded with a discussion on barriers to hearing care—chief among them being cost, coverage, and stigma—and the importance of creating clinical guidelines for adult preventative hearing care. Both speakers underscored the importance of making hearing care as mainstream and accessible as dental and vision care, advocating for integration of financing solutions and benefit coverage to expand reach and impact.