Only 1 in 5 of people who would benefit from a hearing aid will wear one.
I read that somewhere but I don't believe it, it must be much lower than that!
I remember when I needed glasses, I was most reluctant to get tested for them but when I put my first pair on it was WOW! Things were so much clearer.
...but Hearing Aids, they are a different thing altogether. So what's the problem?
Well where do I begin?
O.K.
1 Hearing aids have "associations" of being elderly, of being infirm, of having a handicap.
2 Hearing aids are costly
3 You will not immediately say "WOW!" when you put in your hearing aid. They need adjusting to (and constantly adjusting)
4 Hearing aids need upkeep and batteries.
5 Hearing aids amplify unwanted background noise.
What should they be?
1 There has been an incredible revolution in the design of glasses, why not in hearing aids? There is good design in all areas of our lives why have hearing aids been forgotten?
2 Hearwear should be as appealing as eyewear is.
3 Eyewear is development and marketed as being both stylish and sexy. Hearing aids? Oh come on.
The future?
1 Design hearing aids as fashion accessories.
2 Remote controlled hearing aids to adjust easily and instantly to varying backgrounds.
3 Integrate hearing aids with mobile phones.
4 Hearing aids for people who maybe want to hear conversations in noisy bars etc. but otherwise have adequate hearing.
5 Replay of last 10 seconds for snippets of conversation we just missed.
6 ...and why with the ever decreasing cost of consumer electronics are people being ripped off with expensive hearing aids?
Some of these things are almost with us.
Let's make struggling with hearing a thing of the past
