Are Too Many Choices Leaving Your Patients Dazed and Confused?

By Bre Myers

This article is a part of the September/October 2018, Volume 30, Number 5, Audiology Today issue.

Sitting across from you is a new patient whom you have just diagnosed with hearing loss. After discussing the results with your patient what do you do next? Do you gauge their level of acceptance and willingness to discuss treatment options? What are their options? How many manufacturers do you work with? How many levels of technology per manufacturer are there? How many styles of devices, per technology level are offered? What features are available? What are the accessories that work with each device? Do the hearing aids have rechargeable or traditional batteries? What color casing does your patient want? What about assistive devices like captioned phones, alarms, devices for the televisions, or pocket talkers? What services does your office offer? If they visited another office or retail store, would their options significantly change?

Feeling overwhelmed yet? Chances are your patients do. The array of treatment options a patient must consider are more numerous than the variations of drinks available at your local coffee shop—and growing every day. No wonder some choose not to decide. Does the abundance of options factor into the rates for returns, dissatisfaction, and failure to commit (i.e., purchase or use)? Are patients more content when given a limited set of choices?