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Introduction

The landscape of health care is continually changing and there is no part of the health-care system, including all providers that is not impacted by these changes. This impact extends to all patients, as they are facing larger out-of-pocket medical costs than ever before. They are having to make choices about which appointments to schedule, which medications to buy, and which medical recommendations to follow. Large institutions and small practices are seeing changes in reimbursement. Changes in reimbursement force health-care providers to reduce operating expenses.

In recent months, many new stakeholders have emerged within the hearing health-care system, including retail chains, hearable and PSAP companies, and technology groups (e.g., Consumer Technology Association). The emergence of these new stakeholders suggests that there will be changes to the current model of delivery of that care, and that the consumer could experience greater confusion in the marketplace given the expanded technology options available.

Reaching out to media regarding hearing loss prevention, audiology awareness, and the importance of seeing an audiologist has been an exciting and eye-opening experience for our communications firm. Since we began working with the Academy to assist with media relations a few months ago, we have called on media across the country to pitch stories on hearing loss prevention and audiology. Just over the past few months, it has been an amazing and educational task.