- Hi guys, Cliff Olson, Doctor of Audiology
and founder of Applied Hearing Solutions
in Phoenix, Arizona.
And in this video, I'm giving you my five key takeaways
from 2021 as it relates to the hearing aid industry
and how they will impact the future
of hearing healthcare in 2022.
Coming up.
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Fortunately 2021 was way better than 2020
for obvious reasons,
but there were five things that really stood out to me
over the course of the year
that I feel will have a major impact
on the world of hearing loss as we go into 2022.
But before I get into my five key takeaways from 2021,
if you could do me a huge favor and click the like button,
it really helps out my channel because it gets these videos
in front of a broader audience.
And while you're at it,
if you have not yet hit the subscribe button
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2022 is the perfect year to do so.
So you never miss one of my new videos.
That being said, I really appreciate it.
Now let's go ahead and get into my five key takeaways.
The first one being that the initial proposed guidelines
for over-the-counter hearing aids were finally released.
Now, if you missed my vlog where I went
over the proposed guidelines line by line,
I highly recommend that you check out that video,
that I will link in the description,
because that will give you a very good understanding
of what these initial proposed guidelines are.
While I don't think that individuals with hearing loss
will experience the full benefit
of over-the-counter hearing aids in 2022,
I do expect to see a lot of manufacturers release
their initial self-fitting hearing devices that would
fall within the over-the-counter hearing aid category.
So if you were someone who's been
putting off hearing treatment,
because hearing aids are just too expensive,
you're only about a few months away from not being able
to use that excuse anymore.
Along those lines, my second key takeaway from 2021
is that Bose is not going to be the front runner
in over-the-counter hearing aids like I originally thought.
Bose was granted de novo marketing approval back in 2018.
And it took them an additional three years
to create their Sound Control Hearing aid,
which I have to say was relatively underwhelming
because it was not rechargeable
and it didn't even have Bluetooth.
While the app that allows you to self control the function
of these particular hearing aids was relatively decent,
it was lacking some of the basic features
that individuals who are looking
for over-the-counter hearing aids really want.
So unless Bose is holding back a better version
of their Sound Control Hearing aid in preparation
for the over-the-counter hearing aid guidelines
to be finalized, I don't see Bose being the front runner
with over-the-counter hearing aids.
I expect to see other major hearing aid manufacturers
coming out with their particular products
that have pretty much everything that someone who's looking
for an over-the-counter hearing aid would actually want.
My third key takeaway from 2021 is that Medicare
is likely not going to cover hearing aids anytime
in the near future.
Thanks to raging inflation,
politicians can not see eye-to-eye
on an additional spending bill
like the Build Back Better Act.
This was going to actually include hearing aids
and hearing aid related audiologic services
inside of Medicare.
But basically this is completely dead.
As recent as a month ago,
I thought that this was a real possibility
for individuals with Medicare to get their hearing aids,
at least some of their hearing aids covered
with their Medicare benefits.
I do not see this happening anytime in the near future now.
So if you were one of those individuals who is waiting
to treat your hearing loss in hopes that Medicare
will actually cover the cost of hearing aids,
you're going to be waiting for quite a while.
My fourth key takeaway from 2021 is that the development
of new hearing aid technology is alive and well.
In 2021, we saw the release of the first hearing aid
that uses a deep neural network to process sound
as well as our first receiver that can switch back and forth
between an open vent and a closed vent.
Now, these technologies may not actually get you excited,
but I can promise you that these are two technologies
that are going to completely change the future
of hearing aids.
We also saw the release of new hearing aids
from Oticon, Phonak, and Starkey who continue
to push the envelope when it comes to what's possible
with a hearing aid to treat hearing loss.
And my fifth key takeaway from 2021
is that it is quite apparent that individuals
like yourself who have hearing loss
are forcing more and more hearing care professionals
to adopt best practice protocols inside of their clinics.
Now, if you're listening to me talk
about best practices right now,
and you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about,
then I highly recommend that you check out my video,
that I will link in the description
because best practices are the number one,
most important thing when it comes
to optimizing your performance with hearing aids.
It has basically been my life's mission
over the past five years to help educate individuals
just like yourself on how important best practices are
to optimal hearing aid treatment outcomes.
And it has to do with way more
than how good your hearing aid technology is.
However, best practices are not easily adopted
by hearing care professionals.
And the only way that they're gonna
start following best practices
is if you force them to do it.
The experts believe that less than 15%
of hearing care professionals actually follow them.
Now to help you find one
of these extremely rare hearing care professionals
who follows best practices,
I actually started the Best Practice Pro network,
which is a group of hearing care professionals
who are committed to following best practices
so you can hear your absolute best.
If you'd like to find a Best Practice Pro member
in your area, just go to my website, DrCliffAuD.com,
and click on the Find a Local Provider tab
in the top right corner of the homepage.
This will take you down to a provider locator map
where you can actually search in your local area
and find the closest provider near you.
If you did not have any luck improving how well you hear
over the course of 2021,
then 2022 is definitely your year to change that.
Between the increase in affordability and accessibility
of hearing aids, the improvement of hearing aid technology,
or the growth of best practice providers
over the course of 2021,
there is absolutely nothing holding you back
from a New Year's resolution of better hearing in 2022.
So join me in a toast,
thanking 2021 for being way better than 2020.
And let's make 2022 the best year ever
when it comes to better hearing.
Cheers.
Happy New Year.
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