Audiology Connections - 2022 - 38

THE FUTURE OF HEARING CARE IS NOW
The Future of Hearing Care Is Now
A man struggles to hear what the
person next to him is saying. He puts on
a pair of glasses and starts physically
seeing his neighbor's words, as if written
on a screen in front of him.
This is not the opening sequence of
a film set far into the future: The glasses
are a real product designed to convert
speech into text in real time using artificial
intelligence (AI) and augmented
reality (AR). How well they work, we
don't yet know. They're just one result
of dozens of research projects around
the world exploring the value of AI, AR,
and virtual reality (VR) to people with
hearing loss.
Although it's unlikely that intelligent
eyewear or VR headsets will be the
norm in stores and hearing care clinics
any time soon, we're already seeing the
trickle-down effect of this booming area
of research with the first AI hearing aids
hitting the market.
Tech, OTCs, and
Person-Centered Care
When we at the Ida Institute set out
to explore the future of hearing care in
2020, we identified 13 trends that would
likely impact how hearing care would
be received and delivered over the next
decade. The growing use of AI, AR, and
avatars was one of them.
It was clear to us at the time that we
should not sit back and wait for these
developments to happen 5 or 10 years
down the road. Events during 2021-including
the burgeoning research in AI,
AR, and VR-have only confirmed that.
Another trend that we identified was
increased competition in the hearing
aid market, including non-medical tech
and the expansion of over-the-counter
(OTC) options. The most powerful
indication that this is already happening
38
is the executive order signed by U.S.
President Joe Biden in July 2021 allowing
the sale of OTC hearing aids (a.k.a.
" OTCs " ).
A third trend gleaned from our study
of the future was the expansion of the
person-centered approach in hearing
care and its emergence as a distinguishing
factor. At first glance, this trend
seems to contradict the two above, but
on closer inspection, it perhaps complements
them. We'll always seek-and
need-personal, human encounters,
even if we buy our hearing aids at a
store or get diagnosed by an avatar.
Person-centered care (PCC) isn't
going away. For example, in the second
half of 2021, we saw new guidelines
from the World Health Organization
that recommend integrating PCC into
the hearing screening process and
new national competency standards in
Australia that puts PCC in the foreground
via client- and family-centered
care. And then there are ASHA's new
evidence-based guidelines for aural
rehabilitation, which use a PCC framework.
We're
also seeing more industry leaders
and investment companies talking
about " value-based " or " personalized "
hearing care. Although different than
PCC, these concepts are based on the
same recognition that every client is an
individual with needs and preferences
that audiologists should consider.
Take Action Now
We could take each of the 13 trends in
our Future Hearing Journeys Report in
turn and find recent examples of these
playing out in the real world. We don't
have enough space to do that here, but
what's clear is that the future is happening
now-it's not something we can sit
back and wait for.
2022 AUDIOLOGY CONNECTIONS asha.org/aud
Hearing care professionals who want to
take action now can start with the recommendations
we made in our 2021 report:
❚ Be person-centered. Use PCC to nurture
relationships with clients and
to humanize your telehealth practice.
❚ Think holistically. Hearing care will be
part of an increasing focus on overall
well-being.
❚ Meet the demands of convenience.
Organize your practice to be flexible
and responsive to people's needs and
preferences.
❚ Discover your inner nerd. Invest in and
familiarize yourself with new tech, as it
can free up time that you can devote
to complex cases.
❚ Invite yourself in. Work using the
client's home as the center of care,
and include their family.
❚ Create trust. Offer transparent pricing
and unbundling, and help clients navigate
information overload.
❚ Stay close to the end-user experience.
Solicit feedback from clients.
❚ Be an advocate. Educate your clients,
and work to influence the industry
and tech providers on their behalf.
Let's meet the future-now. Together.
Lise Lotte Bundesen is the
managing director of the Ida
Institute, an independent,
nonprofit organization working
with hearing care professionals
and patients from around
the world to develop and
integrate person-centered
care in hearing rehabilitation.
She has extensive experience
in communication, education/
training, ethics, and social
responsibility and has worked
in health care for about
30 years.
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240032767 https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240032767 https://audiology.asn.au/Advocacy/National_Competency_Standards https://www.idainstitute.com/ida_community/future_hearing_journeys/?utm_source=ASHA+Now&utm_medium=Web&utm_campaign=FHJ http://www.asha.org/aud

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