Question
As an audiologist, companies who sell hearing aids to consumers over the Internet really make me mad. Shouldn't we be doing something about it?
Answer
There continues to be much hand-wringing in the hearing healthcare field about Internet hearing aid sales. This angst generally seems to be associated with the affront such business enterprises allegedly represent to the traditional hearing aid delivery model that those who are angry about Internet hearing aid sales engage in. In fact, there is now a website dedicated to "counting" all of those interested in anonymously adding their name to a list boycotting internet hearing aid sales s if such a list would bring those who profit from the business of Internet hearing aid sales to their knees.
The fact is that consumers get their information about healthcare - including hearing healthcare - from the Internet more often than any other source of information. The fact is that marketing on the Internet, especially on a large scale is smart business. The fact is that most of the current online hearing aid sales strategies are not illegal. Additionally, many of these businesses are very profitable as a result of all of the aforementioned facts - profitability that these companies plow back into Internet marketing to increase their reach, and their profitability. So, getting mad about Internet hearing aid sales or signing a boycott list is not likely to make any meaningful changes to the practice of Internet hearing aid sales.
What would make a whole lot more sense is to beat them at their own game. Rather than boycotting Internet hearing aid sales, audiologists should be plowing everything they can into marketing the value and importance of Audiology care on the Internet with a Directory guiding consumers to quality Audiology practices around the country. The Audiology community should have as their single focus the objective of ensuring that whenever a consumer types something into a search engine even remotely related to hearing health care or hearing aids, the first thing they see on the results page is information about why seeing an Audiologist is the single most important first step they should take in addressing their hearing issue.
The value and importance of Audiology care should be above all of the Internet hearing aid sales listings on every results page, every time. And, it can be. But, not if all we are willing to do is complain about it or sign lists. And, it can't be done one practice at a time or even by professional associations. Competitively marketing Audiology care on the Internet requires serious money and a collective business enterprise to pull off.
This in indeed the role of NOWiHEAR.com: to educate consumers about the value and importance of audiology care;to direct those consumers to audiologists in their area;and to make the demand for audiology care bigger than the demand for hearing aids.
In fact, NOWiHEAR.com is already the largest commercial website promoting Audiology care in the industry. It is largely underwritten through the group purchasing activity of participating Audiology practices. If even half of Audiologists in practice became associated with NOWiHEAR.com and utilized its group purchasing discounts, NOWiHEAR.com would also become the best funded Internet hearing healthcare website in the industry. With that sort of economic clout underwriting NOWiHEAR.com, Internet hearing aid sales websites would find it difficult to compete with Audiology. Now, isn't that a better way to deal with the Internet hearing aid sales issue than signing a list?
Mr. David Smriga is the founder and President of AuDNet, Inc. After realizing that the expansion of corporate hearing aid centers posed a serious threat to private-practice audiologists everywhere, Mr. Smriga founded AuDNet to unite autonomous audiology practices and ensure that patients receive quality care from highly trained audiologists. Mr. Smriga has 30 years of executive management experience in audiology's manufacturing sector, and he has served as vice president for some of the hearing-instrument industry's top companies. This experience has given him the broad perspective necessary to evaluate, promote, and guide the future of independent audiology. Mr. Smriga believes that exceptional patient care administered by independent audiologists who have a professional degree and extensive training must be the future for audiology and must be the guiding principle that drives AuDNet, Inc.