How On-the-Spot Hearing Testing Creates  Psychologically Safe Pathways to Care and Improves the Overall Patient Experience

Hearing loss carries with it a well-known and widespread stigma: people who suffer from hearing loss may fail to seek treatment because they’re embarrassed about their worsening hearing. On average, people suffering from hearing loss wait years before seeking care. And this delay comes at a cost: as hearing loss worsens, a person’s chances of developing depression or dementia may also worsen, and their ability to communicate or work normally is often impacted.

The cost of undiagnosed or untreated hearing loss is also undoubtedly an economic one for communities: On a global scale, the economic impact of hearing loss on communities is estimated to be around $750 Billion. One study in the US found that individuals with untreated hearing loss can cost society hundreds of thousands of dollars every single year.

And in a country where hearing care (including hearing testing and hearing aids) is already difficult to access due to cost, inaccessible testing facilities, and a national shortage of trained audiologists, overcoming additional obstacles to the effective provision of necessary healthcare—like stigma or negative attitudes towards care—is critical.

In a country where hearing care is already difficult to access, overcoming additional obstacles to the effective provision of necessary healthcare—like stigma or attitudes towards care—is critical.

Overcoming stigma and creating more comfortable pathways to care:

AUDIMETROID is technology for hearing testing that’s purpose-built to drive uptake of hearing care. By empowering community healthcare providers (even those without any formal training in audiology) to offer fast, easy on-the-spot hearing testing, AUDIMETROID is transforming the way that communities are delivering this critical healthcare service.

By offering uncomplicated access to hearing assessments in a low-stress, familiar setting, community healthcare professionals can offer patients an alternative to hearing testing that doesn’t require advanced appointments, phone calls to insurance providers, or trips to doctor’s offices. Streamlining this process creates an experience for patients that’s less uncomfortable and less intimidating than traditional pathways to care or treatment.

Moreover, this straightforward access to hearing testing makes more proactive care a reality for patients who may otherwise delay or avoid a hearing assessment. Put simply: on-the-spot hearing testing has the power to facilitate greater psychological safety for patients: This includes feeling more comfortable, more engaged, and less defensive or anxious.

On-the-spot hearing testing has the power to facilitate greater psychological safety for patients: This includes feeling more comfortable, more engaged, and less defensive or anxious.

While psychological safety is a term generally used to describe the dynamics of a working environment where team members feel free to speak up, be creative, or take risks without fear of judgment or unwarranted punishment, its applicability to patients in healthcare or clinical settings is gaining traction, with compelling results: a recently published article in the British Medical Journal brings to light the key ways that a patient’s feeling of being safe (that is, their psychological safety) is intertwined with their entire patient experience. The study asserts plainly that ‘emotional safety is patient safety,’ and brings the need for more modern healthcare services and solutions—ones that can improve all aspects of the patient experience—into sharper focus.

Improving the overall patient experience by offering opportunities for more proactive care:

It’s established that increased time between diagnosis and care of many conditions, including hearing loss, results in less adequate care being provided, and an increased likelihood that a patient’s condition will worsen.

But when people are given opportunities to be more proactive with their own healthcare, they tend to feel more in control of their health, which often leads to better health outcomes. And when patients experience better health outcomes, they’re more likely to seek follow-on care, adhere to prescribed health regimens, and generally keep up with their health.

AUDIMETROID is an opportunity for patients to take a more proactive approach to their hearing health: It’s accessible, fast, and cost-effective, and it’s designed to provide patients with the clear information they need to identify the next steps in their own healthcare journey, whether that be purchasing an OTC hearing aid, or seeing an audiologist for further tests and screening.

Ultimately, creating a better overall care experience for patients is a key aspect of delivering community-based healthcare that makes an impact in both the short and long term.
Ultimately, creating a better overall care experience for patients—one that’s fast and easy and which delivers (or even surpasses) clinical levels of accuracy and reliability while enhancing psychological safety—is a key aspect of delivering community-based healthcare that makes an impact in both the short and long term. 

Ready to begin building better overall care experiences for members of your community who might be suffering from hearing loss? Just get in touch with a member of our team to learn more about AUDIMETROID, and to book a demo.