Janice Trent, AuD, CCC-A, ASHA Vice President for Audiology Practice

A recent national poll shows that only 2% of adults over 40 with hearing difficulties have bought over-the-counter hearing aids, and only 4% plan to purchase them. The accessibility and affordability of these devices were expected to be a game changer, but it seems that many people are overwhelmed by the do-it-yourself aspect of using them. Finding an audiologist is recommended for personalized help and support. The importance of hearing and the impact of not being able to hear are emphasized. Bluetooth-compatible hearing aids can also help manage tinnitus. It is crucial to practice safe hearing habits to avoid damaging our ears. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) provides valuable information and resources on their website. A brand new national poll commissioned by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association shows that a rather low number, only 2% of American adults ages 40 and older who have hearing difficulties have gone and purchased an over-the-counter hearing aid, and only 4% said they're likely to purchase these devices. There's a lot of obstacles and a lot of things going on there, obviously. And my guest who's joining me this morning here at the RNJ Morning Program, Vice President for Audiology Practice with a national organization that works with dealing with people with hearing issues and hearing concerns as well, the Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Great to welcome to the program this morning Janice Trent, who is with me at WRNJ. Janice, good morning. It's Burt Barron. Welcome to WRNJ. And what I understand is you're a home state of New Jersey. How are you doing today? Good morning to you. Yes, indeed. Born and raised in a little place called South Orange, New Jersey. Love it. It's a spectacular place. And anytime I get to talk to somebody from New Jersey, I'm always excited about that. But you're tackling a rather important issue here today. I do a segment each Monday called Medical Monday, Janice, and I dedicated a little time yesterday to tinnitus and just talked about some of the things that people are dealing with with that and everything. So I think our conversation today is going to maybe take it a little step further. Can you talk about this poll? It was really disappointing to see that only 1 in 50 people are doing something about this. It's actually, tragically, no number, I think. Yeah. Yeah. We think so, too. You know, as audiologists, we are aware that there are over 37 million adults with hearing loss. And thus far, only 20% have gone for treatment. And so last year, with the onset of the over-the-counter hearing aids, we really thought that this was going to be a game changer in terms of getting more people to take action for treatment. Number one, because it's easily accessible. It was going to be affordable. We clearly defined who it was for, individuals with mild to moderate hearing loss over the age of 18. We clearly said they were not for children, but we thought in defining who that was for, the fact that they could get them from pharmacists, you know, from different big box marketers, we thought, okay, now we're overcoming the obstacle that is preventing people from taking action on their hearing. Yeah. And like you said, access is such a big part of this. Where I am, you know, the geography of New Jersey, obviously, Janice, I'm in Western Morris County, our radio station. We cover the northwest corner of the state. Our city of license is Hackettstown, so we cover a big portion here. As far as these over-the-counters, I could leave right here, and in a short drive and in really close proximity, be able to get more information and purchase an over-the-counter hearing device. Is that correct? Yeah. You should be able to, yes. Now, you know, I will tell you that I think one of the problems is the fact that this is a completely do-it-yourself issue. You've got to read the packaging, you know, program the hearing aid for yourself, do all those adjustments. And I think that that's been a little bit overwhelming for some individuals. Yeah. I could see how it could be, particularly maybe for somebody who just needs some help maybe with something like this. You know, this is new technology, and we know that, you know, sometimes parents, grandparents kind of struggle with being able to absorb some of the new technology, but it's good to know that it's out there. That's for sure. Finding an audiologist, Janice, is that a challenge? Do you recommend a path where someone could go and maybe find that audiologist that can provide them with the information they need? Well, absolutely. Now, you can always go to www.asha.org forward slash public, and we're going to help you to find a professional there. But certainly, most major hospitals have an audiology department. You should be able to go online and look up an audiologist in your community and be able to find one fairly close by. And the audiologist is there to help the individual, to meet their personal needs. We know that hearing loss is a significant and, frankly, a complex hearing health care issue, and so many people are just not sure how to navigate that whole process. So being able to sit down to talk to a professional about their personal concerns is really critical, and oftentimes it can make such a huge difference in their lives. You know, I had to laugh the other day. I put a hearing aid on a gentleman, and he was just overwhelmed. And as he walked out, he said, Dr. Trent, this is like ice cream on a Sunday. And I had to laugh, but I was like, okay. And he was so excited to be able to hear again, to be back in the game, to be able to talk to his significant other, and he was just thrilled. And so I really want to make sure that people understand the importance of hearing and the impact of not being able to hear. Yeah. It's this aha moment, right? It's this aha moment that people have, Janice, because, first of all, you know how it is, convincing people that they actually have a hearing issue. You know how difficult that is, because it's like, it's not me, I'm fine, you're not talking loudly, you're looking away from your talking to me. Nobody has any hearing problems, but once they get that little thing that helps them, oh, my goodness, I can hear again. You know, this is what I've been missing all this time. That little moment has got to be so precious. Yeah. And, you know, let me just tie into what you said about your healthcare Monday. Tinnitus, many, many of the hearing aids now are Bluetooth compatible, and because of that, the patient is now able to connect to different apps on their phone that will help them manage their tinnitus. So why not get something, okay? Yeah, that's nice. Really critical. That's really a big help. As we wrap up, Janice, I tried to stress also yesterday, safe hearing practices. I tell people, you know what, never throw on a set of headphones without making sure they're turned all the way down, or, you know, nowadays with these earbuds that are so intense with the concentrated and focused sound that they just drive into your eardrums there, you know, make sure those are muted as well. Taking care of our hearing, we get one chance. If we destroy our hearing, it's so difficult to get it back. Janice, some safety tips, if you have just a couple you could share about preserving our hearing. Sure. Years ago, the Kaiser Foundation came out with a comment that said no one should turn the volume up on any instrument past 50% of the dial, period, okay? Because once you do that, you are risking damage to your ears. I will tell you that we want to be careful with the over-the-counter hearing aid to make sure, you know, you think you know what kind of hearing loss you have, but maybe you don't. So you risk, you also risk damaging your hearing by maybe turning up the hearing aids louder than it needs to be turned up. So those are major concerns that we have, but, you know, I don't want to offset that by saying it is so important to be able to hear. So let's find out what are the strategies that need to be taken to allow you to hear optimally, but not prevent you from hearing well and being able to enjoy life. You know, my favorite thing is to enjoy the sweet sounds of life. That's all possible, but we have to take it within the confines of the medical needs and the safety needs of making sure that you're not turning up instruments too loud to hear. Exactly correct. And no pun intended, but sounds good to me, Janice. As we wind up here, you had to hear that at least from someone else today. Where else, where can we go to get some more information about the study and about your company, ASHA? ASHA. The American Speech Language and Hearing Association has been around for many years, and as I said, I gave you that website before, www.asha.org, public, but you can go on that whole site and you can find a wealth of information about hearing loss, about care, about any research that you're looking for. All right. Terrific. Great to share the airwaves with a fellow New Jersey native, Janice Trent, Vice President of Audiology for ASHA. Thank you so much for the great information this morning, and hopefully we'll have a chance to talk again soon. So thank you so much. Thank you so much. Have a great day.