Dear Media, Stop Stigmatizing Hearing Aids

I recently did an interview with a national news organization, about the stigma around hearing aids. It’s this stigma that continues to be a major barrier around hearing aid adoption. The conversation was informative, and the reporter was surprised to hear that, on average, people wait seven years to get a hearing aid. However, when the story came out, I was a bit disappointed. 

While the reporter got nothing factually wrong, the video this national news outlet used was troubling. It was, easily, from 30 years ago. The big, bulky devices they showed looked like they came out of a museum. These were not the hearing aids of today. I’ve been in the hearing healthcare industry for nearly three decades, and I have seen the evolution of hearing technology. I can confidently say that devices on the market today are not your grandfather’s hearing aids. They are packed with more technology than physics should allow since these devices, and their sleek design, are nearly invisible. They provide super-human power people can use to not only help them hear the world around them, but technology that can detect falls, track their physical and cognitive activity, translate languages and be their virtual assistant.  

While my initial reaction was to call the reporter and ask why they haven’t updated their video since the ‘80s, I realized this was not a problem with one news organization. This was bigger. 

To understand why this issue is so ingrained in American culture and why it’s having a lasting impact, here’s a history lesson. Back in 1983, the White House revealed that President Ronald Reagan was fit with a Starkey hearing aid. By talking about his hearing loss, President Reagan started a long-overdue dialogue about hearing health, and it helped chip away at the stigma around these devices.

Today, people like Daymond John are changing the conversation around hearing aids. Daymond wears bright red hearing aids, as opposed to a flesh-tone or out-of-sight device, specifically so people will ask about them. He loves talking about his hearing loss because he hopes that by sharing his story, someone else will feel empowered to get help.

The stigma around hearing aids is so harmful because it remains one of the main reasons people delay getting help for their hearing loss. When untreated, hearing loss is linked to overall health issues like cognitive decline, cardiovascular issues, depression, loneliness and even an increased risk of dementia, putting off addressing hearing loss is a serious public health issue. 

We need the media to help reduce this stigma. We trust them to inform and educate the public. I have done my homework to learn about file footage and how and why it is used, so I certainly don’t blame this reporter for this one situation. I am using this example to implore media outlets everywhere to update your hearing aid file video. Are you still using file footage of flip phones when talking about the new iPhone 13? Every time hearing aid footage from 30 years ago is used, you are reinforcing the stigma that keeps millions of Americans from addressing their hearing loss. Members of the media can download hearing aid file video, free of any branding or labels, at ListenCarefully.org. 

We all have a role to play in reducing the stigma around hearing aids, and I hope the media will do its part. We must empower the millions of Americans who are delaying addressing their hearing loss to finally get the help they need.