Creative Destruction in Hearing Care (Q3 2015)-Creative Destruction in Hearing Care

Creative Destruction in Hearing Care

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The article discusses the concept of "creative destruction" in the field of hearing care, whereby new innovations and technologies disrupt and replace older professions and practices. The author highlights four potential areas of creative destruction in hearing care: tablet-based audiometer apps, self-guided hearing screening apps, automated hearing aid algorithms, and personal sound amplification products (PSAPs) and hearables. The author suggests that hearing care professionals should adapt to these changes by engaging in interventional audiology, which involves exerting social pressure on patients to seek treatment, engaging younger patients with alternative products and services that don't carry the stigma of hearing aids, leveraging primary care physicians and the healthcare system in the early management of hearing loss, and focusing on patient-centered communication and participatory care. The author also emphasizes the importance of mastering communication skills and building trust with patients in an increasingly digital age.

Keywords

creative destruction

hearing care

innovations

tablet-based audiometer apps

automated hearing aid algorithms

personal sound amplification products

interventional audiology

younger patients

primary care physicians

patient-centered communication