When it comes to healthcare, different generations have different attitudes, expectations, and beliefs.Understanding generational preferences matters, as it can help you attract new patients across all ages and, importantly, can increase patient satisfaction, loyalty, retention, and referrals. Hearing clinics can prepare for generational shifts, not just adapt to them, emphasizing trends like AI, wearable tech, and personalized care.

In this blog, we will explore how these generational attitudes impact hearing health strategies and help you understand how you can tailor your approaches accordingly. 

Your audiology practice most likely focuses on four key generations: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z. It is important to understand Baby Boomers and Gen X's more reactive approach to healthcare vs. Millennials and Gen Z's preference for preventative measures. 

Baby Boomers (born between 1946-1964) are known for their strong work ethic and independence. Boomers want long-term, collaborative relationships with their clinicians that allow them to provide input and ask questions.

They appreciate clear, direct communication and face-to-face conversations. Interestingly, Boomers follow their doctors’ advice more than any younger generation, but they take a reactive approach to healthcare, relying on clinicians to address their existing conditions.

Generation X (born between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s) didn’t grow up with the Internet, but they conduct online research before choosing a provider or clinic. Gen X is more willing than Boomers to switch providers if they have a bad experience with a clinician.

This generation is practical, resourceful, and comfortable participating in both digital and face-to-face interactions with their medical providers. Known as the “sandwich generation,” Gen X is caring for both their children and their aging parents, making frequent trips to doctors’ offices. 

Since many Gen Xers work full-time, they appreciate practices that offer evening and weekend appointments. Like Boomers, they often take a reactive approach to healthcare for themselves.

Millennials (born in the early 1980s to the early 2000s), also known as Generation Y, are the first generation to grow up with technology. They’re often called the “wellness generation” because they eat healthier, exercise more, and smoke less than older generations. Combining their love of tech and wellness, Millennials are proactive about their health, using fitness monitors to count their steps, apps to monitor their food intake, and wearable devices to track their sleep.

This generation collects information from multiple online sources, and prefers to communicate through digital channels, such as email, text messaging, and social media. They want to go online to quickly access their medical records, schedule appointments, and participate in telehealth visits. They also want (and expect) personalized healthcare that meets their individual needs.

Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) grew up online and is the most “Internet-fluent” generation. They live on their phones and expect instant gratification. They want convenient healthcare options that fit in with their fast-paced lifestyles, including telemedicine, as well as on-demand access to their health records and online scheduling. More than 70% of the younger generations would prefer to see a clinician through a telehealth appointment. Like Millennials, they prioritize health and wellness and are buying a lot of health and wellness products and mindfulness-related products and services, like meditation, therapy, and yoga.

While there are some major differences between the generations, there are some commonalities, as well. All generations want clinicians they can trust, to be involved in healthcare decision-making, and to get easy-to-understand information about their health.

Reactive healthcare is when patients and providers react to a medical situation, like when a patient goes to the doctor because they’re ill or visits the hospital for a broken arm. While some healthcare will always be reactive – like treating strep throat or a ruptured appendix – reactive care often has negative implications. For instance, if a patient doesn’t get regular hearing screenings, they could have undetected hearing loss, which can result in serious mental, physical, emotional, and social challenges.

As an example, the Boomers were raised to be tough and were often told to just “rub some dirt on it” when they were sick or injured. As Boomers prepare to retire, many are sick and obese, with 74% of Boomers saying they should be doing more to manage and protect their health.

Gen Xers are more progressive than the Boomers, but still more reactive than the younger generations. They’re so busy managing the healthcare needs of their children and their aging parents that their own healthcare needs tend to take a backseat. They think they “don’t have time” to visit their doctors and get regular preventative health screenings.

When looking at hearing health specifically, many older adults avoid seeing an audiologist because they don’t want hearing aids. People often believe there are stigmas around hearing aids, thinking they’ll look old or weak if they wear the devices. In fact, it takes people an average of seven years before they’ll seek treatment for their hearing loss.

Less Effective
Reactive care is less effective than proactive care in maintaining good health and preventing future health problems. If someone is sedentary, eats an unhealthy diet, and smokes, they might develop heart disease, which could have been prevented through a healthier lifestyle and regular screenings.

Stressful
When patients don’t take a proactive approach to their health, they can develop chronic illnesses, which can be stressful for the patient and their loved ones. Someone with a chronic disease will likely experience long-term stress over managing their condition, and their loved ones may take on a significant burden caring for them.

Expensive
Reactive care is frequently more expensive than proactive, preventative care, since it frequently involves costly surgeries, hospitalizations, and medications. Someone with undiagnosed diabetes may end up with serious and expensive complications, like kidney damage, which may require expensive dialysis, etc.

When people only see their healthcare provider when they’re sick or experiencing specific symptoms, they may already have a chronic issue, like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or hearing loss, which can develop slowly over time.

The risk of chronic diseases increase with age. A recent study found that, in the EU, more than half of people aged 65+ had at least one chronic disease. Ironically, that means the population that tends to be more reactive to healthcare is the very demographic that shouldn’t be passive in managing their health.

Educate Them
Give these patients (and prospects) helpful, relevant information about their hearing health. Spotlight the signs of hearing loss in ways that will reach older generations – such as on your website, on your Facebook page, in email blasts, direct mail pieces, etc. Explain how modern hearing aids offer many benefits that will help them hear better and improve their quality of life.

Offer Home Visits
Some older people may not be able to physically come to your hearing clinic because they have health or mobility issues, or don't have access to reliable transportation. Help them overcome barriers by providing home visits. When you come to them, it increases the patients’ comfort and convenience, making it more likely that they’ll receive the hearing health screenings and treatments they need. 

Use the Right Messaging
Use messaging that will appeal to older demographics, like emphasizing your audiologists’ extensive experience, knowledge, and trustworthiness. Spotlight the ways that your team will make each patient’s experience more convenient, comfortable, affordable, and pleasant. Address people’s biggest fears and concerns – e.g., your payment plans fit any budget, you offer home visits, etc. Also, use messaging that addresses – and refutes – common stigmas, explaining that hearing aids won’t make people look old or frail, and are being embraced by customers of all ages.

As people are living longer, chronic diseases are on the rise. The number of people aged 50+ with a chronic disease is expected to increase by an astounding 99.5% within the next 25 years. Some illnesses – such as colorectal cancer – are now impacting more young people. These statistics illustrate the importance of proactive healthcare.

Luckily, younger generations are taking a more proactive approach to their health. This shift is largely due to the influence of technology, greater access to information, and a more prevalent wellness culture.

Younger generations strive for perfectionism more than the older generations did. Raised in the social media generation, they spend considerable time scrolling through photos of others living seemingly “perfect” lives. Social media’s unrealistic expectations are resulting in higher levels of depression, anxiety, and loneliness, as people compare themselves to people showing their best moments online. Ironically, though, social media is also bringing more awareness to health issues, including mental health and hearing health, as people post about their struggles and solutions. This helps reduce the stigmas around needing (and getting) professional help, whether someone is struggling with anxiety, hearing loss, or something else.

It’s reassuring to know that younger generations are being more proactive about their healthcare. Proactive care includes:

Regular check-ups. This helps identify any underlying health issues and take immediate measures to address them. 

Preventive screenings. Tests like mammograms, colonoscopies, and hearing tests help detect problems so they can be addressed before they become serious. 

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This includes eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, reducing stress, and avoiding bad habits (e.g., cigarettes, drugs).  

Managing chronic conditions. For people with chronic conditions, like diabetes, heart disease, asthma, or hearing loss, proactive care involves regularly seeing their clinicians, monitoring their condition, and following a proper treatment plan.

Educate Them
Provide valuable, relevant information about hearing health, including warnings about how listening to loud music can damage their hearing. Utilize delivery channels that will effectively reach younger generations, such as posting on your social media platforms, sending out email and text blasts, etc. Consider posting short, engaging educational videos as part of your marketing strategy, since younger generations typically prefer watching short videos to learn things. Reiterate that younger people can have hearing loss – it's not just something that happens to older adults. And demonstrate how modern hearing aids have become hipper and more technologically advanced.

Offer More Tech Options
Since the younger generations grew up with technology, encourage them to handle administrative tasks online (make/change/confirm appointments, pay bills, communicate with your team). Invite them to use your portal to get real-time health information. Text appointment confirmations, recognizing that 95% of texts are read and responded to within three minutes.

Offer More Free Screenings
Younger people may be less likely to come to your clinic for hearing screenings because they often erroneously believe that hearing loss is something that only happens to older people. Offering free screenings out in the community can be an extremely effective way to reach these younger audiences.  Younger generations will appreciate the ease and convenience of a tablet-based screener like Engage.

Use the Right Messaging
The messaging that works well for older adults may not resonate with younger audiences, so emphasize key messages that are relevant to these demographics. Explain that hearing loss can happen at any age. Also, spotlight how loud sounds can damage their hearing, and reiterate the need for hearing protection in loud environments. Also, emphasize the huge technological advancements in today’s modern hearing aids.