Understanding and addressing a patient's lifestyle is crucial because it ensures that the hearing aid solutions provided will genuinely enhance their quality of life.

The truth is that 50% of clients return their hearing aids after trial, which is a waste of your clinic’s time, effort, and resources. Increase conversion rates – and reduce return rates – by asking the right questions about each patient's lifestyle.

While the severity of each patient’s hearing loss will help determine the type of devices and accessories they need, their lifestyle is also a huge factor in selecting (and suggesting) the hearing aid solutions, features, and accessories that would be most appropriate for them.

Consider exploring the following areas during appointments to better understand your patient's lifestyle:

What’s their medical history?
Learn about their medical history, not just ear-related problems or issues. What medications do they take, what chronic conditions do they have, etc. Determine whether any of their medical issues could impact their hearing and/or their ability to insert (and take care of) hearing aids.

When do they notice hearing difficulties?
Use the COSI survey to assess the patient's communication difficulties and measure the outcomes of interventions. This will help you understand whether they only struggle to hear in noisy environments, if they have trouble hearing certain sound frequencies, etc. Ask them whether they turn up the volume on the TV or radio because they can’t hear it. Do they struggle to participate in conversations? Does background noise make it harder for them to hear? Inquire about specific listening challenges they face – like understanding speech in noise or hearing soft sounds – so you can provide proper solutions for their specific issues.

How do they spend their days?
Consider each patient’s daily routine. Do they spend considerable time in noisy environments or quiet settings? Are they active or more sedentary? Do they work or are they retired? How much time do they spend outdoors vs. indoors? Their typical listening environments will influence the kind of hearing aid features they’ll need. For instance, if a patient is very social – spending a lot of time at restaurants, the theater, sporting events, concerts, etc. – they’ll likely benefit from hearing aids with sophisticated noise reduction and speech enhancement technologies. These features will let the user hear conversations with their companions in a noisy restaurant, at a football stadium, etc.

Are they active and/or outdoorsy?
Do they exercise regularly? Do they spend a lot of time outside? Active, outdoorsy individuals often prefer more robust, water-resistant hearing aids that can withstand sweat, movement, and various outdoor conditions. For example, if a patient lives at the beach and goes for daily walks by the ocean, they’ll need hearing aids that can withstand that damp, windy environment. Similarly, a golfer, hiker, or tennis player will need devices that can withstand those activities, plus the sweat and outdoor conditions that the patient regularly encounters. Active people need hearing aids that won’t fall out or get damaged, whether they’re rock climbing, lifting weights at the gym, dancing, or playing pickleball.

Do they have any health or mobility issues?
These challenges might affect their ability to use and maintain certain hearing aids. A patient with dexterity problems in their fingers, for example, might not be able to easily change tiny hearing aid batteries and might, therefore, need devices that come with rechargeable batteries.

Do they work?
If they’re not retired, ask about their work. Are they on frequent calls or Teams/Zooms meetings, where they’d need their hearing aids to integrate with their smartphone and computer? Do they work long hours and, if so, are they able to properly charge their batteries, as needed, during their shift? Are they in a customer-facing job, like sales, where they may want more stylish hearing aids? Does their job expose them to prolonged loud noises? For instance, if they work in construction, at a factory, in air traffic control, on a farm, or as a musician, they’ll need proper hearing protection.

How tech-savvy are they?
Some people are uncomfortable with technology, while others depend on technology. Ask each patient how comfortable they are with innovative technologies. Would they find it cool if their hearing aid could integrate with Alexa or connect to their TV? For these patients, consider recommending hearing aids with advanced connectivity features, like Bluetooth, which can seamlessly integrate with their smartphones, TVs, and other devices. They may also appreciate the ability to adjust their hearing aids’ volume and settings from an app on their phones. Many tech-obsessed people are pleased to see that some hearing aids look and act like the most desirable, innovative, high-tech earbuds, enhancing their hearing and their overall experience.

What climate do they live in?

Believe it or not, a patient’s geography can be an important lifestyle factor. If they live in a very hot, dry environment like Phoenix, AZ (or other desert climate), find out how much time they spend outside, as hearing aids – like any electronic gadget – can overheat in the hot sun. Patients that live in damp climates – like London or Portland, OR – or in humid geographies – like Florida or Nova Scotia – will need moisture-resistant devices as well as a dry box to keep their hearing aids working optimally in these moist environments.

What’s their budget?

Never assume anything about the patient's budget. Some patients might not care about the budget, as long as they have the right solutions. Consider how Rikke was more concerned about having the right solution – like rechargeable batteries – and less concerned about the cost. Other patients might be very worried about paying for hearing aids and may need to hear about payment plans and reimbursement options. Understanding each patient’s financial limitations and reimbursements will help you recommend the most appropriate options. This helps them solve their hearing challenges while staying within their budget comfort zone.

It's normal for people sometimes to forget important things, so it's understandable that during busy days, an audiologist might overlook asking the right questions. However, this can result in patients being unhappy with their hearing aid solutions because their specific needs were not met.

Thankfully, today's technology allows hearing care professionals to tailor treatments and solutions without the risk of forgetting crucial questions. Auditdata's Practice Management Software, Manage, allows clinics to set up essential questionnaires like the COSI survey. Moreover, thanks to the guided activity workflow feature in Manage, clinics can ensure adherence to protocols by making lifestyle questionnaires a mandatory part of the appointment workflow. This guarantees that no crucial aspects of the patient's needs are missed, leading to more personalized and effective hearing aid solutions.

Recommending customized solutions based on each patient’s lifestyle will enhance key metrics, including patient satisfaction, loyalty, positive reviews, referrals, sales, and conversions.

Additionally, Manage allows clinicians to add detailed notes to each patient's card, making it easy to recall important details about the patient. This comprehensive approach ensures that every aspect of patient care is documented and accessible, further improving the quality of service provided.