Advice
How do you convince a loved one to have their hearing tested?
You are not the only one asking yourself the question: 4 out of 10 appointments are booked by someone else, a child in 20% of cases, the spouse in 15%, an institution or a relative in 5%. What helps, in our experience: suggesting a hearing assessment rather than a hearing aid.
What triggers the decision
It is almost always the same thing: the people around them who end up saying “you do not understand”, “you make me repeat myself all the time”, “you should wear hearing aids”. Or a consultation with an ENT physician.
The three hesitations that come up in appointments
What holds people back is rarely said out loud. Three hesitations come up: the difficulty of admitting the loss, the conviction that it is other people who do not articulate properly, and the idea that beyond a certain age it is no longer worth it.
“Can people see it?”, the hesitation least often voiced
Then there is appearance. The fear that the hearing aid will be visible, and the idea that it makes you look old, are still very present, and it is the hesitation our patients find hardest to voice. It rests on an image of hearing aids that no longer applies, a generation of bulky beige behind-the-ear devices worn by very elderly people. Today's models are worn behind the ear, connected by a thin wire, or sit entirely inside the ear canal. The argument deserves to be turned around: what gets noticed in a conversation is not a hearing aid behind the ear, it is asking someone to repeat themselves three times, answering the wrong question, or giving up on taking part.
Suggest a hearing test, not a hearing aid
A hearing test commits you to nothing and gives a measured answer to a discussion that was going round in circles. It includes a full hearing assessment, analysis of the results, and a counselling interview, at no cost and with no obligation. You can come with them to the appointment.
The first appointment is a hearing test, not a purchase, in Morges as in Vevey.