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Combining vision care with hearing solutions makes good sense—but it’s not the right match for every practice
An estimated 1.7 million adults age 65 and older report both vision and hearing loss. This dual sensory loss makes it increasingly challenging to communicate and can impact the mental and physical health of patients. With so many experiencing this simultaneous loss of two vital functions, it makes sense that some practices are adding a hearing solution for their patients. Patients already come in annually for an eye exam—now they can get their hearing checked in the same location.
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Ron Greenberg, co-founder and CEO of EyeCanHear
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But although these two services certainly make sense together, Ron Greenberg, co-founder and CEO of
EyeCanHear, a company providing custom designed and comprehensive hearing healthcare programs for ophthalmology and selected specialty physicians, says there are definitely some things to consider before taking that plunge.
Greenberg, who co-founded the practice with Sean O’Donnell, says that there are many reasons why vision and hearing make sense together. The whole idea for EyeCanHear came about by Greenberg’s effort to stay on top of the “next trend.” “As the LASIK market became challenged based on the economic situation and increasing insurance pressure, it became imperative that we start looking for the next biggest trend,” he says. “Practices were no longer spending major dollars on advertising and were trying to understand what they could do to leverage the patients that walked in every day.”
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Looking primarily at ophthalmic space, Greenberg says he knew that today’s waiting room is typically full of patients 50 and older. So the question became: What services are those patients seeking elsewhere that they may be able to receive at their eyecare practice? The answer was hearing. Starting at 35 years old, people begin to have a decline in both visual capabilities and hearing wellness. Dual sensory loss is a very real issue and presents a potential opportunity for eyecare practices.
Though dual sensory loss is quite common, getting patients to acknowledge hearing loss poses a challenge. Many patients tend to be in denial—largely because they see it as a sign of old age. “What they think about when it comes to a hearing solution are those large hearing devices of yesteryear that basically say ‘I’m old,’” Greenberg says. “They don’t realize the options that are out there today.”
When paired with an annual eye exam, making hearing testing just another routine part of a visit, some patients may be more willing to get their hearing checked. Instead of them having to make the first move and book an appointment for a hearing test, it can be suggested to them during their routine visit to the eye doctor—a service they’re already seeking.
Obstacles to Implementation
There are many things to consider before integrating this type of service into your practice. Practices often assume they can just use their own employees for the hearing services but Greenberg says that managing hearing patients’ experience and integrating hearing well-being into the workflow can cause a lot of disruption. For one, hearing screenings are handled much different than vision care—including even the way they’re handled by insurance. Coverage is quite different.
Since EyeCanHear provides a comprehensive solution to integrating hearing services, they also set the practice up with licensed Beltone Hearing Care Practitioners (HCPs). The Beltone HCP represents your practice while working with your patients. The EyeCanHear team also takes on the responsibility of integrating the marketing and communication tactics needed to get the program up and running. The one-time business start-up package includes a complete suite of hearing evaluation equipment; a comprehensive in-office marketing package of posters, brochures, and collateral tailored to your practice; integration of hearing care services into your web strategy; and state-mandated hearing sales contracts for your patients. The company also offers a “Meet & Greet” with your new “Hearing Care Team,” which includes “Lunch & Learn” seminars for physicians and staff on hearing care services.
But while the marriage of vision and hearing solutions makes good sense, there are also some legality issues to be considered outside of the operational challenges that can arise. Greenberg advises that any practice considering this kind of integration do their homework. One thing that Greenberg does know is that integrating into an ophthalmic practice is much different than an optometric one.
“In the optometric community there’s something called ‘Scope of Service,’ and in most states it’s limited to refraction and dispensing of vision correcting products,” Greenberg says. “Outside of that scope is anything to do with hearing. So the ability of an optometrist to promote a hearing service is definitely an obstacle, but there are still some practices where they’re finding ways to make it happen. If you hire a licensed hearing instrument specialist to do the screenings and deliver the solutions, it could work, assuming the optometrist isn’t promoting it as part of their services and as far as they aren’t benefiting financially. This is an area where I’d strongly advise legal and health care counsel. Optometrists need to do their research and know what they’re getting into.”
Making it Work
While there are some obstacles to consider, those ophthalmic practices that are able to incorporate a hearing solution into their practice are finding it to be a perfect match. Like vision solutions, hearing solutions have the opportunity to greatly improve one’s well-being. “Even safety is affected by sound,” says Greenberg. “Patients should be able to hear someone screaming or hear a siren—those are important things. But it’s also just the day-to-day function. There’s a quote from Helen Keller that sums it up very well: ‘When you lose your eyesight, you lose contact with things. When you lose your hearing, you lose contact with people.’ Hearing wellness makes all the sense in the world being paired with eyecare. Dual sensory loss is very real and treating both of these needs for the patient can lead to a huge improvement in their quality of life.”
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