For health plan members with a hearing benefit, access to an extensive hearing aid formulary enables their hearing care providers to tailor a hearing solution to individual needs, preferences and lifestyle. It also helps satisfy the growing consumer demand for specific brands of hearing aids. However, the number of brands within a hearing aid formulary can vary significantly among the various hearing health care third-party administrators.

 A white paper published by Amplifon Hearing Health Care dives into the results of two surveys that probed the perceptions of consumers and hearing care providers regarding the impact of product choice on hearing loss treatment. The white paper includes discussion about:

• Consumer views of their overall hearing health experience, importance of access to a wide range of hearing aid brands and desire to know their brand/product options before visiting a hearing care provider
• Provider views of why it’s important to offer a broad selection of hearing aid options, specific patient benefits of extensive choice and level of satisfaction with the range of products available through health plan hearing benefits
• The financial and health consequences of hearing aids that go unused or underutilized