Audiologist SurveyJANUARY 2020

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About the survey

19 QUESTION ONLINE SURVEY CONDUCTED JANUARY 2020 APPROXIMATELY 225 AUDIOLOGISTS IN THE UNITED

STATES COMPLETED THE SURVEY

1. What is your current level of education in audiology?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

MS/MA Degree AuD Degree PhD Degree Other

Respondent Education Level Breakdown

Education

2. What is your gender?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Prefer not to answer

Female

Male

Respondent Gender Breakdown

Gender

3. Are you a member of any of the following professional societies? List all that apply

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

American Academy of Audiology

Academy of Doctors of Audiology

Acoustical Society of America

American Speech-Language Hearing Association

International Hearing Society

I belong to my state organization

None

Other*

Professional Membership

Professional Membership

*Other category included responses such as: Military Audiology Association, EAA, ARA, etc.

4. How many years of experience do you have dispensing hearing aids?

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

0-5 years 5-10 years 10-20 years 20+ years I don't currentlydispense

Dispensing Experience

Years Dispensing

5. Which of the following describes your primary work setting:

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Private Clinic - Independently Owned

Retail Clinic - Manufacturer Owned (Connect Hearing, HearingLife, etc)

Retail Clinic - Non-manufacturer owned franchise or retail clinic

Major 'Big Box' Retailer (Costco, Sam's Club, etc)

ENT Clinic

VA Hospital or Clinic

Non-Profit Clinic

Public or Private School

Hospital

University

Other*

Primary Work Setting

Primary Work Setting

*Other category included responses such as: consultant, retired, researcher, etc.

6. How would you describe your position in your primary work setting:

20%

6%

69%

5%

Employment Status

Owner Partner or Part Owner Employee N/A

7. Is your clinic currently affiliated with a business management company or participate in a buying group? Please list all that apply

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Elite Hearing Network

AuDConnex

Consult YHN

AUDNET Hearing Group

Audigy Group/Audigy Medical

EarQ

Fuel Medical

Entheos

Alpaca

None, we do not participate with any consulting or buying groups

Other*

Practice Affiliations

Buying Group/Management Company Affiliation

*Other category included responses such as: ARG, OneSource, Starkey SHA, and retired or n/a.

8. What is your practice's top referral source for new patients?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Doctor or Medical Referrals

Newspaper

Direct Mail

Insurance Referrals

Online Search

Word of Mouth

Seminars or Community Talks

Television

Radio

Don't Know

Other*

Top Referral Source

Top Referral Source

*Other category included responses such as: school district, military, or retired.

9. Does your practice dispense more than one brand or manufacturer of hearing aids?

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

No, only 1brand

We offer 2brands

We offer 3brands

We offer 4brands

We offer 5brands or more

Other*

Brands of Hearing Aids Dispensed

# brands dispensed

*Other category included responses such as: not dispensing, n/a or retired

10. Which hearing aid brand do you dispense the most at your clinic?

Phonak23%

Widex9%

Oticon19%

Signia16%

Unitron4%

Starkey13%

Resound16%

BRAND MOST DISPENSED

10a. Which hearing aid brand do you dispense the most at your clinic? Please list brand and provide brief explanation

“Great products for all price points and offers accessories with some purchases”“Most pediatric friendly”“Hands free wireless for all phones. Good customer service”

“Great in connectivity to iPhone, best app, great rechargeable options”“Quality of the product and good customer service”

“Always seem to be on the cusp of breaking edge technology”

“Always meet real ear targets”“In my professional opinion, the best product in all technology levels”“Innovative and great customer service”

“Great products at a great price”“Flex Trial and upgradeability and connectivity”

“Best features for price”

10a. Which hearing aid brand do you dispense the most at your clinic? Please list brand and provide brief explanation (cont)

“Great option for tinnitus patients”“High quality, great sound--and they don’t sell to big box down the street!”“Excellent clarity and easy to use software”

“Great sound and customer service”“Best rechargeable options available in industry”

“Good products and easiest with TruHearing referrals”

“By far the best customer service in the industry, without question”“Have always had the best custom hearing aids”“Most innovative products and great prices”

11. On average, how many hearing aids per month do you personally sell/dispense?

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Less than 10 10 to 20 20 to 30 30+ I'm not currentlydispensing

Monthly Hearing Aids Dispensed

# hearing aids dispensed per month

*Other category included responses such as: not dispensing, n/a or retired

12. Which of the following type of hearing aid pricing models do you use in your clinic:

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Hearing aids and services bundled into single price

Hearing aids and services are "unbundled" or itemized

Clinic uses a hybrid or partially unbundled model

Don't know or unsure

Not applicable

Hearing Aid Pricing Model

Clinic pricing model

13. Did you dispense more rechargeable hearing aids in 2019 compared to 2018?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Significantly morein 2019

Somewhat more in2019

About the same Fewer in 2019 Not applicable

Rechargeable Hearing Aids Dispensed

Rechargeable hearing aids dispensed in 2019 vs. 2018

14. As a percentage of total hearing aids you expect to dispense in 2020, how many do you expect to be lithium ion rechargeable?

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

More than 75% Between 50-75% Between 25-50% Less than 25% Not applicable

Out of total hearing aids to be dispensed in 2020, percentage expected to be Lithium ion rechargeable

Expected % of total hearing aid sales being lithium-ion rechargeable

15a. Once the OTC hearing aid legislation becomes fully implemented in the US, would you be willing to sell OTC devices at your clinic?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

No I do not support the idea of OTC hearing aids Yes, I would consider selling certain OTC devices Unsure

Willingness to sell OTC hearing aids

OTC clinic sales

15b. Once the OTC hearing aid legislation becomes fully implemented in the US, would you be willing to sell OTC devices at your clinic?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

No I do not support the idea of OTC hearing aids Yes, I would consider selling certain OTC devices Unsure

Willingness to sell OTC hearing aids2020 vs. 2018 survey

2020 Survey 2018 Survey

16a. Which of the following responses best matches your feeling about OTC hearing aids

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

OTC hearing aids would HURT myclinic

OTC hearing aids would HELP myclinic

OTC hearing aids would have NOEFFECT on my clinic

None of the above or n/a

Opinions about OTC hearing aids

2020 Survey

16b. Which of the following responses best matches your feeling about OTC hearing aids

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

OTC hearing aids would HURT myclinic

OTC hearing aids would HELP myclinic

OTC hearing aids would have NOEFFECT on my clinic

None of the above or n/a

Opinions about OTC hearing aids2020 Survey vs. 2018 and 2017

2020 Survey 2018 Survey 2017 Survey

17. As a percentage of total hearing aids you dispensed in 2019, how many of your patient's hearing aids did you connect to a smartphone?

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

More than 75% Between 50-75% Between 25-50% Less than 25% Not applicable

How many of your patient’s hearing aids did you connect to a smartphone in 2019?

Smartphone connectivity

18. Regarding technology level of hearing aids you typically dispense, which of the following statements is most accurate:

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Majority of my patients are fit with entry level

Majority of my patients are fit with mid level

Majority of my patients are fit with premium

I dispense an even mix of technology

Don't know or n/a

Hearing Aid Technology Level Dispensed

Hearing aid technology dispensed

19. Are you planning to use some form of telehealth or teleaudiology in 2020? 0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Yes, we already dothis routinely in

our clinic

We are planningto begin offering

this service in2020

We areconsidering thisoption but no

plans yet

We do not haveplans to offer this

service

Not applicable

Utilization of telehealth

Implementing telehealth

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