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1. Audiologist Warn Against Buying Hearing Aids With Out Proper
Diagnosis Of Hearing Loss
THE ACADEMY OF DOCTORS OF AUDIOLOGY WARNS
CONSUMERS AGAINST OBTAINING HEARING AIDS WITHOUT
PROPER DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT AND COUNSELING
(Lexington, Ky.)--The Academy of Doctors of
Audiology (ADA) urges consumers who suspect
that they have hearing loss to seek treatment from
a licensed audiologist or other hearing healthcare
professional to ensure the proper diagnosis and
treatment of hearing loss, and to identify
potentially serious underlying medical conditions.
Further, ADA reminds consumers that hearing aids
are not always the recommended course of treatment for hearing
loss.
“Even when hearing loss is detected through a comprehensive
examination, hearing aids are not always a recommended course
of treatment,” said ADA President Eric Hagberg, Au.D., “The
purchase and use of a hearing aid without a proper examination,
diagnosis and counseling is a recipe for poor treatment outcomes
and increased risks.”
Key risks of omitting an evaluation and treatment by a licensed
audiologist or hearing healthcare professional include the missed
diagnosis of a serious underlying health condition that requires
medical intervention and subsequent hearing loss as a result of
improper fitting and/or programming of hearing aids.
According to the ADA, there are many possible causes of hearing
loss including:

2. •Aging– Hair cell loss from the nerve endings in the cochlea,
stiffening of the cochlear structure, or loss of nerve endings on
the acoustic nerve, may be age-related causes of diminished
hearing.
•Blockages in the outer ear– Almost anything can block the ear
canal and cause hearing loss. Common blockages include earwax,
foreign bodies, swelling from allergies or infections, injuries, and
birth defects.
•Ear infections– Generally, ear infections cause swelling in the
middle ear, which in turn causes a build up of fluid behind the
eardrum.
•Fistula– A fistula is an abnormal opening between the middle
and inner ear that causes fluid to leak from the inner ear.
Symptoms include dizziness, as well as hearing loss.
•Head injury– A head injury can damage nerves in the hearing
centers of the brain.
•Medication– Some medications have been identified as ototoxic
and can cause hearing loss.
•Meniere’s Disease – Pressure in the inner ear may cause
fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing sensation), dizziness
and nausea.
•Noise– The single most common cause of hearing loss is
exposure to loud noise.
•Otosclerosis– This is a hereditary disease. New bone grows
around one of the small bones that transmits sound from the

3. outer ear to the inner ear. This new growth of bone disrupts
sound transmission.
•Tumors– Tumors can be benign or malignant. Depending on
where the tumor is located, the resulting hearing loss may be
either conductive or sensorineural.
Many of these conditions cannot be treated with a hearing aid—
and several require immediate medical intervention for
treatment.
United Healthcare (UHC), the largest U.S. insurer by revenue,
announced on October 3, 2011, that it will provide subscribers
and the general public with online hearing testing and allow the
purchase/obtainment of hearing aids via the Internet through its
subsidiary hi Health Innovations.
This announcement came on the same day that UHC’s parent
company, United Health Group, introduced its 2012 Medicare
Plans and began marketing to elderly subscribers. The
announcement also ironically coincided with United Health
Group’s (United Health Foundation) announcement that it would
provide a $50,000 grant to the National Council on Aging (NCOA)
so that NCOA can “expand outreach efforts to seniors and aging
services organizations, reminding them to work with health care
professionals for appropriate (hearing) screening.”
The announcement by United Healthcare to offer an online
diagnostic, treatment and distribution model for hearing
healthcare has prompted growing concerns within the health
community.
“This undermines every good practice with regard to hearing
healthcare as this diagnosis and delivery model is unsound,

4. unsafe and unreliable,” said Dr. Hagberg. “Without the proper
diagnosis, counseling, hearing aid fitting and follow-up
evaluations, successful treatment for hearing loss cannot be
achieved.”
On October 26, 2011, the Minnesota Department of Health
released a statement stressing the importance of seeing a
hearing health practitioner for hearing loss and advising that
failure to do so “skirts state and federal legal protections and
could result in harm.” Read the full release here:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/news/pressrel/2011/hearing1026
11.html. United Healthcare, UnitedHealth Group, and hi Health
Innovations are all based in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
On October 12, 2011, the Better Hearing Institute (BHI) released
a press release warning consumers against “Do it Yourself
Hearing Care.” Click here to Read the full release here:
http://www.betterhearing.org/press/news/Internet_direct_mail_h
earing_aids_pr10122011.cfm
On October 26, 2011, an attorney retained by the International
Hearing Society (IHS) sent a letter to hi Health Innovations
requesting that the company cease and desist selling hearing aids
through its website. Read the full letter here:
http://ihsinfo.org/pdf/IHS_Letter_to_HealthInnovations.pdf
On October 31, 2011, ADA and the American Academy of
Audiology (AAA) sent joint letters to Lisa Tseng, M.D., Chief
Executive Officer of hi Health Innovations and Rhonda Medows,
M.D., Chief Medical Officer of United Health Group, expressing
concerns and requesting additional information regarding the
insurer’s plans for an online hearing healthcare delivery system.
Read the letters here:

5. http://www.audiologist.org/_resources/documents/UHC%20letter
%20Oct%2011%20Tseng.pdf
http://www.audiologist.org/_resources/documents/UHC%20letter
%20Oct%2011%20Medows.pdf
Intricon Corporation, headquartered in Arden Hills, Minnesota,
has been contracted to manufacture the hearing aids sold by hi
Health Innovations, whose parent company is UnitedHealth
Group. This goes against the common practice within the hearing
aid manufacturing community. In fact, most hearing aid
manufacturers have made public statements that they will not
allow their hearing aids to be sold online.
“Thankfully most hearing aid manufacturers will not allow their
hearing aids to be sold or purchased without a face-to-face
consultation with a licensed practitioner, because they too
recognize the inherent risks associated with the purchase and use
of hearing aids without the proper counseling and fitting that only
a licensed hearing healthcare professional can provide.”
Hearing aids are medical devices regulated by the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) and must be recommended, sold and
fit by qualified health professionals.
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSear
ch.cfm?FR=801.420
Further, all 50 states require licensure for the dispensing of
hearing aids. http://www.audiologist.org/resources/state-
licensure.html
The ADA urges consumers to seek proper diagnosis, treatment
and counseling for suspected hearing loss. To find a licensed ADA
member in your area, visit
http://www.audiologist.org/audiologist-directory.html.

6. Other Useful Resources
• Consumer Reports Hearing Aid Checklist:
http://www.consumerreports.org/health/healthy-living/home-
medical-supplies/hearing/hearing-aids/buying-tips-a-
checklist/hearing-aids-before-you-buy.htm
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication
Disorder
(NIDCD):http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/hearing
aid.aspx
• Better Hearing Institute (BHI): http://www.betterhearing.org/
• Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) Position Statement
on Hearing Aids for People with Hearing Loss:
http://hlaaleaderswiki.wikispaces.com/file/view/Position+Stateme
nt+on+Hearing+Aids+for+People+with+Hearing+Loss.pdf
About ADA
The Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) is a leading national
organization of practicing audiologists. ADA is dedicated to the
advancement of practitioner excellence, high ethical standards,
professional autonomy and sound business practices in the
provision of quality audiologic care. For more information, visit
www.audiologist.org.

7. For More Information, Call Atlanta Hearing Associates At: (770)
574-4819
Or
Visit Us At:
http://hearing-aids-atlanta-ga.com
For More Information, Call Atlanta Hearing Associates At: (770)
574-4819
Or
Visit Us At:
http://hearing-aids-atlanta-ga.com