Skip to content
HearingTracker
Log in

Remote HA programming - do providers actually do it?

This topic is closed.

28 replies1.1k viewsLast reply

Jump
Link to this topic

Most new from the major brands have for some time now included a smartphone app-based capability for remote programming. In other words, hearing care providers can adjust your HAs without having you come into the clinic.

I’m curious to know if anyone on this forum has actually had an adjustment to their HAs performed this way. I know my audi clinic has shown no interest, presumably because it doesn’t fit their business model (bring you in once a year for an , clean the HAs, inspect for any repairs required, and consider an upgrade if enough time has passed).

I have seen recently that at least one HA brand has advanced this technology from synchronous (you and the provider need to “meet” online at the same time) to asynchronous (requests for programming changes can be sent at any time, provider sends back the changes when they have time, you can test the changes and then accept or reject them on your own schedule). To me this seems ideal, but if providers aren’t interested in providing service this way then such innovations are fruitless…

7 people in this conversation7 min readJump to latest

I just recently changed from Costco Rexton KS8 to Oticon More 1 from Duke University. Costco was willing to do remote support and we tried but Rexton refused to update the hearing aid firmware for the newer iPhone and OS. Duke will not offer me remote support because I am in Virginia, not North Carolina. States control hearing provider licensing.

In reply to @prodigyplace

@prodigyplace said:

Rexton refused to update the hearing aid firmware for the newer iPhone and OS.

Possibly I’ve asked before, but could this of been because that model couldn’t be updated, not so much because they just flat refused?

@prodigyplace said:

I am in Virginia, not North Carolina. States control hearing provider licensing.

So what law could they be quoting? So long as it’s from a qualified audiologist I can’t see any real problem (but hey, your in america, a land of very unique laws of the land)

The jurisdictional issue is interesting. Here in Ontario when I am receiving other healthcare services by “telemedicine” I always have to attest to being physically present in Ontario. So that aspect makes sense. Providers may not the licensed in other jurisdictions, and insurance issues can arise if both parties aren’t in the same jurisdiction.

In reply to @tenkan

@tenkan said:

So long as it’s from a qualified audiologist I can’t see any real problem

That’s just it, providers may be qualified only in a particular state rather than the whole country. The United States (like Canada) is a federal rather than a unitary state, many things including licensure of medical practitioners is a state-level matter.

We offer remote adjustments and I did a bunch during the pandemic, but it’s probably been at least a year since I did the last one.

A huge majority of the ‘adjustments’ that actually need to be made are things that require being in the clinic. Minor software adjustments are really a very, very small percentage of our appointments compared to physical fit, cleaning, wax removal.

No, we probably undercharge for it. But it has been delisted from OHIP here, so doctors are no longer doing it.

(Addition: Highlighting how lucrative wax removal isn’t, I think Costco and many manufacturer owned clinics simply don’t offer it.)

In reply to @Neville

@Neville said:

A huge majority of the ‘adjustments’ that actually need to be made are things that require being in the clinic.

That makes sense. But not even enabling remote functionality in the first place totally forecloses the option. In the initial period after physical fit is taken care of a program adjustments may be necessary would seem like the ideal time to use it. I guess something you only anticipate using 15% of the time can be more of a hassle than anything else.

In reply to @greg.smith

Depends on the hearing aid, but in some cases remote functionality is auto-enabled.

The majority of our user population also isn’t there yet in terms of basic ability to navigate their smartphones. This is going to vary from region to region for sure, but if someone doesn’t know how to download an app I don’t feel optimistic about walking them through a remote appointment. This will also change over time.

Of course, my fittings are all perfect from day 1 and need no adjustments anyway. :wink:

For me, over the past 10 years I have been a 2 hour drive away from my hearing professional. I was really hoping for remote assistance this time but did not consider the issues crossing state lines b

In reply to @Neville

I guess this does speak to a frustration I have often encountered with hearing care, which is that the whole experience is designed with the median 75 year old in mind. Great for them, I guess, but not so much when you start getting hearing aids much earlier…

What I don’t get is. . . we don’t do remote adjustments much, but if my patient asks for it I of course say yes.

So, perhaps it speaks to an actually disappointing level of tech saviness in a huge number of providers as well. (Same as this whole idea of getting a provider who is “familiar” with a particular manufacturer’s software, as if the manufacturer’s software isn’t all basically the same if you have a reasonable level of comfort with computers.)

Edited

In reply to @Neville

@Neville said:

Of course, my fittings are all perfect from day 1 and need no adjustments anyway. :wink:

@Neville: I never doubted this from the beginning! I’m quite certain, also, that your Laying On of Hands service (for a modest additional fee) is quite salubrious, enhancing the overall Goodness of Fit of the devices you sell at so little profit to yourself.

:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Related discussions