Optrafair 2018 saw several audiology-related companies mark the increasing convergence of optics and hearing care by exhibiting for the first time. While this may prove to be an incipient moment for the future, the seven companies present were eager to help optical professionals at the show listen to the needs of their patients right now.
Amplifon
With more than 65 years of experience in hearing care Amplifon can boast a wealth of expertise. Operating across 21 countries, its audiologists have access to the latest in invisible digital hearing aid technology from producers such as GN ReSound, Phonak and Widex. Amplifon services can be found in more than 200 UK stores and its qualified audiologists are available for home visits.
Amplifon has started ‘teaming up with optician practices to provide hearing care’ alongside eye care, with audiologists delivering free of charge hearing tests to all patients. Representatives at the Optrafair stand explained how the increasing integration between the two sectors had been ‘beneficial for both’, allowing people to access eye care and hearing care at the same site. This has proved both popular and convenient with an older demographic whch has a greater need for both forms of care, it said.
Following the completion of the free hearing test, Amplifon offers a wide range of hearing aid types such as invisible, behind the ear, in-ear and rechargeable. The company is hoping that its next 65 years will see it work ever closer with the optical industry as the two increasingly share the same space in care.
National Community Hearing Association (NCHA)
The NCHA stand at Optrafair sought to raise the profile of hearing loss as a growing public health challenge and to help opticians navigate the sector. A membership body representing providers, the NCHA is the voice of community hearing care and seeks to address unmet needs and transform models of care in the UK.
Harjit Sandhu, director of policy and strategy at the NCHA, said, ‘in the UK 11 million of adults have hearing loss, and within a decade this will increase to 13 million’ and yet only one-third of those with hearing loss get help. He called for greater awareness and policy change in order to drive progress. ‘Hearing loss has become a major public health issue and we are talking to opticians at Optrafair about what they can do to reduce the burden of disease associated with unsupported hearing loss,’ he said.
Sandhu spoke of NHS England’s 2015 Action Plan on Hearing Loss, which is being used to further raise hearing care up the public policy agenda. ‘Opticians and hearing professionals can work much closer together, for example developing partnerships to provide a range of sensory services has major benefits for patients and providers’. Opticians might, Sandhu suggested, cross-refer, get a hearing specialist to provide services in a spare room or set-up their own hearing business.
Rayovac
Established in 1906 in Wisconsin, USA, Rayovac was one of the oldest companies exhibiting at Optrafair 2018. It was there to showcase its existing hearing aid battery range, which is a market leader. Optrafair delegates were told how the sale of hearing aid batteries could increase profits and ensure customers return for future purchases, both sustaining business growth.
On display was Rayovac’s ‘active core technology’ complete with ‘optimised packaging’ and its ‘hearing aid battery starter packs’. Rayovac has the ‘longest lasting hearing aid battery in the industry’, according to Tom Stephenson, from Rayovac business development in UK & Ireland.
Speaking about the event, Paula Brinson-Pyke, director of marketing at Rayovac, said: ‘We were thrilled to attend this year’s Optrafair for the first time and to be given the opportunity to support current customers within the optical sector, as well as connecting with new ones.’
Brinson-Pyke spoke of a ‘shift in focus towards offering more of a “one-stop shop” for eyes and ears’ as both industries undergo changes. ‘We received really positive feedback from visitors to our stand who learned about our latest ProLine upgrades and breakthrough Active Core Technology,’ she said.
Hidden Hearing
True to its name, Hidden Hearing sought to expose some of the hidden facts about hearing loss that inhibit more effective and holistic care. What differentiated it from other audiology stands at Optrafair was its focus on the link between hearing loss and other medical conditions. ‘We’re not trying to be something we’re not,’ said Ann Reading, hearing services coordinator at Hidden Hearing.
It used its place at Optrafair to publicise the associated risks of hearing loss. Reading explained how people with hearing loss were far more likely to develop cognitive disease such as dementia or suffer from conditions such as anxiety or depression. She lamented the fact that it took, on average, ‘nearly a decade’ for people to address their hearing loss, especially when considering that ‘more than 10 million people in the UK are affected by hearing loss’.
Hidden Hearing operates by offering ‘partner programmes’ to various outlets. It has been renting rooms in opticians’ practices for 14 years, said Reading, offering customers free hearing tests by trained audiologists.
‘We attended Optrafair this year to promote our partnership programme and the services we can offer. All of our hearing tests are free of charge to the public, and we believe that everyone over the age of 55 should have their hearing tested regularly,’ said Becky Martin, partnership and promotions manager at Hidden Hearing.
Reading argued this is a mutually beneficial relationship for optics and audiology, increasing footfall and paying a rent to the practice, while promoting its own service and expanding its customer base.
‘We understand how important hearing health is, and with highly qualified audiologists working throughout the UK, we can provide a quality service within any Optical Practice and are proud to be associated with the companies we work with,’ added Martin.
Starkey Hearing Technologies
US hearing aid manufacturer Starkey Hearing Technologies has been in the business since 1967 and has had operations in the UK since the end of the 1970s. Since then, its aim has been to ‘bring private audiology into the optical industry’, according to Trevor Bridge, area account manager for Starkey.
Bridge spoke of the wide range of Starkey products available to patients including those tailored to specific devices such as iPhone and iPads, along with customer-made invisible devices, discrete in-canal aids, behind-the-ear equipment and even ones designed specifically for tinnitus sufferers. Most of the range came with customised designs and can be purchased in a variety of colours, said Bridge.
Also discussed was Starkey’s philanthropic work. As part of the Starkey Hearing Foundation – the charitable arm of the company – it fits ‘more than 100,000 hearing aids every year’ said Bridge, enabling hearing care in some of the poorest communities worldwide. This is in keeping with Starkey’s ‘global vision’ as it seeks to build on its worldwide network of over 5,000 hearing care professionals in more than 100 international markets.
Bloom Hearing Specialists
Owned and operated by Widex, which is an international hearing aid manufacturer, Bloom Hearing Specialists is a ‘small, national provider of professional hearing care’. To mark its first appearance at Optrafair, Bloom wanted to convey to attendees how working with it could provide patients with audiology services at a minimal cost.
‘Expanding into opticians is one of our strategic directions for this year hence why we featured at Optrafair when we haven’t before. We will also feature at a stand there next year,’ said Connie Tope, marketing director for Bloom.
Bloom pointed to the practices of large multiples like Specsavers and Boots, who are now offering audiology services to their customers, as a way to demonstrate how the combination of audiology and optics can increase footfall to practices and encourage return trade by centring two healthcare services at one site.
‘I think that opticians want to compete with Boots and Specsavers and a way to do this is offer audiology like they do. They benefit from getting their customers into their shops more often as they will visit for both optical and hearing care. They also reduce the risk of their optics customers visiting a competitor for hearing care,’ said Tope.
There to promote its brand, rather than any specific products, Bloom wanted to show delegates how working with it could have multiple benefits in terms of business diversification, customer satisfaction and increased competitiveness.
Tope added: ‘We want to be able to offer customers a choice over going to the large multiples for optical and hearing care.’