Is Your Hearing Health at Risk?
Nowadays, in India, people with no qualifications in audiology are calling themselves “Hearing Aid Experts”, “Hearing Aid Consultants”, or “Hearing Care Advisors,” due to which many patients are receiving unsafe, incomplete, and incorrect hearing care. It is very crucial for patients to ask for the license to verify whether the audiologist is real or fake.
It’s not just about hearing aid purchase, it’s about quality of life and long-term hearing health
A patient would not be interested in dealing with someone skilled at selling hearing aids. Rather, he/she is interested in consulting a qualified professional audiologist who can comprehend his/her individual hearing concerns and evaluate accordingly to recommend the scientifically proven solutions.
The Dangerous Truth behind “Fake Hearing Consultant”
Fake Hearing Consultant, like many shops, sales-driven centres, refurbished or unauthorised dealers, wholesalers and smugglers focus on selling hearing aids. They are not concerned about or are not skilled in diagnosing hearing problems correctly or providing the right treatment plan.
Many times, patients purchase hearing aids from such people, who don’t have a degree in audiology, no knowledge of ear diseases, no clinical training in hearing disorders, but they know how to sell aids, as they are aware of a buyer's mindset. They take advantage of this buyer's mindset, and patients get misled. They offer and promise more than what is really possible, patients get attracted to them and trust them without asking about their qualifications or licenses.
A qualified and licenced audiologist knows the limitations related to your existing hearing problem and what is possible or not, because of which an audiologist offers and promises feels lower than the fake one, though that is the truth. But who pitches the truth in the world of sales and marketing?
These fake audiologists (so-called selling agents) may call themselves Hearing Aid Expert, Sound Specialist, Hearing Aid Consultant, Hearing Machine Advisor, and Hearing Care Executive- helping you to be aware like “JAGO GRAHAK JAGO”
Now the real question is:
Are they qualified to diagnose your hearing problem safely?
The answer is “No”, the Hearing Loss Test is not for calling people and selling hearing aids. It is a medical condition that requires sincerity in the complete process, from diagnosis to treatment, until the patient gets comfortable with the solutions provided.
This is the most painful situation for our country, where such fake hearing advisers sell hearing aids like shoes, mobile phones, laptops, chargers, and wires, etc.
Two patients with “similar hearing loss” may require entirely different Hearing aid selection based on diagnostic interpretations, Hearing Aid Technology level, programming, Sound processing settings, Ear moulds, Rehabilitation plans, and Medical Referrals, etc.
Wrong diagnosis and without considering the other possible medical conditions of a patient, and finally improper fitting can lead to sound discomfort, poor speech understanding, hearing fatigue, worsening communication ability, increased tinnitus, and may cause permanent hearing loss, and so on.
Why Hearing Aids Aren't Smartphones: The Risk of Wrong Diagnosis
Today, these fake hearing advisers also perform diagnostic hearing tests, which are conducted in an open environment or on a table with a patient and fraud audiologist facing each other, which is the most alarming trend. Though it is illegal, and as per the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI), it is a punishable act.
Improper hearing tests can result in:-
- False diagnosis of hearing loss severity and type
- Missing serious ear diseases
- Delayed in the right medical treatment
- Wrong hearing aid prescription and fitting
- Over or under-amplification of sound,
- Cognitive and psychological damages and so on
In some cases, patients may actually need Surgery, Cochlear implant evaluation, Neurological Assessment, etc.
But instead, patients are directly pushed towards purchasing hearing aids, and a patient ends up wasting money on the wrong treatment plan
Why Are Professionally Qualified Audiologists Different?
An Audiologist is clinically trained to:
- Conduct scientific hearing evaluations
- Interpreting Audiometry accurately
- Identify medical conditions and red flags
- Advise on the first line of treatment, which is very important in cases of sudden sensorineural hearing loss
- Recommending suitable hearing solutions and
- Performing scientific hearing aid prescription & fitting
- Providing auditory rehabilitation and medical counselling
At Soft Hear, hearing care is delivered by Master’s Qualified Audiologists with Soft Hear’s International practice model training and hands-on for the best possible patient outcome.
Red Flags: 9 Signs You Are Dealing with a Hearing Aid Salesman, Not an Audiologist
- Hearing tests are done on a table in just a few minutes
- The consultant does no detailed counselling
- No ENT referral is suggested despite medical symptoms such as ear pain or infections
- You are forced toward immediate purchase
- When they cannot explain the Audiogram to you properly
- Convincing you of a product purchase by offering discounts rather than diagnosing the problems
- The “fake expert” avoids sharing their qualifications
- Verification and hearing aid trial and demonstration procedures are skipped
- All they have is the best sales offer not related to your treatment
Why Accurate Hearing Aid Fitting Matters?
Even the world’s best and most costly hearing aid can perform poorly if fitted incorrectly
Correct fitting includes:
- Accurate Audiological Diagnosis
- Right evaluation of speech understanding
- SNR Loss test
- Analysis of patient lifestyle
- Scientific selection and prescription of personalised hearing aid
- Scientific prescription of acoustic parameters for hearing aid customisation
- Usage of Real Ear Measurements (where applicable) for hearing aid fitting
- Care and maintenance training with safe hearing aid insertion and removal, to and from the ears
- Follow-up adjustments and fine-tuning
- Counselling for Adaptation
In reality, the problem is mainly because of incorrect diagnosis, wrong treatment, or improper fitting.
Ethical Hearing Care is the duty and responsibility of a True Audiologist
Hearing loss impacts Mental Health, Communication, Confidence, Personal and Professional Life, as well as Cognitive Health in elderly individuals.
That’s why Hearing care is not about a commercial sales activity. It is about quality of life and mental peace.
At Soft Hear, we strongly encourage patients and families to:
- Verify Professional Qualifications of an Audiologist
- Ask Who Is Conducting the Hearing Test
- Seek Proper and Detailed Audiological Evaluation
- Prioritise Diagnosis Over Attractive Discounts
- Choose Clinical Expertise Over Marketing Advertisements and Fake Promises
The Soft Hear Promise: Ethical, Science-Backed Hearing Wellness
Going for unqualified “hearing aid experts” may save a little money at the initial stage, but wrong diagnosis, wrong treatment, and poor fitting can damage your hearing health permanently.
So, Always Verify your Audiologist and always go for trusted, Ethical Hearing care clinics like Soft Hear. This will lead to accurate diagnosis, the right treatment, the right Hearing Aids, and, finally, lifetime hearing wellness.
Once hearing loss occurs needs continuous professional support throughout the lifespan, and it could be easily manageable only after being in close contact with a professional audiologist.
Soft Hear , is with you in this journey of lifetime hearing Wellness. At Soft Hear, we work for every patient with honesty and integrity. We believe every patient deserves a scientific, ethical, and medically accurate hearing treatment plan.