Building strong patient connections in hearing care—through a holistic approach to care, personalized recommendations, transparent payment discussions, and appropriate humor—enhances trust and leads to better outcomes.
By Melanie Hamilton-Basich
Hearing care is about much more than just testing and prescribing hearing aids when needed. It’s also about connecting with patients in a way that allows them to trust and accept their hearing care professional’s recommendations so they can experience the best health outcomes. But sometimes patients aren’t very receptive to HCPs’ overtures. Fortunately, there are many avenues through which to build rapport with patients. In fact, pretty much any interaction can afford an opportunity to bridge that gap.
Cognition and Hearing
For example, those providing hearing care are uniquely positioned to notice cognitive and functional changes in patients, note the authors of “Addressing Cognition and Hearing: 10 Recommendations for HCPs.”
In fact, they write, many patients these days may even expect their cognitive health to be addressed as part of a holistic approach to audiological care. For patients who fall in this camp, HCPs have the perfect opportunity to build trust with them on a deeper level by going beyond the audiogram and taking the time to address any concerns they may have about links between hearing loss and cognitive decline and how it pertains to them.
Product and Treatment Recommendations
While not every patient may be as interested in discussing cognitive health, product and treatment recommendations are much more likely to come up during an audiology appointment. Being able to equip patients with hearing aids and accessories that help them interact with the world are great ways to gain trust, as is fine tuning hearing aid programming to meet patient needs.
With aural rehabilitation, HCPs can also help patients feel a sense of empowerment and ownership over their own hearing health journey by recommending the use of auditory training apps. If this tool is presented in a way that resonates with them and they’re motivated to stick with it long enough to experience improvements in hearing as a result, this will likely engender a positive association with their HCP.
Payment Discussions
The article “The Right Person for the Payment Conversation” delves into how important it is for the right person, or persons, to talk about payment options with patients. Interestingly, one of the points made is that regardless of who takes on that role, it’s best for every employee to be familiar with how a practice approaches and handles payments. Since contemplating the cost of treatment can make many patients feel uncomfortable, encountering people who are confident in handling this aspect of hearing care can put such patients at ease. And a good experience could help build trust in not just an HCP but an entire practice.
A Healthy Dose of Humor
As Michael Harvey shares in his article “The Therapeutic Use of Humor in Audiology,” when used judiciously with the right person in the right moment, a little levity can go a long way toward building a bond with patients. It can even help them to see their hearing loss in a new light, directly impacting their life and overall well-being. If that isn’t a win-win outcome, I don’t know what is.
What are some of the best ways you have found to connect with patients?
— Melanie Hamilton-Basich
Original citation for this article: Hamilton-Basich M. Staff Standpoint: Building Patient Connections. Hearing Review. 2026;33(2):6.
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