While many employers value a diverse workforce, it is crucial to recognize the different challenges faced by marginalized employees and provide the resources necessary to support them. Approximately one in every four employees has a hearing concern, such as ringing in the ears, hearing loss, or processing issues. Yet, most employee benefits packages fail to provide access to hearing healthcare by an audiologist.

This statistic, while alarming, still does not capture the whole picture. Research illustrates that minority groups underutilize hearing healthcare as compared to their white peers despite having similar rates of hearing loss. It is therefore believed to be reflective of barriers such as cost, access, and insurance coverage.

Asian Americans are significantly less likely to have had a recent hearing evaluation, with lack of insurance coverage for such services listed as a driving factor. Black and Hispanic Americans have significantly lower rates of hearing aid usage, a trend that appears to be worsening. While more people use hearing aids today than 8 years ago, the population with the largest change in hearing aid adoption was White Americans.

Employers can foster a diverse workforce by providing the access to hearing healthcare and understanding how vital hearing is to communication, job performance, and overall well-being. With Tuned, employers can trust doctors of audiology to deliver comprehensive hearing healthcare to all employees, regardless of race and ethnicity, inching one step closer to more equitable healthcare.

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