With 48 million Americans reporting a hearing loss and only 13,000 audiologists nationwide, access to audiological care is a longstanding issue. Yet, the uneven distribution of audiologists disproportionately affects the 20% of Americans living in rural areas and more than half of U.S. counties do not have a single audiologist.

In North Carolina, a recent study showed that only 17% of licensed audiologists reside in rural counties; of the state’s 78 counties, 36 do not have a single audiologist while 11 counties only have one. This issue, however, is far from unique to North Carolina. 65% of audiologists licensed in Arizona work in the most populous county, leaving researchers and public health experts investigating better ways to serve the remainder of the state. Their recommendation? Telehealth.

As the third most common chronic condition in the United States, there are far too many in need of audiological care than the current workforce can provide in the traditional model. Virtual visits allow audiologists to expand their reach beyond immediate geographic limitations and serve residents across their full state of licensure.

Tuned, the largest virtual audiology platform, pairs qualified doctors of audiology with those who need their services, vastly improving the accessibility to quality hearing healthcare for millions of Americans.