For those that work in healthcare, it is well understood that issues rarely occur in isolation; rather, a complicated web emerges of one condition leading to another and then another. The problem, however, is health insurance often oversimplifies this, failing to address the intersection of health conditions and making healthcare often difficult to navigate.

Take a look at depression, diabetes, and dementia. Any idea what links them (other than alliteration)? In all three, racial and ethnic minorities face higher rates of prevalence. Hispanics and African Americans exhibit elevated rates of depression as compared to Whites; the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes is highest amongst American Indians/Alaska Natives, African Americans, and Asian Americans; and in dementia, every racial and ethnic minority presents a higher prevalence than Whites.

But can you guess what else depression, diabetes, and dementia share? All three have a clear link to hearing loss. Those with untreated hearing loss are more prone to depression, with the use of hearing aids resulting in an improvement in depressive symptoms. Diabetes doubles one’s risk of developing hearing loss, a link that is taken so seriously by the CDC that it now recommends annual hearing screenings for diabetic Americans.
And The Lancet Report on Dementia found that hearing loss is the number one modifiable risk factor in mid-life; in other words, the management of hearing loss while still working is potentially the biggest difference maker in one’s memory trajectory.

Audiologists are the hearing and balance specialists in healthcare who understand the complexities of their patients, including how hearing factors into one’s overall well-being.
With Tuned, employers can trust that all of their employees’ hearing needs are addressed, from education and prevention to intervention and rehabilitation. More importantly, it signals to employees, particularly those of racial and ethnic minorities, that their unique health needs are valued and understood.

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