End-user journey
The end-user journey consists of nine stages that your clients experience on their way to better hearing. The journey begins when they first become aware of a potential hearing loss and concludes when they have become experienced users, open to continual upgrades.
Some end-users might complete this journey faster than others, and not all users necessarily have to go through each and every step. But all start their journey at the same place – and hopefully reach the end.
End-user journey stages
Awareness
Persons with hearing impairment reach the stage in their personal hearing journey where they start to become aware of and recognize their hearing loss.
Information
Persons with hearing impairment begin to search for information on hearing loss and hearing solutions, e.g. by visiting a GP or an ENT doctor, research on the Internet or in their social circles where somebody else might use hearing instruments.
Contact
Persons with hearing impairment call a hearing care professional for an appointment for a hearing test.
Identifying needs and solutions
Persons with hearing impairment meet the hearing care professional for the first time to have their hearing loss confirmed and communication needs uncovered and to have some recommendations as to the choice of solution.
Reinforcement
In most cases, persons with hearing impairment have to come back for a second appointment. This period of time allows the hearing care professional time to order the chosen solution from the manufacturer and/or allow the persons more time to consider. During this time, the persons need to be confirmed in the decision to move forward in their hearing journey.
Fitting and purchase
Persons with hearing impairment return to have the hearing solution fitted and fine tuned and to get guidance in using it. Mostly, the hearing solution is paid for at the end of this meeting.
Adaptation
Persons with hearing impairment are now new hearing instrument users. Adapting to and living with a hearing solution is not a simple process for all hearing instrument users and a successful outcome depends on the number of good experiences during the adaptation period.
Living with hearing aids
Once the new hearing instrument users have finished the adaptation period with positive experiences, daily life is resumed with the benefits of being a hearing instrument user. Living with hearing instruments provide both new possibilities and new challengers. Hearing instrument users will benefit from recognition of these challengers by their surroundings.
Need for improvement
At a given point of time the hearing instrument user will need an improvement either from new technologies or by adding more devices to the present hearing solution. The typical lifetime of a hearing instrument is approximately five years.