17 October 2014

Why hearing care is currently too risky - Part 2

Curtis Alcock, founder of online hearing think tank Audira.info, with part one of his series on why some of the messages professionals send can turn people off accessing hearing care.

In Part 1 we looked at examples of messages traditionally found in hearing care and saw how they involve a psychological or social risk to responders that deter more people than they attract.

Now we look at the type of messages we should be presenting, and explain the thought processes behind them. Remember, for someone to respond to a message it must reduce (not increase) a risk for them, be consistent with how they want to be seen and make them look good in front of others. Each message presented here is based on the ones from Part 1, if you want to compare them.

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In all these examples we have made it easier psychologically and socially for someone to respond than not respond. Whether you use these examples or not, consider the thinking behind them and see how you might apply them to your own messages.

About Curtis

Curtis Alcock spent 12 years in design and marketing before making the transition into hearing care. He is founder of an online think tank for hearing called Audira.info which seeks to create a new social norm for hearing where the majority 1) respect their hearing, 2) do all they can to keep their hearing working at its best, 3) are mindful of the role their hearing plays in their own lives and in society, 4) and are confident that others will demonstrate practical understanding should a residual reduction in hearing put them at a disadvantage. His strategic and inclusive vision for hearing care, together with his work on attitudes towards hearing care and hearing technology, has taken him to Denmark, Canada, the United States and Brussels, where he addressed members of the European Parliament. In 2013 he won the Ida Institute's award for best public awareness campaign.