MarkeTrak 2022: Insights into the Evolving Hearing Market

MarkeTrak I came out in 1989. I was a PhD student at Northwestern University at the time and I can remember Dr. Mead Killion telling me to take a look at it. This survey and those that followed collect data on the estimated incidence of hearing loss within the United States, household income and education related to amplification use, satisfaction with amplification, new user rates, along with a myriad of other data. I was immediately struck by the wealth of information that the survey offered. I ended up using a number of data points from this original survey in the introduction to my dissertation. A year later, I would be starting a faculty position that focused on research and teaching and 8 years later I would add medical center clinic director to my responsibilities. No matter the setting—research, teaching, or clinic—I found that MarkeTrak had something to offer that informed my decision making. That has remained true through MarkeTrak X and now MarkeTrak 2022. I have used the information for benchmarking our clinical activities, motivating innovations to address barriers identified in the surveys, supporting research initiatives, and teaching amplification and practice management courses. These surveys are a gift to our profession and impact patient care.

The Hearing Industries Association (HIA) supports these surveys, and the full reports are confidential to the HIA membership. With that said, HIA has always been extremely generous with the data and has made sure it is published in a variety of venues to make it accessible to hearing health care providers. Seminars in Hearing is pleased to have provided an edition for MarkeTrak X and now MarkeTrak 2022. This latest survey marks the change of the naming convention from sequential to identifying the year the survey is analyzed and provided to the public.

I have been very fortunate to work with Tom Powers (Powers Consulting) and Kate Carr (President HIA since 2018) on the past two editions of Seminars in Hearing that focused on MarkeTrak. These are individuals who are devoted to making information accessible to those who can impact hearing care to support individuals with hearing loss. You will see that Jan Kihm (statistician, market research), who has been involved in a number of MarkeTrak surveys, has contributed to this edition as well. We are very fortunate to have a group of authors who were tasked with synthesizing and interpreting the MarkeTrak 2022 data to provide the reader with information that can be used Monday morning. MarkeTrak 2022 provides us with the data we have come to expect (adoption rates, benefit, and satisfaction), but there is more here as we examine health disparities, comparisons to EuroTrak, financing of hearing care, and cochlear implants.

Enjoy the most recent MarkeTrak and if you are like me, you are already looking forward to the next one!

Publication History

Article published online:
01 December 2022