Duncan Graham, Managing Director of Hidden Hearing
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Breakfast Business with Enterprise Ireland on Newstalk.
What percentage of the population experiences hearing-related disabilities?
Around 2.2% of the population has a hearing-related disability and the HSE suggests that as many as 8% have a much broader disabling hearing loss. The technology has advanced now to the point that hearing aids are so small and effective that they are all but invisible. With the stresses that the HSE are under, finding private solutions is increasingly the way thousands of us solve the problem of poor hearing. And the second biggest company for that in Ireland... with 85 clinics nationwide, is Hidden Hearing. And Duncan Graham is the Managing Director of Hidden Hearing. Good morning, Duncan. Morning, Joe. What's your definition of poor hearing? I know you're not necessarily a doctor, but if you start cupping your ears in a pub when you're chatting to your mates,
Is that an issue? Is that a sign? Not necessarily so, but if you're doing it permanently and you're doing it in restaurants, in crowds, maybe at home, around the dinner table, then I'd say you're on your way. You know, you look at the number of people that are suffering from hearing loss, and as you say there in the opening, something like 50% of the population of over 70s in Ireland will be permanently suffering from hearing loss.
I'm not quite at that stage yet, Duncan, but... Neither am I. And so you'd suggest if there is a concern, go to an audiologist, and I'm sure you know a good one or two, in your 85 clinics.
Absolutely. And that's what we would advise people to do.
How have hearing aid technologies evolved in recent years?
We do something like 60,000 hearing tests every year across the 85 clinics. We've got a clinic near everybody in the country. And going to your audiologist is about accessibility. It's about convenience. And everybody should be doing it. Everybody... over sort of 60 years of age should be going and seeing their audiologist once a year.
Now, you've got some fairly high-tech kit. I mentioned that some of these devices are all but invisible. What's your kind of Mercedes-Benz of hearing aids that you've got?
Well, look, hearing technology has advanced like light years ahead of where people perhaps perceive it to be. And certainly we've got technology coming out now, which is fully in the ear. It's rechargeable. It enables it's Bluetooth enabled to your phone. It's got all the technology that helps.
Why does it need to be connected to your phone out of curiosity?
Just simply because taking phone calls or streaming music or doing anything like that, actually even turning the volume up on your hearing aid can be done through the phone now. So all of that technology is now all integrated within your phone and normal ways of living. And how does it stick to your ear? How does it not fall out? Well, there's two or three different types of hearing aid. One that actually sits just behind the ear, but the latest technology actually sits really neatly inside the ear canal. So something that we've just launched even last week was called the Oticon Zeal hearing aid, and it's packed with all the features. It's rechargeable. It's got all these things that I've just talked about, and it's very, very small.
What are the signs that indicate a person may have poor hearing?
It fits discreetly inside your ear. It's hardly noticeable, and we'll be marketing that as an unseen product almost this time next year. And how much is that one? So that's going to be retailing. That's a big price. That's going to be over €6,000. But you look at hearing aids and people think about the price of hearing aids. But there's hearing technology available to people at €1,000 that's fully covered by PRSI contributions going right up to the higher-end technology.
So that's interesting. PRSI does help with hearing aid costs.
Yes, absolutely. Up to €1,000 for a pair of hearing aids.
And do you apply through Hidden Hearing or do you apply directly to the state?
Yeah, no, you can do it through your audiologist and we check whether you can do that and whether you're eligible for that. And then obviously we process that through the state itself.
And where are most of these hearing aids made? I presume they're made in the Far East or something?
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