Hearing Aids in the Media: Why Outdated Images Matter
Flip through almost any news article, podcast website, or health-column illustration about hearing loss, and there’s a decent chance you’ll see a bulky, beige, clunky behind-the-ear (BTE) device or something that looks straight out of the 1980s.
These images are often used as visual shorthand for “hearing loss” or “hearing aids.” But here’s the rub: most of those devices are obsolete, have been for a long time, or are not even hearing aids!
Large outdated hearing aids are being used in media to represent hearing loss, which can impact on device take up.
Using these types of images perpetuates misconceptions, increases stigma, and undermines the reality of what modern hearing technology can and should be.
When media outlets plaster these outdated images, they’re inadvertently sending a subtle message: hearing aids are embarrassing, outdated, and something to hide. That reinforces shame and hesitation.
For lots of people contemplating addressing their hearing, that depiction signals “you’ll look old, awkward, or needy.” In truth, modern hearing aids are often sleek, discreet, and technologically advanced; many are nearly invisible in everyday settings.
Let’s dig into why this matters, not just symbolically, but in lives, behaviours, and health outcomes.
People Wait Too Long to Seek Help
One of the recurring patterns in hearing health is delay. Many people recognise or suspect they have hearing loss, but postpone getting a test. Research people don’t just wait a few months to seek help: it is usually years.
- A MED-EL report notes individuals often wait up to 10 years before seeking a hearing assessment after symptoms begin.
- In Australia, the National Acoustic Laboratories’ report “Making a Noise About Hearing” found many people live with hearing loss for around nine years before seeking help.
- Some sources cite an average of 7 years as the delay between noticing hearing decline and doing something about it.
Whether it’s 7 or 10 years, that’s a long time to struggle, miss bits of conversation, and, potentially, retreat from social engagement. The longer hearing loss goes untreated, the harder it can be to “catch up” in noisy, complex listening environments.
Why do people wait? Among the reasons cited in studies:
- Gradual changes are easy to ignore (you don’t notice until it’s worse)
- Denial or minimising hearing problems (thinking it’s “just part of aging”)
- Financial concerns, access barriers, or perceptions of cost
- Fear of stigma, or worries about appearance and judgment
When media continues to show oversized, dated aids, those visual cues reinforce fears rather than correcting them.
People Who Need Hearing Aids Doesn’t Use Them
Many representations of hearing aids in the media do not accurately reflect the modern, small, sleek devices now being provided.
Even when technology is available and people acknowledge hearing difficulty, usage is depressingly low.
Here are some key stats:
- In Australia, it’s said that about 80% of Australians who know they need hearing aids aren’t using them.
- In a broad survey of hearing aid users, about 20% don’t use their aids at all, 30% use them only some of the time, and 50% use them “most of the time.”
- Some scholars note that even after a confirmed hearing loss, a significant number of adults are never recommended hearing aids, which means that non-use is partly due to system gaps, not just personal reluctance.
Modern Devices: Sleek, Smart, and Subtle
We don’t just have this stigma because technology hasn’t kept up. In fact, it has. Today’s hearing aids often include:
- Tiny in-ear or receiver-in-canal (RIC) designs that are barely visible
- Rechargeable batteries (no fumbling with tiny disposable cells)
- Wireless streaming (phone calls, music, TV)
- Adaptive noise reduction and directional microphones
- Remote fine-tuning by audiologists via apps
- AI and machine learning algorithms to improve speech understanding in noisy environments
In short: modern hearing aids can slip into everyday life without announcing themselves. In many cases, you’d have to get really close to see one.
So why do media images lag so far behind? Part of it is inertia: old stock photos, legacy imagery, or time poor staff trying to source visuals. But the consequence is real. Every time a clunky device image is placed next to “hearing loss,” it reinforces the outdated trope and subtly tells people they’ll look old, conspicuous, and embarrassed.
What the Media (and We) Can Do
If we want to shift perceptions, here are a few practical steps:
- Insist on modern imagery. Use sleek, up-to-date hearing aids in articles, not relics.
- Caption and contextualise. If showing an older model for historical reasons, label it clearly as such and contrast with today’s devices.
- Include testimonials and visuals from real users. Show real people in real life wearing discreet aids.
- Educate editors and designers. Many people don’t know how fast hearing aid tech has advanced. A short brief or style guide can help shift the standard library.
- Combine with facts. When the imagery looks subtle, pair it with data on delay, adoption, and health outcomes.
A simple way to help do that is to comment on the offending article and include a link to this article. It’s a simple way to educate and remind journalists and editors that hearing aids today are not the hearing aids of yesterday.
Let’s all chip away at the stigma. The more hearing aids look like “something to hide,” the more people will hide their hearing loss and suffer silently. We can all help change that.
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