Investing in Whole-Person Employee Health

Hearing benefits have historically been overlooked, even though hearing plays a major role in employee productivity and overall health.

In the Hearing Loss in the Workplace survey of full-and part-time workers both with and without hearing loss, hearing benefit provider TruHearing found that only one in 10 respondents reported being offered hearing benefits by their employer.

“The lack of coverage needs to change,” says Rob Gibbs, senior vice president of sales and account management at TruHearing. “There’s still a misconception out there that hearing loss is something that only affects older people. But what’s being overlooked is that 32% of employees aged 25 to 64 report at least some degree of hearing loss,” he explains, citing the company’s internal research report. Employers that don’t offer hearing benefits have a gap in their healthcare offerings.

Whole-Person Health

Hearing loss has a pronounced impact on an employee’s quality of life. The TruHearing report says that “employees with hearing loss reported feeling less engaged in life, isolated, and exhausted from social situations.” A third of surveyed employees suffering from hearing loss said they participated less in meetings and socialized less with colleagues, and more than 40% reported that co-workers became frustrated when the respondents did not understand or respond to something they said.

“I’ve dealt with a lot of people being very abrasive and annoyed that I can’t hear them,” one worker with hearing loss said in a testimonial provided by TruHearing. “I’ve been yelled at more times than I can count. I’ve been in therapy for years because of it.”

This situation can often negatively affect employee mental health. “There’s anxiety, depression, and other kinds of mental illness that come with increased social isolation,” Gibbs says. “Hearing benefits help people get treatment sooner—leading to better health and wellness outcomes.”

The survey also shows that hearing loss can undercut worker productivity, Gibbs says: “37% of surveyed employees with hearing loss said it impacts their productivity by five or more hours a week, while 20% of those [with hearing loss] said it impacts their productivity by over 10 hours a week.”

Treating hearing loss is both preventive care and a way for employees to add more value, Gibbs argues. Employees receiving hearing benefits are more productive, maintain concentration more easily, and are happier and more engaged with co-workers, according to the TruHearing survey.

What This Means for Employers

A hearing benefit typically covers the costs associated with treating hearing loss, including an initial hearing exam, purchasing hearing aids, and post-purchase programming, fitting, and education. Another worker testimonial makes clear the benefits of this care: “As a teacher, good communication is part of everything I do. From connecting with parents by streaming phone calls right to my ears to clearer conversations with the kids in crowded classrooms, I rely on my hearing aids to get me through the day.”

Offering hearing benefits boosts both employee recruitment and retention, and hard numbers back that up. “34% of those surveyed [in the TruHearing report] said they’d be more willing to consider a future employer if hearing benefits were offered, and about 40% said they’d be more likely to stay with their current employer if hearing benefits were offered by that employer,” Gibbs says. On top of that, there has been a 65% year-over-year increase in employees wanting to see hearing benefits included in healthcare offerings from 2023 to 2024.

And employers have a partner they can leverage to choose the best hearing benefits for them. With their unique employee benefits expertise, agents and brokers can direct their clients to a hearing benefit partner who can tailor a solution to meet the needs of an organization’s employee population, allowing employers to get the most value out of the hearing benefits they offer.

“People are consistently wearing earbuds and headphones. A lot of people go to concerts. There’s a lot of things in life that can impact hearing,” Gibbs says. “Without hearing benefits, people delay treatment or forego it altogether, impacting employee health, cohesion, and productivity. Hearing loss affects your employees in different ways—all the more reason to give people access to high-value hearing healthcare.”