![](https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/wp-content/themes/st_george_utah_2015/images/clear.png)
CONTRIBUTED CONTENT — As of June, inflation in the United States has reached a 40-year high of 9.1%. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nation’s health care inflation rate has risen 4.5%.
![](https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/GettyImages-924694642-scaled.jpg)
While we’re hopeful that the rise will begin to drop year over year, economists are uncertain that this will, in fact, occur due to the pandemic aftermath, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and continued disruption of the supply chain. With the higher food and gas prices, every single household and business is being impacted. Inflation is on the top of our patients’ minds, and the top of ours too!
The same factors that are driving inflation across the country are also impacting the health care industry, which unfortunately means hearing health care also. Employment is down, expenses are high, labor costs are high and medical supplies have increased by over 20%.
While we work diligently to minimize our operational costs without affecting patient care, we are forced to increase our monthly treatment plan (all-inclusive with price lock guarantee) from $187 to $197. Our desire is to ensure timely, efficient and professional care; unfortunately, we must increase our treatment plan to continue to provide the very best.
Having said all of that, our office understands the significant investment associated with hearing health care, including the hidden costs of not treating hearing loss. We are proud to offer our patients the most affordable payment plans to help them begin the medical treatment of hearing loss on day one.
The treatment program at our office is all-inclusive and ensures that each patient greatly benefits from the best options to treat his or her hearing loss and cognitive needs.
With our treatment plan, patients have access to low-cost monthly treatment plans that provide significant benefits, including full warranty coverage on treatment technology (together with loss, damage and repair coverage for life), complete access to supplies and batteries and service appointments. Most importantly, your monthly payment is inflation-proof and will never increase.
![](https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/GettyImages-1251273788.jpg)
The facts of hearing loss treatment are that a patient’s hearing and cognitive needs will change over time, and treatment technology will improve. With our treatment plan, our patients are our top priority!
Patients often ask, “What can happen if I put off treating my hearing loss?” There is strong evidence that untreated hearing loss can significantly increase the risk for a host of other chronic medical conditions, including diabetes, tinnitus, dementia and falls.
While there isn’t much we can do about the ongoing inflation, we can help you with your hearing health care needs by locking in your monthly treatment plan so your monthly payment never increases again. We look forward to continuing working with you as you endeavor towards healthy aging and the medical treatment of your hearing loss and associated cognitive needs.
Written by DR. KEITH DARROW, PhD, CCC-A.
Darrow is an MIT and Harvard Medical School-trained neuroscientist and clinical audiologist. He is a professor at Worcester State University and a certified Alzheimer’s disease and dementia care trainer. His book, “Preventing Decline,” is an Amazon.com No.1 new release and best-seller.
• S P O N S O R E D C O N T E N T •
Resources
- Intermountain Audiology | Website.
- Locations:
- St. George | Address: 61 W. 200 North, Suite 100 | Telephone: 435-255-3780.
- Cedar City | Address: 1277 N. Northfield Road, Suite A220 | Telephone: 435-255-3780.
- Richfield | Address: 1090 Cove View Road | Telephone: 435-255-3780.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.