Frequently Asked Questions
There is a good chance you, like most people, did not grow up with good hearing hygiene. According to The Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care: a call for action (2019), hearing loss is now considered the most modifiable risk factor when it comes to dementia prevention.
Researchers at the University of Colorado also discovered that changes in the brain can be observed within 3 months after initial onset of even a mild hearing loss (Sharma, 2016). At The Audiology METHOD, we want to make you more aware of the likelihood that you will get hearing loss IF you do not take proactive steps. The ears are the most sensitive organ in our body to oxygen and blood flood so we are diligent when it comes to evaluating you as a whole person.
We are committed to empowering you to conserve your hearing so you don’t miss a beat. We do this by providing you with an individualized comprehensive treatment plan following your first appointment to take action to treat and conserve your hearing moving forward.
Since we are concierge, we can provide personalized care, an actual relationship with your own doctor, & fast-track appointments prevent you from waiting weeks to see a doctor who will only see you in a few short visits or going to a walk in clinic to see a doctor who doesn’t know your history.
In order to stay in business, a doctor at a traditional practice—one that accepts insurance—must care for approximately 2,400 patients. When compared with the 600 patients a doctor at a concierge practice needs to manage—which also allows us to spend more time with you, our patients.
In order to offer the highest level of personalized care and access possible, Dr. Link limits the number of patients in her practice. We, like most concierge doctors, treat six to eight patients per day and spend between 30 minutes to 60 minutes per office visit. Our goal is to create a personalized action plan to effectively treat your problem and prevent new ones.
Patients who choose personalized audiology find they have:
- Less loss of hearing clarity over time
- Improved communication outcomes
- More comfortable fitting custom products
- Improved hearing aid outcomes
“The good doctor knows her patient through and through”
We believe excellent hearing health begins with a meaningful relationship with you. Our goal is to understand how your overall health and relationships tie into your hearing on a deeper level to help improve your quality of life. Our greatest job satisfaction comes from having a great relationship with you. We remove 3rd party insurance so the focus is on YOU.
None. The restrictions, volume goals, and a particular lack of transparency and predictability regarding hearing benefits do not align with our mission to put you and your needs first.
Instead of operating inside the confines of insurance and spending 10 mins with new patients, we spend 1.5 hours together, getting to know you and your unique needs, putting together an individualized comprehensive treatment plan for you so that you can leave with a clear action plan.
Your care matters more to us than an insurance company’s arbitrary opinions and we will not sacrifice best practices and providing the highest level of care to work inside their restrictions.
Concierge, retainer, membership, cash-only practice, and direct care are all terms used to describe a Fee for Care (‘FFC’) practice. The Audiology METHOD is a private fee for care practice, which fits this general classification. We differentiate ourselves on providing an exceptional quality of care and experience unrivaled in the field. Our goal is to
“create an audiology home for working professionals and musicians that is easily accessible, cost-conscious, encourages collaboration, and promotes hearing wellness”
Yes! Check with your carrier for any specific restrictions for your plan that may exclude audiology services but generally patients use these without any issues!
Fortunately there are few emergencies when it comes to audiology (sudden hearing loss or failed cochlear implants are the only 2 that come to mind)! If Dr. Link will be out for an extended period of time, she will arrange for coverage.
If you experience a sudden hearing loss while Dr. Link is out of the office, please call Rocky Mountain ENT, (720) 979-0855. If you experience a cochlear implant device failure, please contact Cochlear directly by visiting Cochlear Device Support.
Probably not. Only 10% of insurance plans offer coverage for audiologic services and products, with many of those plans only offering discount plans that are often more expensive than many of The Audiology METHOD treatment plans. Your potential reimbursement with your insurance is a contract between you and your insurer.
As a member of The Audiology METHOD community, you will receive thoughtful attention and an actionable plan around your hearing wellness including:
- Real time and a relationship with your doctor
- Minimal wait times for appointments
- Lunch and after work appointment times
- Comprehensive intake process prior to your new patient consult to ensure all concerns are addressed during your visit
- Direct, coordinated care with allied health professionals
- Personalized action plan to achieve your listening goals and conserve your hearing
- Assurance that each and every question and concern of yours will be addressed
- We believe healthcare should always put the patient first
- We believe audiology care is not one-size-fits-all
- We believe doctors should have time to get to know patients beyond their symptoms
- We believe in the type of audiology care that improves health and lives
Meet the doctor who leads our mission to provide life-changing personalized preventive care so you can lead a healthier and more vibrant life.
Your first appointment with Dr. Link will be the most critical as it will be the guide for creating your action plan moving forward. Diagnostic costs may vary depending on the nature of your problem. Please see if our Cost of Care page to see if our personalized approach is right for you.
Being put in a memory care facility is expensive. Missing half of what others say to you at work is expensive. Taking a fall is expensive. Time away from work, deductibles and copays, emergency room visits and hospital stays—an untreated hearing loss can cost thousands of dollars and put you in debt. Could the right audiology relationship help you save money?
You’ve probably heard the old adage—an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. While prevention isn’t without cost, illness can break your budget. Take a broken hip, for example (people with untreated hearing loss are 3x as likely to experience a fall). In usual care, the reported 1-year mortality after sustaining a hip fracture has been estimated to be 14% to 58%!
Treating comorbidities from untreated hearing loss is expensive. If you develop dementia (remember, hearing loss has been deemed the most modifiable risk factor to dementia prevention), the costs to care for a person with dementia, on average, totals more than $287,000 (in 2010 dollars). Medicare covers inpatient hospital care and some of the doctors' fees and other medical items for people with Alzheimer's or dementia who are age 65 or older. ... Medicare will pay for up to 100 days of skilled nursing home care under limited circumstances. However, custodial long-term nursing home care is not covered.
Even forgoing treatment can have hefty price tag. Individuals with untreated hearing loss on average make 50% less over the course of their careers compared to their peers with normal hearing or treated hearing loss.
At The Audiology METHOD, Dr. Link has the time to put emphasis on prevention and wellness. She works with patients every day helping to identify risk, prevent loss and optimize treatment, from early detection to coaching patients on lifestyle changes that can really pay off.
Patients who seek non-personalized audiology care at in-network providers, on average, pay more than $2,000 out-of-pocket. Why? Those provider’s focus has to be on hearing aid sales to make up for the lack of sustainable insurance reimbursement instead of ongoing care, conservation, and treatment.
It’s easy to see how medical bills can quickly escalate, which is why it makes sense to be proactive — untreated or poorly treated hearing loss may lead to financial hardships. Prioritize your most valuable asset — your health — and meet with Dr. Link.
