Public Awareness of Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants: A Google Trends Analysis of Media Campaigns.

Objective: While one-fifth of eligible candidates use hearing aids (HAs), a smaller proportion of eligible candidates receive a cochlear implant (CI), partly due to cost and knowledge gaps. This study aims to quantify internet relative search volumes (RSVs) as a general awareness proxy for HAs and CIs around relevant events. Study Design: Retrospective infodemiologic study. Setting: Google searches from 2004 to 2024. Methods: Using Google Trends, we performed Welch's t-tests to compare average HA and CI RSVs (search volume relative to comparator search volume from 0%-100%) during event and non-event periods. Results: From 2004 to 2024, HA RSV increased from 37% to 100% while CI RSV remained below 13%. Some federal announcements such as hybrid CI approval (Mar 2014; P < .045) and a new over-the-counter HA category (Oct 2021; P < .001) coincided with significantly increased CI and HA RSVs, respectively, while others like the Nov 2024 federal announcement stating when all cell phones must have wireless connectivity with HA (P = .099) and CI (P = .777) did not. Similarly, some public awareness campaigns like "Hearing 20/20" (P < .001 for HA and CI) and Feb 2024 International CI Day (P < .001) coincided with significantly increased RSVs, while others like the Feb 2009 (P = .093) and Feb 2023 International CI Days (P = .327) did not. Conclusion: This study highlights that, unlike increasing search activity around HAs, CIs have not exhibited the same substantial changes in search volume, aside from brief spikes around certain campaigns. These findings underscore the need for more effective and sustained public outreach strategies to improve hearing device awareness.