We are quick to blame the audiologists and HIS for not explaining available healing assistive technology to us. But the fact is that isn't ALL their fault. We, as patients, need to be more vocal about our needs. These providers don't know whether we work in a noisy shop or a library or much about our social life either. We need to TELL them about our hearing challenges. As patients, in general we aren't very good at that. So part of the blame is on us.

Julie, I know that you are a passionate advocate for hearing loops (induction loops). I am too. I was recently fitted with new HAs after failing to qualify for a CI. This was by a private practitioner. Most of the HAs she offered me did not have telecoils. Of course she explained that the telecoils were available in a remote microphone or other secondary device that would allow connecting to a hearing loop (but required using another device to do so). I insisted on telecoils IN my hearing aids and had to accept HAs with disposable batteries instead of rechargable ones. Furthermore when I was doing my homework prior to seeing the audiologist I was researching the various brands of hearing aids and found the information on websites sadly lacking. They mostly said "we have all these wonderful colors and they are smaller than a baby bee bee". I was interested in functionality not cosmetics. I voiced my concerns to several manufacturers.

The audiologists and HIS are fed products and information by the manufacturers. We assume that manufacturers are trying to make the best possible products to help us hear better. But they are really in business to make a profit. Small hearing aids sell better. So I think that with hearing aids, like many other products, the engineers know what is needed and how to make it, but the marketing department trumps the offerings of the engineers in order to produce a more marketable product. Here again, we the consumers need to be screaming at the manufacturers.

So in summary, yes audiologists in general don't do a good job of educating patients about assistive technology, But we, as patients have a responsibility to make our needs know to the practitioners too.
There is some great assistive technology available to help us hear better, but there are barriers like cost, complexity, and compatibility, and connecting multiple devices.
Lastly the manufacturers need to focus more on the needs of the patients than their bottom line. And here again we the users (who pay for these things) need to demand more functionality from them.

Jim