- http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/may/26/boomers-crossing-into-golden-years-are-a-boon/?partner=RSS
- http://www.vcstar.com/photos/galleries/2012/may/26/boomers-boon-hearing-aid-industry/45030/
Provide names of other journalists involved.
Kim Lamb Gregory
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
5/26/2012
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Baby boomers crossing into their senior years and the general aging of America has created a growing demand for expensive hearing aids. There are many qualified hearing aid dispensers, but the field is fertile for those who want to take advantage of seniors who need hearing aids. The California Department of Consumer Affairs is seeing an increase in the number of hearing aid dispensers they are investigating, including one in Ventura County who had several complaints against him involving, among other things, not following state law about returning hearing aids for a full refund within 30 days. Medicare does not cover hearing aids, so this piece also aimed at informing seniors about who and who is not qualified to dispense hearing aids, and what rights they have once they’ve made this signficant purchase.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
I used court records, did numerous internet searches about another hearing aid dispenser north of Ventura County who was prosecuted for grand theft, and checked the California Department of Consumer Affairs web site among many others. All of this helped me ascertain that my information was correct and sent me down other avenues to check other leads.
Explain types of human sources used.
I interviewed audiologists, the Department of Consumer Affairs, lawyers, people with hearing loss who needed hearing aids, people who felt they had been ripped off, and J. Kiely Ball, the hearing aid dispenser who denied any wrongdoing. I also interviewed members of the senior hearing-impaired community to learn how important a good hearing aid can be. How it creates a bridge to their human experience.
Results:
It’s difficult to measure the results, but my hope is that seniors were better informed about their choices. Hearing aid dispenser J. Kiely Ball was not happy with our report because he felt it put him in a bad light. He had his lawyer object to numerous things, including the word “disciplinary” order. When in fact it was a disciplinary order.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
J. Kiely Ball’s lawyer asked us to run several clarifications, but we were able to support the accuracy of the report. We ran one clarification on the number of complaints against him in a specific venue, which I believe was largely a technicality.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Keep every single one of your records. When I had to, I was able to support a very complicated, complex and emotionally-charged piece with one document after the other. Even with a fine-toothed comb, you can still make an unintended mistake, but by no means allow this to intimidate you from a story that needs to be told.