As pickleball continues to grow in popularity, HearingLife is getting in on the action.
The company, which operates a network of nearly 700 hearing health care clinics across the country, is partnering as a sponsor with USA Pickleball as part of its 2024 tournament schedule.
USA Pickleball is currently hosting the APP New York City Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center from May 21 to May 26. As a Golden Ticket event, the competition is one of the handful of tournaments that serve as qualifiers for the national championships in November.
Other notable health brands that were on-site in New York included insurance giant Humana and medtech company Zimmer Biomet, which served as the presenting sponsor.
Earlier this spring, Zimmer Biomet became the official medical device partner of the Association of Pickleball Players, Professional Pickleball Association and USA Pickleball.
Beyond its role as a sponsor at the tournament, HearingLife is offering free hearing screenings and giveaways throughout the weekend. (Editor’s note: the author passed his examination.)
The company’s sponsorship of pickleball makes sense on a number of levels, not only because the sport is defined by the loud clack of the plastic balls back and forth.
A significant number of people playing pickleball are older in age, which is when hearing issues tend to emerge. More than 60 million Americans suffer from hearing loss, with symptoms of decline typically emerging when a person is in their 50s or 60s.
May is also National Speech-Language-Hearing Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness of people living with communication disorders.
Michael Rainiero, HearingLife’s senior director of brand and creative, told MM+M that USA Pickleball shares the same mission to encourage people to stay active as they age and be proactive about any potential hearing decline.
“You take care of your health every day. You take care of your teeth, you get your eyes checked — you should get your hearing checked, too,” he said.
By aligning with the fastest-growing sport in the country — around 36.5 million Americans played pickleball at least once last year — Rainiero said the company aims to spread awareness and further raise the profile of a brand that hasn’t been shy with its advertising.
Earlier this year, HearingLife partnered with actor William Shatner for its Live Life to Your Fullest campaign to underscore the importance of hearing health.
The company also took advantage of the fact that Gerry Turner, the star of season one of ABC’s The Golden Bachelor, wore hearing aids as part of an effort to reframe the conversation around hearing loss and remove the stigma associated with those devices.
Since people of any age can lose their hearing, Rainiero said the brand is hopeful that younger pickleball players will approach the topic with an open mind.
He also encouraged them to get their hearing checked at any of these upcoming tournaments and follow up with an audiologist if they don’t pass the on-site examination so they can get the care they need.
