Medical professionals have reviewed the quality of information online
Before seeing a doctor, more and more people are turning to the internet. Read here to find out what to keep in mind and how to spot misinformation.
For 96 percent of Germans, a doctor is not the first point of contact for health questions. Instead, they turn first to the doctor’s supposed biggest competitor: “Dr. Google.” At the same time, one-third of users have difficulty evaluating the information. These are the findings of a recent survey by the Bertelsmann Foundation.
Helpful or harmful?
Staying informed isn’t a bad thing—quite the opposite. After all, the more people know about health risks, the healthier and longer they live. However, how that information is interpreted makes a huge difference. Believing everything written on the internet can very quickly backfire. Amateur health enthusiasts spread their half-baked knowledge online—and in some cases, false information is even deliberately disseminated.
Difficult to Assess the Quality of Information
Several studies have closely examined the quality of health information online. The result: Even if the information researched is reputable and reliable, it is very difficult for laypeople to interpret it—let alone make a diagnosis.
Medical professionals examined what information is circulating online using Meniere’s disease as an example—a disorder of the inner ear that can lead to episodic vertigo and is often accompanied by hearing loss and tinnitus. Among the first 30 Google search results, only six pages were from doctors or hospitals—and just as many pages contained misinformation.
Here’s the right way to do it
- Do your research online—you’ll find plenty of useful information and tips for your situation there.
- Check the source—Is the information backed by trustworthy medical professionals, or is it just from laypeople or even companies running ads?
- Talk to your doctor about it—one in three people doesn’t tell their doctor that they’ve done their own research beforehand. There’s no reason for this: Your doctor can explain and put things into context, and in the best-case scenario, recommend reliable websites as sources.
On our site, we’d like to educate you on how to protect your hearing and preserve it for as long as possible. The information we provide is a first step into the world of hearing care and otolaryngology. It is not intended to—and can never—replace consultation with doctors and hearing care professionals. Take a look around our site! If you have questions about a specific issue or notice hearing loss, you can use our search function to find many ENT doctors and hearing care professionals who will be happy to hear that you’ve explored the topic on our site.
We, too, took a look at what “Dr. Google” has to say about hearing phenomena. You can read about what we learned in our articles “Is hearing loss hereditary?” and “Canyou break your ear?”
