Are there any real differences in hearing aids makers and models?
H B asked:
I have hearing loss and believe the high cost is outlanish so would like to know if aids are the same reguardless who makes them.
Caffeinated Content
I have hearing loss and believe the high cost is outlanish so would like to know if aids are the same reguardless who makes them.
Caffeinated Content
May 22nd, 2009 at 4:10 am
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yes of course there r many types with different qualities and marks and price
May 23rd, 2009 at 3:14 pm
hearing aids
There is a significant difference between low cost and high cost hearing aids.
Low cost hearing aids are typically use something called analog technology, which means it takes all sound and just makes it louder.
High cost hearing aids typically use digital technology which means they run the sound through digital speech processing programs.
Name-brand hearing aids (Siemans, Phonak, Oticon, GN Resound, Widex) tend to be more expensive, but they come with more extensive customer support and warranties. You buy something from China and it breaks, you are probably out of luck and need to buy a new one.
May 24th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Kansieo.com
Yes….mostly the price!
May 27th, 2009 at 7:26 am
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I guess my answer would be to think of other industries. Think about cars, computers, televisions, or power tools. Do you think there is any correlation between price and quality, do you think some brands are better than others?
Hearing aids are no exception to the rule that you get what you pay for.
You suggest the price of hearing aids is ‘outlan[d]ish.’ But you have to consider some realistic facts. The last hearing aid the company I work for produced, cost $40m to develop. They have since produced some other versions of the same technology, and I have no idea what they cost.
If a patient buys a hearing aid system from our office, we provide the hearing test, the fitting, 3-5 follow up visits, life time free adjustments cleaning and service, impressions, molds/SLS and custom made technology to help their problem. That patient may come back to our office for the next ten years for cleaning and adjustments, without ever giving us another dime.
So clearly our price has to cover the cost of the hearing aid, and all the follow up care necessary to make the patient happy. Despite the fact that a patient may only purchase hearing aids every ten years or so, we still have to pay our rent, our staff costs, our marketing costs, our utility bills and other business costs every single month. Our factories have to continue developing cutting edge technology for the next generation of hearing aids.
In the US, the health care industry and insurance companies rarely provide any financial help for hearing aids. This is unfortunate, but just the way the system works (see the movie Sicko for details). So in the meantime when you buy a hearing aid system you have to pay for all of the above mentioned costs (or at least your portion of).
So when it comes to cost of a hearing aid, if you buy cheap it is for one of the following reasons:
- The instrument is somehow inferior, used, discontinued, or otherwise undesirable.
- The service is inferior.
- The core technology is inferior or old fashioned.
- The follow up service is limited, or costly.
- There are hidden costs later on.
- The instruments are not going to last as long.
- The instruments are not digital or programmable.
The bottom line is that when it comes to hearing aids you get what you pay for, there is a significant variance between manufacturers and the service you get from one hearing aid center to another.
Most hearing aid centers will provide you with a free trial of at least 30 days on a new hearing aid system. Most are willing to guarantee in writing that you will be satisfied or you get a full refund with no fees. If they won’t agree to that, shop around.
Finally, if your hearing test does not involve a demonstration of a real set of digital hearing aids such that you can hear them for yourself, your hearing professional is lazy or inept. So go elsewhere. Just like you wouldn’t buy a car without a test drive, you should not order hearing aids without a test drive. All good hearing professionals will let you listen to a set of hearing aids long before you ever agree to buy them.
May 31st, 2009 at 5:40 pm
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