Hearing aid prices

[shopgun]

OK, I bit. Got the NRA e-mail for "up to 60% off" hearing aid offer. Since I've been saying"Huh" a lot lately (my wife says it"s selective) I decided to go get the hearing evaluation and my Super Deal Price. The audiologist suggests a mid price point model she says will do the job without some extras she says are not worth it. I say OK, how much. She says $1695.00 EACH. Oh yeah, it's another hundred for one that senses when you answer a phone call. "But you only need one of those." Now, I'm not knocking the NRA, since I have talked to people who have paid considerably more, but $3500 bucks for a couple of hearing enhancers? I mean, less than 1K gets you a damn fine computer system, HDTV, or digital SLR camera with a couple of lenses. All of the above seem a bit more complex than a HEARING AID. Someone want to tell me what I'm missing here?

[raz-0]

Since the poster asked, even if it is the hate forum. I don't intend it as a rebuttle, just as an answer ot why it si so expensive.

SOme of the things that go into the cost:

1) It's not a piece of consumer electronics, it's a medical prosthetic. This means it'll be fit to you EXACTLY. That take labor... domestic US labor, which is pricier.

2) A profile is made of your hearing loss. This requires skilled labor to assess this. More labor costs.

3) Likely the circuitry is modular, even if it is an in-ear hearing aid. Taking the profile from #2 above, they set it up so it amplifies or pitch shifts what you need as well as a few other things. EAch one of these things when done in it's own with knobs for you to adjust in seprate modules half the size of a brick still costs about $70 each. Depending on your hearing loss, even if the circuitry was the size of your head and weighed twice as much, it'd still probably set you back about $500 each ear.. if you could tweak all the knobs yourself. The manufacturing is once again a one-off process to create what you want from semi-custom parts. This is likely done in the US or canada for a US customer (these days likely US due to the exchange rate).

4) Mistakes and warranty. Since these are custom tailored items, they have to figure in more overhead for warranty and error in manufacture. If they show up and they don't fit just right, they are taking a bigger hit than if you return some headphones.

To put it in gun terms, your average piece of electronics is a hi-point. Inelegant, but functional. Most nice electronics are like buying a kimber, mass produced and cost controlled, but reasonably well made. Hearing aids in general are like buying an STI. They are bulk produced, but lots of hand fitting and fairly low volume model offerings are made with options available. Depending on your hearing loss, you cna get by with an edge, some folks only need the equivilent of an edge, others need the grand master, some folks need the extra fancy and limited stinger. They pay accordingly.

Here's a video showing some of the hadn fitting to your mold.

It really is like buying a custom gun. The raw materials aren't that expensive, but there is a LOT of labor involved, and some severe capital costs int he manufacturing equipment to recover over a relatively low volume (or at least lower frequency of volume).

One thing to also consider is that since the good ones are modular circuitry, some of them can be updated as your hearing loss changes instead of having whole new ones made. This costs more up front, but can be a big savings long term.

Your $1k computer could do what the eharing aid does with a several hundred bucks in software and some knowledge, but it is also 30lbs and the size of your torso. Small costs in the world of technology.

[Paul B]

Ok, to get back on the hate track. A pair of earplugs fitted at a match $50. Modular electronics adjustable for pitch - mass produced for all us baby boomers - maybe $200. An audiologist to do it - $100 an hour - most are not MD's. Even with $100 for profit the rest is rip off and the cachet of a "custom hearing aid." These things may be the worst scam since over the counter diet pills. I'll bet as this we age and there is more of a demand the price will go way way down. Till then I'll say politely "would you please repeat that."

[Kimberkid]

i got my first set of hearing aids when I was 13. My parents insurance at the time covered them 100%, had they not it would have been nearly $7k for the set. I wore them for a short period of time and realized that I could get by without them due to some small tricks I had picked up that would supplement my hearing. I did keep them, properly stored, until 6 months ago when a family friend had hers break. Since she doesnt have insurance, I gave her my set. She took them to the doc, had the units reprogrammed, and new molds made for a total cost of less than $300.

They are custom in the very loosest sense of the word. "In the ear" models have a standard mass produced unit set inside a custom plastic or rubber case that is fitted to the inside of your ear, the exact same way the "custom" earplugs are made at matches. "Outside the ear" models have a hollow tube that connects the mass produced unit that sits behind the ear to a "custom" plastic or rubber earplug with a hole in the middle for said tube. If there is $5 worth of raw material in each one I would be shocked.

If you have "custom" earplugs that you got from a match, take those to a doc and avoid paying to have the mold made. Also get a hearing test done in a proper test booth before you get hearing aids, any test done with headphones is crap. You might be surprised how little they will help. I have a 26% loss in my right ear, and 24% in my left with the majority of it lost in the conversational tone range, yet I have gotten by without them for over 10 years now.

[bountyhunter]

I agree, when I first came down with severe ear ringing, I priced on of the sound "masker" hearing aids through Kaiser and it was over $3k.

The reasons they are so steep:

1) "Bikini" economics..... in some cases, the smaller you make something the more it costs.

2) "Medical" excuse: any device made for human medical needs has to be certified to high reliability and quality, so they charge more for that.

3) GOUGING: they know most of these will be paid for by insurnace providers and so they inflate the prices severely to milk that.

[WillM]

I'm on my third pair of in-the-ear molded electronic shooter plugs since 1996. 1st pair stolen; 2nd pair stepped on; 3rd pair still working. I was a hunter and

sporting clays shooter long before I tried USPSA and have used them under all weather conditions for everything from upland and waterfowl to big game to competition.

1st pair was purchased at SHOT show, 2nd pair at a National shoot and 3rd pair directly from local audiologist - first two were much more expensive since they were

associated with shooting or so I was told by a couple of vendors. Audiolgist used same lab [starkey] as big name shooting name makers so it's the same product. They were substantially cheaper, but I also paid cash so who knows?

I did call around for hearing tests and pricing from various sources and ended up getting a free hearing test at Costco - their prices were cheaper for the prescription version of actual hearing aids also, but they would not do simple shooter plugs; they would only do plugs if I needed them for hearing improvement. I actually did have an area of hearing loss on my test but since it was only in one specific area they said I would need the most expensive digital hearing aids and even those I wouldn't be happy with because they would have to be too loud in other places where I didn't need help. They recommended I save my money until I really needed the help. The audiologist I ended up getting my shooter plugs from also thought this was good advice. I have also had very good luck with Costco optical for my glasses and contacts and have nothing but good things to say about them. Usual disclaimers apply Will M.

[gm iprod]

I have doen a moderate amount of research on hearing aids.

I work with and associate with 5 people who have significant hearing damage from shooting and work. None of them use hearing aids of any kind. I have very good hearing but it ain't what it was. I have always used good hearing protection for work and play, I get tested every two years, just in case.

I get very pissed off with these people who refuse to get hearing help. I try not to spend too much time with these people as I get very bored with repeating myself, or having to explain what I just said as half the words were mistaken by these dimwits. If for no other reason get the best hearing aids you can afford. It will help you out in ways you can only imagine now. My mother has impaired hearing and it drives my dad insane. He has been know to spend a lot of time in the garage. My brother had hearing damage in one ear from birth, had operations to improve and has regular checks to keep everything in order and has learned to work around it. There are now times when having hearing aids would be good, but because he has had this from birth it is not covered by insurance but he is elligable for Govt help, but the waiting list is long and he has a job and pays taxes so he is shit out of luck. He just doesn't have the money.

Good hearing aids are not cheap. Most people get the most benefit with midrange hearing aids, the expensive ones are usually reserved for profound deafness or severe damage. Most people as they get older need help in a small way, these are sometimes more expensive than people realise. You have to make the decision as it;s your ears and your money, but talk with your family and see where they see you have problems.

The $1695 sound a little expensive but may be what you actually require. If they last 10years with minor modifications then that's not too bad, but you have to have the $1695 x 2 in your pocket.

It is a big decision that only you can make, but it is amazing how hearing damage affects your family, be careful it does not affect your sex life.

[J-Ho]

Just start shooting without any hearing protection, indoors is best. After awhile , you won't be saying "huh" anymore. Then your wife will have nothing to complain about.

Seriously, I've known a couple of people who paid a whole lot for their hearing aids and they said, afterword, that it was worth every penny. Whether you get them or not good luck.