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Thread: Hearing Aids Are a Rip Off???
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6th February 2021, 08:06 PM #1GOLD MEMBER
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Hearing Aids Are a Rip Off???
I think I am now a certified old fart because I now have difficulty hearing in noisy environments such as at a party or a restaurant etc because of the back ground noise. I liken the experience to buying a car, I know I am going to get ripped off and I can't avoid it. I began researching prices, features etc and I am positive the whole industry is set up to prevent good research and making the most informed decision. End of rant but all suggestions on how to shop through the minefield are welcomed.
I don't need aids as a day to day proposition, no one has noticed or suggested I do but the hearing test showed loss and the first set they pulled out was $10,000 which is not going to happen so I asked for a trial of a fully subsidised pair. The 10K pair had the speaker in the air and the cheap ones use a hollow plastic tube to feed the sound to the ear canal. I have not tried the in the ear speaker version for any length of time so I can't really make a comparison but the expensive ones definitely sounded better but they should for that cost. The way the technology is going I am inclined to get the cheap ones and if needed buy the latest and greatest in a few years time.
Have experienced users got any comments on the advantages or disadvantages of any particular type?CHRIS
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6th February 2021, 08:39 PM #2
Chris
SWMBO recently purchased a pair at what I would describe as the expensive end of the spectrum. However they were on special and reduced to about $7K! They are to hearing aids what a G-string is to knickers and virtually undetectable particularly if you have hair that covers the ear. My hair only grows out of the ear so that would not be a selling point for me, but fortunately I can hear well enough for practical purposes. She has found that to get the most benefit from them she has to remember to wear them: That may sound flippant (it is) but it is also very true.
Let me know if it is of interest and I will find out details for you. My impression is that cheap hearing aids are probably a pure waste of time and you are better off saying "What?"
Apologies for lapsing into technical jargon.
Regards
PaulBushmiller;
"Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely!"
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6th February 2021, 10:41 PM #3GOLD MEMBER
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Paul, thanks for the technical input it is much appreciated. For me it is a cost/benefit thing, I really don't have to wear them all the time and spending a heap of money on something that will at best be worn a few times a month seems fairly silly but if the el cheapos will not do the job when I am wearing them then maybe I have to.
CHRIS
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7th February 2021, 12:22 AM #4Senior Member
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Yes, there they certainly are expensive little things. Mine were valued at $7k covered fortunately by workcover due working in noisy environments. I think there is a fair bit of markup though. I was advised to wear daily as there is a bit of brain training with the return of lost frequencies.
For what it is worth I have read that Costco have audiologists and offer good value, so that may be an option if there is one nearby.
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7th February 2021, 09:26 AM #5.
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Two close mates have bought HAs in the last 12 months n both had the notion of "occasional wearing" but both of them found them so good they wear them all the time. SWMBO has been onto me for decade to get some because I can't understand what she is saying when she talks to me, from say another room in the house. I've I suggested several time she just come closer (that's what I do) - but that went down like a lead balloon. I rare
There are some positive. It's come to that time that I've started attending a few more funerals than in the past. Most of the ministers or celebrants running the shows are a dreary lot and in funeral chapels or churches they sound like the Mr Bean celebrant - In other words all I hear is mumbling. I'm probably in denial but in some ways I think my hearing loss makes this bearable.
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7th February 2021, 09:56 AM #6GOLD MEMBER
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Chris,
My wife has worn hearing aids for over a decade. Our daughter is an audiologist with Hearing Australia, working mainly with complex adults and children, which meant that the advice we received was not swayed by the need to meet a sales target. My wife still uses her original, mid price range, aids and although there have been problems with them these have always been resolved free of charge under warranty.
Although there is pressure to meet sales targets within Hearing Australia I would suspect that you would have a somewhat better chance of getting unfettered advice from them. My daughter used to work in Wollongong and if you like she may be able to refer you to one of her friends/colleagues. Send me a PM if you're interested.
Now the bad news! While hearing aids may assist you with the problem you're having (some aids are able to be tuned to reduce the intrusion of background noise) you're unlikely to see the benefits unless you commit to wear them on a daily basis. They take some getting used to, compare it to going from single vision lens to multi-focal glasses, if you don't use them your brain doesn't adjust to the new and different inputs you're getting. The way you're talking about using them makes me suspect they'll just end up permanently in a drawer.
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7th February 2021, 11:27 AM #7GOLD MEMBER
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My second daughter is an audiologist also and from what she has said at various times, I would echo Aldav's advice and comments.
She worked in hospitals and spent some time in the UK but has not practised clinically for some time, having gone in a different direction. She was offered managerial positions in private companies but knocked them back because of the high pressure tactics expected to sell aidsTom
"It's good enough" is low aim
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7th February 2021, 11:27 AM #8
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7th February 2021, 11:37 AM #9GOLD MEMBER
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Like some other of the ancillary health care fields this is certainly the direction audio health care has gone. To avoid becoming part of the sales machine my daughter has stuck with the government provider, Hearing Australia. That, but mainly the nature of the clients she works with, has allowed her to safely ignore any directives from the powers that be regarding sales targets, which suits her fine.
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7th February 2021, 01:18 PM #10GOLD MEMBER
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Can’t help you with any advice but will share a funny story
My father in law has one of those small in ear aids and he fell asleep on the lounge while watching TV and eating peanuts. He later woke up and ate what he thought was a dropped peanut on his stomach.
It was a very expensive little nap that day.
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7th February 2021, 01:24 PM #11
Im aware of three tech companies working directly to overcome this obscenity.
Each is working on offering a galactic step up in the current product. From memory, these include:
-- wifi updates
-- in-ear calibration
-- noise cancelling
-- induction charging
-- and a sub $250 cost (?)
I cant remember if the number was 200 or 300.
What is the best part is the in-ear calibration. They are inserted and using a feedback mechanism it actively maps your actual needs and re-tunes itself dynamically.
$10,000 for hearing aids is an absolute obscenity and clearly a vicious price gouging ripoff by ruthless monopolists.
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7th February 2021, 02:06 PM #12
They don't need to be extra small ......
Man undergoes emergency surgery to remove wireless ear bud he swallowed in his sleep - ABC NewsFranklin
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7th February 2021, 05:14 PM #13
Here's an idea for an enterprising hearing aid manufacturer: treat them like TrialWare or ShareWare software - give them away free, but the user is then subject to auditory adverts (via wifi) through the course of the day.
Or you could do as I do in restaurants when the background noise interferes: smile and look interested, making profound nods every now-and-then ... but, then, I get practice at this every day in my practice
Regards from Perth
DerekVisit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.
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7th February 2021, 06:33 PM #14GOLD MEMBER
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Best $7k I’ve ever spent, cheaper, much cheaper than a divorce. Just get them, you’ll forget the cost after 2or 3 years.
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8th February 2021, 09:28 AM #15SENIOR MEMBER
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Forgive me WP, but I am cynical enough to doubt that any company would deliberately/willingly cost their product(s) so much below the prices the market currently wears! Certainly drop prices to be competitive but I am not so sure about foregoing potential profits...
Cheers,
Yvan
PS Sorry if I can't hear you when you protest loudly about this view: me hearing aid's fallen off !!!
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