Energy Star tax creditsI have been paying too much all my life for hearing aids. The pair I bought in 2007 through a licensed dispenser in Pennsylvania cost me $3600. I had suspected and now I know that the quality of the electronics inside these hearing aids isn’t much better than the components in your typical hand held device. The parts may cost only $50 in wholesale.
GNResound Plus 5 that I wear
Now we hear from Consumer Reports this summer that an average markup of 117% is a fact. And we also learn that only 15% of consumers even ask for a reduction in price. Most audiologists will look at you funny if you ask for a price cut.
The markup is due to the archaic distribution channel, which depends on a few licensed audiologists and ENT professionals. This is going to end soon. It is an unsustainable situation for the massive quantities of older folks who need them. I have learned that the pair of hearing aids that I bought in 2007 for $3600 are sold on Ebay for about $900 each.
Guess where I am buying a replacement for the one my dog ate?
Tags: Hearing
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I agree it’s a tragedy, it’s partially supply and demand, there’s a LOT more demand for a cell phone but that shouldn’t mean that people can’t hear because of it. My family is plagued with hearing loss and I know my day is coming soon as well. Many in my family have had to spend their entire savings to get hearing aids that don’t even work well…$5k for something that only works at half it’s potential! The other problem is the proprietary software that only the audiologist can use, if this was made open source so you can do your own tuning at home it would be immensely better. Tuning in a completely silent office doesn’t translate at ALL in the real world of NOISE. What can we do to change this? Thanks for the post, it’s good to see we are not alone.