Question: Dear Luise: Do you have any experience making hearing aid comparison and reading hearing aid reports? When I read the consumer reports buying hearing aids sounds so complex. Yet, I don’t much trust the people who sell them because I hear there is a huge profit margin. I’m having a hard time figuring out how the hearing aid prices compare. With new technologies coming out, and so many types, do you have any suggestions or know where I could learn more? Thanks, Susan
Answer: Dear Susan: Well, you just start at the beginning in making hearing aid comparison and studying hearing aid reports. You have probably bought more than one car, so you know that large profit margins are often part of our economy. (With hearing aids that profit margin decreases dramatically with their free follow-up service.) So, stop and think how many kinds of cars there are and how confusing it is to compare them. Once you think about something you’re used to, it may not seem so hard.
I go by word of mouth. I ask people I know where they got their hearing aids and how they liked the people and service. I pick out common names like Phonak, Siemens, and Miracle Ear. If someone has one that I haven’t heard of before like Sonic Innovations Hearing Aids, I add them to the mix, too. Then I go to: www.hearingplanet.com and look them up. Like cars, the prices usually reflect their features. Then I hit the clinic that has gotten the highest praise from people I trust and go for a hearing aid I have first-hand information on and can afford. That’s my method of making hearing aid comparison and studying hearing aid reports. Some personal contact, some legwork on the web and a lot of common sense. Blessings, Luise
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