Buying a hearing aid like buying a TV?
Should buying a hearing aid be like buying a TV or buying a pair of glasses?
When you buy a new TV you can go into your local electronic store and try out a bunch of different models and pick the one you like. You get hands-on with the TV before you part with your money and you can see the differences between them side-by-side. Some people will know the different brands of TV, which ones are better, their strengths and weaknesses, they probably have a favourite brand that they are loyal to.
When you buy a new pair of glasses you get your eyes tested, pick some frames that you like and have the lenses fitted. You might have some choices to make about the lenses – thinner for extra money etc – but it’s mostly a case of you get what the optician is fitting you with.
So where should hearing aid sales be?
At the moment they are sold like glasses. You have your hearing test and you get a recommendation or two from your audiologist and that’s about that. You can pick a colour and a style (BTE, ITC, etc) but not a lot more. I’m guessing that 99% of people buying hearing aids go with their audiologist’s recommendation – there aren’t many that will know the difference between different aids or the brand names that are available.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the audiologist’s recommendation is a bad thing. They are working based on the experiences of other customers with the same hearing loss and requirements. So a lot of the time it probably works out and the buyer is happy with their purchase. But could they have got something better?
I’ve said before that I think there are better way to trial hearing aids. I really do believe that having the software from each hearing aid available for the user to try out hands-on and side-by-side will give them a better chance of getting the right hearing aids for them. This would be moving hearing aid sales more towards the TV selling model. It would be a good thing.
I’d love to hear your comments on this. I’d be interested to know if buyers are happy with the way they buy hearing aids at the moment and whether audiologists think they could do something a bit different.
Do you think we’ll ever see the day when people are brand loyal to Phonak, Starkey or Oticon as well as Apple and Sony? Could we ever see a Phonak store opening on high streets?
Related posts:
Subscribe via RSS
RSS via Email
Thanks for the awesome article! I agree that it would be fun to be able to shop for aids. Actually I had a whole lot to talk about, so I wrote a blog post here: http://hearingsparks.blogspot.com/2010/01/shopping-for-hearing-aids.html with my own thoughts.
In addition, many of the audiologist are trying to sell digital hearing aids while analogs are still around. I prefer the analog hearing aids. When I was in the market for new ones, my audiologist tried to get me digital ones and thought it would work better for me. I have tried all makes of digital hearing aids AND I did not like any of them. The sound was terrible. I asked for analog and they said they didn’t have any. Finally, later they said they had some analog (Oticon). So I tried that one, bingo the right one. It was almost the same model I have had for almost 40 years. Also, they were over charging for that model 380P Oticon. They wanted $1,700 each. I found the same model and brand online for $580. I asked them why the high cost, they said service was needed. Not for analog, you don’t need service like digital hearing aids. So I went ahead and got a brand new one online. You could save $$$$ by going online, if you know what brand and model fits you.
How can we make this happen? It is absolutely essential. Love to join a campaign!
that certainly is an interesting concept, phonak stores on the high streets of the world, thank you for providing some interesting food for thought
Interesting strategy Steven. I don’t like digital either and became so frustrated that I thought I’d see if I could bypass the whole hearing aid nightmare and asked for a cochlear implant consultation. To my shock they offered me a cochlear implant and I’m getting it in a few days time. Bye bye hearing aid! I’m not gonna miss you at all!
Side by side comparisons is a good idea, however, in a quiet environment may not provide much useful information. The comparisons should be made in multiple sound/noise environments over a period of time. If the comparisons are made over a period of time, it’s difficult to do a side by side comparison. To do a comparison, there should be an established set of criteria to set a standard for the metrics. Audibility is only part of the metric, and it is easy to demonstrate. “To hear better” is not a good measure of hearing.
It requires much time and can become very frustrating for many, except those that are willing to invest the time and energy.
Very informative article. I am glad that I’ve read some of your posts.