Why Are Hearing Aids From an Audiologist More Expensive Than Online?
New hearing aid users are often tempted to make hearing treatment choices based on price alone. Hearing aids, by anyone’s standards, cost a lot. So how do you decide on how to get your hearing aids?
The point of a hearing aid is to make sounds loud enough so the wearer can hear and understand sounds.
This is where the simplicity ends.
Treating someone with a hearing loss is more than just throwing a hearing aid on the ear and giving them a pat on the back as they leave the office. For a hearing aid wearer to be successful, one requires the help of well-trained and experienced professionals.
Online retailers attempt to separate the device from the service needed to ensure the device provides the best rehabilitation possible. The problem with buying hearing aids online is that it turns a piece of medical equipment into a product without a medical professional making sure it is personally fitted to you.
Suppose you needed a knee replacement. You’d need a new titanium knee, a surgeon to place it, and rehabilitation to recover from the surgery. Even if you get the most amazing titanium knee in the world, it won’t amount to much if your surgeon doesn’t place it properly and you don’t go to rehabilitative care. The same applies to hearing aids. You could get the “best” hearing aid in the world, but if your professional doesn’t fit it properly and you do not receive your follow-up care, you won’t achieve the best hearing health.
Hearing aids purchased from an audiologist generally include the cost of the professional who fits them along with follow-up care. Typically, audiologists have a doctorate degree requiring fours years of graduate education. The device itself does not equal the full cost of the investment. Now, the cost of a hearing aid purchased online is just the cost of the hearing aid. Just because you sent your hearing test to the company does not mean that the aid is fit for you. Essentially, they are not selling you a $3,000 hearing aid for $600; they are selling you a $300 hearing aid for $600. They also provide very limited follow-up care and likely sub-standard fitting services.
Need a hearing aid? Don’t buy online. Come into Arizona Hearing Center to get a hearing aid professionally fitted for your ears. Contact us by phone at 602.313.1243, or by email at Scheduling@Azhear.Com.
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Hi there! You were such a lifesaver for telling us that a high-grade hearing aid – albeit being a little bit more expensive than a regular one – would require less upkeeping thanks to its well-built features from reputable makers. This is something I should pass to one of my colleagues so she can reach out to the right professional for further assistance soon. Her son-in-law is partially deaf and she plans to surprise him for his birthday next week by repairing his hearing aid which has been malfunctioning for almost a month now.