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My wife is an audiologist, so I admit to being a bit biased, but it seems like most of the comments are missing one of the main drivers of hearing aid cost. Tr

by vec 9y ago

My wife is an audiologist, so I admit to being a bit biased, but it seems like most of the comments are missing one of the main drivers of hearing aid cost. Traditionally, audiology offices undercharge dramatically for their initial consultation and testing, then provide full service for the lifetime of the device. And not just normal electronics service. Often patients will come back every week or two for months to get the fit just right or to get some coaching relearning how to hear conversations or just having the nice lady in the white coat show them how to replace a battery for the fifth time. A lot of clinics will even throw in "free" batteries for life. The cost of all that service ends up getting rolled into the initial purchase price for the hearing aids. This is dumb. Most audiologists that I know think it's dumb, but it is the status quo. There's a move in the industry toward "unbundled" billing (i.e. charging an hourly rate for services and selling the aids at a much more standard retail markup) that I hope catches on, but it's a hard sell to charge for services that the clinic down the road is providing for "free", even if the total cost of ownership is the same.

wccrawford 9y ago
I was going to bring up the cost of glasses as something similar, but I think your answer explains a lot of that, too. I recently went and got my eyes checked, and the doctor assured me that they had low-cost glasses. Their progressive bifocals lenses only started at $300. I pretended to still be interested, then gave an excuse and left. I purchased some online and got them for less than $100, shipping included. I threw in a regular pair of distance glasses for less than $40, too. Why is it so much cheaper? Because they can charge it. I'm sure some of the cost is in maintaining staff to help adjust the glasses, and sell them in the first place. But I got my main glasses for less than 1/3 of the prices that they wanted for just the lenses. Their frames were $100+ that I saw. I'm sure they had some around $50, but that's still more than my entire pair of distance glasses cost.
vbernat 9y ago
In Switzerland, at least one big shop makes this service optional. It costs me about 1500 US$ (for a total of 6000 US$) to get the extra service (additional warranty, free batteries, regular visits for cleaning and updating settings). I think this is worth it as it ensures a great longevity to the hearing aid (my previous hearing aids are 8 year old and still working).

by vec 9y ago

wccrawford 9y ago

I was going to bring up the cost of glasses as something similar, but I think your answer explains a lot of that, too. I recently went and got my eyes checked, and the doctor assured me that they had low-cost glasses. Their progressive bifocals lenses only started at $300. I pretended to still be interested, then gave an excuse and left. I purchased some online and got them for less than $100, shipping included. I threw in a regular pair of distance glasses for less than $40, too. Why is it so much cheaper? Because they can charge it. I'm sure some of the cost is in maintaining staff to help adjust the glasses, and sell them in the first place. But I got my main glasses for less than 1/3 of the prices that they wanted for just the lenses. Their frames were $100+ that I saw. I'm sure they had some around $50, but that's still more than my entire pair of distance glasses cost.

vbernat 9y ago

In Switzerland, at least one big shop makes this service optional. It costs me about 1500 US$ (for a total of 6000 US$) to get the extra service (additional warranty, free batteries, regular visits for cleaning and updating settings). I think this is worth it as it ensures a great longevity to the hearing aid (my previous hearing aids are 8 year old and still working).