FAQ's -
Your guide to buying Hearing Aids
Such a small
device for so much money?
Firstly consider,
the huge cost of ongoing digital development
and marketing needs for the world's leading
hearing aid manufacturers to compete and stay
ahead. Hearing aids are expensive to us too!
Then consider
that hearing aids are not sold en masse, as
per domestic items like televisions or cars, where
numbers of units sold brings down the cost of
the product.
Often hearing aids
are custom made to suit each person.
Hearing
aids
can only be sold by professionally
qualified consultants.
These consultants have to
spend time testing
your hearing, fitting the hearing aids, rehab
appointments (which can take several months),
and then
offer aftercare for the life of the
hearing aids. And hearing aids are expected to
last for 5-7 years (with good care). You are
paying upfront for your aftercare which makes
hearing aids look more expensive as an initial
outlay (who pays for their car servicing
upfront?). Extra discounts may be considered for
clients who consider they may not need the same
level of aftercare.
5-7 years at 14 hrs/day equates to
25,000 - 35,000 hours of
real-time usage!
The average sale is £2000,
therefore average cost of wearing hearing aids
is 78p - £1.10 per day, for a life changing
piece of equipment.
We sell hearing
aids below what is considered the appropriate
amount, simply because we do not advertise, we
do not have management structures, and we do not
have branch costs. However, we believe that the
'nationals' are overcharging for the latest
premium products and we urge you to consider
your options. Have two tests if you are
uncomfortable with the price quoted and compare
like-for-like hearing aids.
As a basic rule, the more a
hearing aid
costs the more refined is its ability to enhance speech
in the presence of background noise.
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No. You are not
actually buying the hearing aids
online.
We will carry out a
full hearing test evaluation and then fit the
hearing aids in person and finally we give
ongoing aftercare for the life of the hearing
aids.
All dispensers are
state registered professionals - registered with
the
HPC.
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Yes.
Hearing aid prices shown include ongoing aftercare.
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Because the manufacturers give us a full refund
on most hearing aids if they are returned within
a period of about 2-3 months. This can be
extended if needed.
Some parts of
hearing aids are NON-refundable, such as
ear-moulds and speaker wires (for
RIC's)
-----------------------
The NHS offer a
good option for the hard of hearing and they fit
about 1 million units every year. The first
problem therefore is that there is a waiting
list for their hearing aids, whereas we can see
you within a week for all appointments.
You will have to
travel to see them for all appointments, whereas
we can come to you. This helps those who
struggle to travel, and reduces lost time for
those who work.
The hearing aids
they supply are a
relatively basic level behind-the-ear devices.
We can supply the smallest
mini-RIC's
AND custom made
in-the-ear
hearing aids.
NHS hearing aids
are decent digital hearing aids, but are
relatively basic compared to the latest
privately supplied
hearing aids. We can offer greater levels of
noise reduction for speech in noise.
We can offer a host
of accessories to enhance the performance of
your hearing aids, especially now Bluetooth
devices for connecting your hearing aids to TV's
and telephones.
The NHS still often
only fit one aid when 2 is required.
We can supply the
best hearing aids from
Phonak,
Siemens,
Widex,
Unitron,
Oticon,
Bernafon,
Starkey and
GN Resound.
The NHS have access to only one manufacturer in
each area.
You may not be suited to the aid they supply!
Features available on private hearing aids that are
not available on NHS hearing aids:
- Rechargeable hearing aids (no more fiddly
batteries!!)
- Bluetooth compatible hearing aids (for iPods/MP3's,
telephones and TV)
- Improved localisation of sounds from around
and above
- Superior directionality (suppression of noise
from behind)
- iPhone remote control applications and colour
screen remote controls
- 20 channels
- Ear-to-ear synchronisation (the aids change
simultaneously when one is pressed)
- Data learning (the aids automatically update
based on your user preferences!)
- Sound smoothing (suppression of irritating
noises like cutlery & doors slamming)
- Stronger whistle block technology (no more
feedback)
- Echo detection for clarity in churches
- FM Solutions for advanced hearing aid
solutions in meetings and schools
- Voice recognition (prevents own voice problems)
-
Receiver-in-the canal
hearing aids
- Multiple colour BTE designs
Hearing Aids /
Siemens / Phonak / Oticon / Unitron / Widex
/ GN Resound / Starkey / Bernafon |
