The True Cost of Cheap Hearing Aids

I occasionally get the question, “what is the cost for hearing aids.” Hearing aid prices have a range, somewhere between $1,500 – 4,500 for a single hearing aid. Eighty percent of people need both hearing aids.

Can you find cheap hearing aids, absolutely. As the saying goes you get what you pay for and hearing aids are no different.

I recently had a first time hearing aid wearer come into my office to try hearing aids. He was very satisfied with the hearing aids and heard well at dinner in a noisy restaurant. Then his wife wanted him to price shop and they went to Costco for what they were told would be the same hearing aids at a cheaper price. He returned to Costco on four occasions to try and get the programming of the hearing aids to be somewhat similar to the hearing aids he had tried from my office. He can’t tell me whether it was the staffs’ limited understanding of program settings or the actual hearing aid limitations but they never achieved the same clarity he had experienced with hearing aids from me. After spending almost a month trying with Costco, he returned and purchased from me, understanding the cost with Costco was much higher than the price with me.

This is the same philosophy shared by Zig Ziglar. There is price and there is cost. Price is the money you pay. Cost is how much frustration, time, energy and repairs are required. Cheap has a lower price and a higher cost, expensive has a higher price and a lower cost. He does a wonderful speech on a bicycle he bought for his son, the cheaper bike was $40 and the expensive bike was $70. They bought the cheaper bike, it broke twice within 30 days and had to go to the shop for both repairs. The repairs were $15 but additional costs included: getting the bike to the shop, picking up the bike and the weekend without the bike both times. On the third breakdown they went and bought the expensive bike which never broke down in the seven years his son used the bike.

Cheaper hearing aids tend to end up in a drawer. People who purchase based on price aren’t trying to get the best clarity of conversation from their hearing aids. I explain the cost of cheap hearing aids is a relationship with strain and the benefit of quality hearing aids is a relationship without strain. Hearing aids directly impact the number one frustration for any couple which is strain caused by misunderstandings. Investing is a hearing aid that reduces strain will bring harmony into your relationship.

We have experienced that there are people who have to learn for themselves. These people won’t take someone’s advice, but after the hard lesson they will agree the advice was right. These people need to throw away their money on cheap hearing aids that are not the right technology level they need for their lifestyle before they understand the true cost of hearing aids.

If you would like to reduce the strain in your relationships by hearing conversations clearly, I invite you to check out the latest technology or get in touch with our office.