Ebay hearing aids

I also like the blurb on the site - I realized we need to read between the lines re: where the remaining margin is going. And that actually leads to my question - I have a 11yo daughter with mild hearing loss, who has been wearing aids for over 5 years now (Siemens Music Pro BTE). Living in TX, I feel we’re being held to ransom by audiologists who wish to charge ~3500 for a pair of new aids. I’ve done my research, and these are mid-range aids, freely available via eBay for <$2000. I can’t afford the $3500 to buy them (the exact same HA) from the audiologist, it would be a stretch to get them for ~2k off the web. But when talking with the audi, he made it extremely clear that he would not support us for any aid purchased over the net.

My question/s are these:

• why can a adult sign a waiver but as the parent/guardian of my child (and the actual ‘purchased’ of the HA devices) I cannot?
• why would/should I stretch to pay the 3500 to the audi, when this is less than $500 less than buying a complete second second set via eBay?
• leaving my indignation aside for the moment, and asking a more ‘people’ focused question, how in good conscience can an audiologist who knows my child needs HA’s, knows I can’t afford them from you but can get them from elsewhere, refused to support us in our support of our child? How can they, with a straight face, tell us that they have our childs best interest at heart? Do i need to pay a 1500+ premium for you to care? really? Really?

The present anachronistic distribution system in most countries is the result of powerful lobbies protecting vested interests.

Technology today could mass produce innovative hearing aids to be sold by the mass retailers that would be satisfactory for the majority of hard of hearing at a tiny fraction of the prices needed by the present inefficient professional purveyors.

Look at comparable electronic devices and you will see how innovation and efficient distribution results in far lower prices. Ed

I bought a very inexpensive hearing aid brand new off Ebay made by a major manufacturer about 18 months ago–in total it cost me $125 to hear converstations again. It is still under warranty but I decided to upgrade. As I do not have enough money to go buy them at an audiologist’s office I, again went to EBay. I was able to nuy a pair of name brand, current brand new hearing aids for $650 which would have easliy cost me over $3000 had I gone to an audiologist.

It’s great for you that you can afford the extra piece of mind but there are many many of us that just want to hear our families talk or our grand children’s first vocalizations. Please don;t make such sweeping generalizations! It is like anything --you have to be careful --before you buy–but don;t scare people off who are in desperate need of hearing aids that are often priced as much as a used car!

I have been wearing BTE’s for 50yrs mostly Oticons, after my last 380P, 3yrs ago which was still working, I was looking on Ebay, I purchased a new Siemens Phoenix 313, I recently posted been having problems with it, found it just needed a cleaning in the battery compartment, in the meantime while I was cleaning the 313, I was wearing the Oticon 380P, I could not wait to get the 313 back on, the power is night and day difference, I will buy online whether it be Ebay or a reliable seller, but never back to an audiologist, way too pricey for me, too much mark up…

Chet

Siemen’s makes an excellent rugged aid called the Intuis with all the essential features. Comes in four versions for different degrees of loss. Sells new on Ebay for less than $500 each with full factory warranty. Check bidbybid on Ebay. This guy is reliable and has an almost 100% satisfaction rating. Ed

@DrC said:

The way i see it, hearing health coverage in the USA has 2 classes: the haves and have nots. You either have the money to buy custom hearing aids (or have insurance coverage) or you have to go without amplification.

We physicians know that untreated hearing loss leads to depression, anxiety, and social isolation in the elderly, and a JAMA article has linked untreated hearing loss with Alzheimer’s type dementia.

As long as it is of reasonable quality, some form of amplification is better than none. In fact, Sergei Kochkin in a 2003 article in The Hearing Review points out that in numerous studies he found only a slight positive relationship between the cost of a hearing aid and the actual hearing benefit received by a consumer. So paying more does not guarantee that someone will hear noticeably better.

A reasonable analogy is that custom hearing aids are like a new Mercedes (not just in cost!) and the better one-size-fits-most hearing aids are like a used Toyota. You can still get around in the used Toyota, and you are better off than not having any car at all.

That is why i developed the Acoustitone PRO hearing aid. If you can’t afford traditional hearing aids and are looking for a reasonable option at a reasonable price, go to http://MDHearingAid.com. If it doesn’t work for you, you can return it for a risk-free experience. We have had over 95% patient satisfaction measured by surveys made after purchase and the very few number of returned hearing aids.

in Feb 2013 Dr C is still going strong. The Acoustitone PRO from mdhearingaids.com2 gets fabulous reviews. For a long time on amazon.com2, but no more.

A great option, imo, for a person with bad ears and limited $

Several of my friends bought, and like.

Q: Anybody try the new mdhearingaids.com AIR aid?

Thanks, Dr Shreek Cherukuri!!!

I purchased a pair of Acoustitone Pros about two years ago, and have been very satisfied with them, although I recently purchased a pair of Siemens Touching aids on EBay for less than $200 that are even better. Either of these aids would be a fine choice for anyone who just wants basic amplification without a lot of bells and whistles. I don’t really care about the warranty on my Siemens Touching aids because it is cheaper to just buy a new one than to have it repaired, if the need arises. My custom Phonak digital aids cost $200 each just to repair, which seems to be every few months. For that price, I can have a fresh new pair of Touchings. Any audiologists who dismiss these aids out of hand as Chinese junk have no basis for their assertions unless they have thoroughly tested them themselves. Just as consumers can now buy over-the -counter reading glasses much to the chagrin of optometrists, they can now also purchase high-quality hearing aids on EBay and elsewhere without the high fees, aggravation and dissatisfaction associated with audiologists. Gerald

@elijahlovejoy said:

in Feb 2013 Dr C is still going strong. The Acoustitone PRO from mdhearingaids.com gets fabulous reviews. For a long time on amazon.com, but no more.

A great option, imo, for a person with bad ears and limited $

Several of my friends bought, and like.

Q: Anybody try the new mdhearingaids.com AIR aid?

Thanks, Dr Shreek Cherukuri!!!

@1965mt said:

I am looking at the ebay solution as well. I have been HOH my whole life, but I have never been able to afford hearing aids. That is a simple fact of life. There are some on ebay that I might be able to afford.

MY FOURTEEN DOLLAR ebay. BTE aid is surprisingly good.!! including shipping from box 30490 staten island 10303-0490

post your review!

Seller: ahappydeal ( 7284) ebay merchant

Digital Hearing Aid Aids Kit Behind the Ear Mini in Ear Sound Voice Amplifier
300886840860 - Price: US $10.99

Having a problem with this purchase? We can help

Standard Shipping: US $2.99
Estimated delivery: Tue. Apr. 9 - Mon. Apr. 15. It came on 14 april to hawaii

Shipment details: 9274899998390500112757
US $10.99

Digital Hearing Aid Aids Kit Behind the Ear Mini in Ear Sound Voice Amplifier
Winning bid US $10.99
New condition
$2.99 standard shipping
Delivery in 2-6 business days
30-day money back

instructions from China say FEIE hearing aid

www.gzser.cn2

write. feie@gzfeie.cn

i have other aids from eBay… phonak ambra. phonak naida ix. starkey 3 series. widex mind 440. phonak audeo. and more.

have used this only at home, and it shows a visible brass speaker/receiver in my Concha.

unbeatable value for price.

highly recommended if the appearance is OK for you

@stevefromoz said:

I also like the blurb on the site - I realized we need to read between the lines re: where the remaining margin is going. And that actually leads to my question - I have a 11yo daughter with mild hearing loss, who has been wearing aids for over 5 years now (Siemens Music Pro BTE). Living in TX, I feel we’re being held to ransom by audiologists who wish to charge ~3500 for a pair of new aids. I’ve done my research, and these are mid-range aids, freely available via eBay for <$2000. I can’t afford the $3500 to buy them (the exact same HA) from the audiologist, it would be a stretch to get them for ~2k off the web. But when talking with the audi, he made it extremely clear that he would not support us for any aid purchased over the net.

My question/s are these:

• why can a adult sign a waiver but as the parent/guardian of my child (and the actual ‘purchased’ of the HA devices) I cannot?
• why would/should I stretch to pay the 3500 to the audi, when this is less than $500 less than buying a complete second second set via eBay?
• leaving my indignation aside for the moment, and asking a more ‘people’ focused question, how in good conscience can an audiologist who knows my child needs HA’s, knows I can’t afford them from you but can get them from elsewhere, refused to support us in our support of our child? How can they, with a straight face, tell us that they have our childs best interest at heart? Do i need to pay a 1500+ premium for you to care? really? Really?

The same way that the hospitals and Drs can put people in medial bankrupcy. It’s about money.

In the USA, you need mucho money if you want the services that are available. I’m not condemning it, only pointing out that is the way things work here.

Buy your aids from the cheaper source and you’ll find someone to program them for you even if it’s on line.

The current state of this field is in line for a big change. Go with the flow which it internet buying or Big Box/Costco. You will be hard pressed to beat Costco’s prices and service, and warranty.

lets figure out how to Identify audis like this, and start a blacklist? Anybody agree?

elijah

@sho said:

Not so long ago every town required a blacksmith. If you look at retail today, there are fewer and fewer stores offering more and more diverse items. I can go to costco and buy Major brand hearing aids or I can buy a pair of socks, or a Steak. Also notice that more and more business is being done online. Leasing a physical store front is becoming more and more expensive, as is insuring it, fire codes, signage, local, county and state regulations, Employees. The public screams for lower and lower prices and while some don’t mind paying $4000.00 -$6000.00 for a pair of aids, those people are becoming fewer and fewer also.

Simply is a matter of supply and demand. At some point there won’t be enough demand to support suppliers charging “outrageous” prices. It’s not the public’s fault that Hearing Aid mfgrs are holding their distributors hostage. I can buy major brand hearing aids from local “big box discount stores” for less than the captive distributor next door. They are just as good as the others. Some are relabeled to give the appearance that they are not they same. They are the same. I can also buy them on the Internet. Hearing aid mfgrs are bilking their distributors and the public.

Internet sales is the future. Lay back and joy it. JMO

Yes, it is expensive to be in business or produce something and yes, fewer and fewer stores are offering more and more diverse items, but unfortunately, they all seem to carry the same diverse items giving us less choices. It’s not that the public screams for lower and lower prices it’s the manufacturers who are telling us this as an excuse for shutting down manufacturing plants here to offshore them to make their stockholders more money. I don’t remember Levi’s going down in price when they closed all the plants in the US and sent them to China, if anything they raised them saying that materials and fuel had gone up so it was more expensive to produce the clothes. The same can be said for power tools: when Skil started producing their tools in China, they didn’t go down, but up! When made in the US their mag 77 saw sold for $129, today with it made in China, it sells for $189, so we aren’t really seeing lower prices, we are just being led to believe they are lower.

Another problem with the elimination of brick and mortar stores and factories is once a country loses it’s manufacturing base, they are basically done as a world power. Finally, if all the manufacturing and retail sellers are reduced to just a few and you don’t work for the government or in high tech, who will have the money to buy from these internet sellers? and what happens when they go out of business because of a lack of sales? It may look good now, but wait a few years and we will see if you still feel the same way!

@sho said:

Not so long ago every town required a blacksmith. If you look at retail today, there are fewer and fewer stores offering more and more diverse items. I can go to costco and buy Major brand hearing aids or I can buy a pair of socks, or a Steak. Also notice that more and more business is being done online. Leasing a physical store front is becoming more and more expensive, as is insuring it, fire codes, signage, local, county and state regulations, Employees. The public screams for lower and lower prices and while some don’t mind paying $4000.00 -$6000.00 for a pair of aids, those people are becoming fewer and fewer also.

Simply is a matter of supply and demand. At some point there won’t be enough demand to support suppliers charging “outrageous” prices. It’s not the public’s fault that Hearing Aid mfgrs are holding their distributors hostage. I can buy major brand hearing aids from local “big box discount stores” for less than the captive distributor next door. They are just as good as the others. Some are relabeled to give the appearance that they are not they same. They are the same. I can also buy them on the Internet. Hearing aid mfgrs are bilking their distributors and the public.

Internet sales is the future. Lay back and joy it. JMO

THANK YOU, SHO. It is fine that those who can pay $3000 for a hearing aid have a chance of getting a good aid, and even a good fitting if they are fortunate. (Consumer Reports in 2009 found that fewer than HALF of their customers were correctly fitted, even when they paid high prices.)

The big problem is that at present maybe 80% of those who need amplification do not get it, and the professionals seem as concerned with protecting turf (e.g. attack United Health) as in improving the percentage of clients who are correctly fit.
Costco at least insists that a Real Ear Measurement be obtained EVERY time a hearing aid is sold. I believe that improves the quality. ?

What can be done for those who give up because they think prices are high?

United Health is making a fine start at helping them. Some of their insured even get aids for FREE as an insurance benefit.

the AARP Medicare Advantage program with United Health also yields good, inexpensive aids from UHC / HI Health innovations.

Things are improving, with warm thanks to UHC, Costco, Sams Clubs, Phillip (Bidbybid on ebay, openfit.com1) and the VA. Also Medicaid. Today, quite a few who are not rich are able to get help.

It is regrettable that high quality fitters using the old system are losing clients, and often their businesses.

Let’s watch how it plays out. BIG THANKS to those who take the time to report to us forum readers.

cheers, thanks elijah

resubscribe

@aquacanis said:

I just got my ebay hearing aids at a savings of $4200.00. They have been on me for two days now and they are wonderful. BTE open. I can only tell you that after two days these
folks from England do a great job. IF that changes I will let everyone know. I am very happy with what I got for $795.00. It was worth the gamble.

When I discovered that my workers compensation claim (I’m in Canada) would take a minimum 6 months and maybe a year to be approved I bought a pair of used Siemens Pure Carat xcel 301’s on EBay for $500.00
I have had an initial fitting by an HIS and one followup adjustment.
Everything seems to be working fine.

Maybe I’m just lucky but, yes, it was worth the gamble.