What about China?

Man people pick weird photo content. I wonder how that kid is doing with his OTC cochlear implant.

Lots of choice for OTC HAs from Chinese vendors, including for severe hearing loss (see screenshot, around 110 USD). A very decent alternative for people who find Apple’s stuff lacks amplification power. What worries me is that all OTC things ruthlessly amplify everything- you probably cannot set output brackets per frequency, as in Target (Phonak), so you spend all day wheeling volumes up and down, as in the old days.

@wtolkien said:

It requires a whole ecosystem of people, knowledge, software, firmware, chips, manufacturing, distribution, service & support.

I (also) disagree- chinese engineering is generally superior (and certainly more cost-effective) than what happens in Europe and the US, especially if you throw in process engineering. Earlier this year they set a new record for an experimental Tokamak, for instance. The only technology that they (still) miss is advanced chip manufacturing, but those in HAs are not in that class I believe.

@flyjazz said:

China’s population is 1.4 billion. You would think that’s a lot of potential hearing loss patients.

Spot-on! Unless there’s an ENORMOUS stigma to wearing hearing aids in China, you’d think they would be right up there with Phonak and Oticon cranking out superior, customizeable aids for the world market, pushing AI capabilties and all the usual buzzwords.

EDIT: Upon further contemplation … I think China lacks dedicated Customer Support and Service for specialized things like hearing aids. When you think about it, customers need to have hearing aids fine-tuned, adjusted, repaired, trouble-shooted, and China is not really set up for that kind of one-on-one interaction. They are better geared for the MASSIVE, gov’t edict-enabled industries like solar panels, military, computer, other mass-produced technologies I’m thinking.

Compare that to some of the Japanese tech makers like Canon, Sony, etc. They will ship you a working camera in ONE day if your purchase is under the warranty/protection plan. Service techs are right here in the USA, so it’s easy to enable. World of difference. Now when are they gonna bring back the “waterproof” hearing aid?

You’re right that major brand HAs in the West tend to be way, way overpriced.

I think it’s more complicated. Costco is downright cheap, given that you get unlimited professional services as well.

I feel for independent audiologists. They have to compete with clinic chains that are owned by the HA manufacturers and probably don’t the good prices from the manufacturers.

Another issue is that there is no difference in cost for the manufacturer between low and high technology levels. Yet the cost differential for end customers is typically quite high.

So yeah - I think it’s complicated…

HAs are generally marketed as a bundle with fitting at an audiologist office and follow-up. A recent French study says the HA hardware component costs just a few hundred USDs.

I learned in the smaller brother 161. Nice planes.

WH

Reading this thread has been inspiring. It’s a reminder of why the work in this industry matters.

I may be just one person in this field, but I deeply hope to witness the rise of solutions that master the technology for complex hearing loss while making the price something people can happily accept. I hope to see a future where the financial barrier to a better quality of life is simply gone.

That’s the future I hope to see when I get older. It’s a privilege to be part of an industry that can make this happen

Sometimes on the various forums I peruse I see posts from people in third world countries seeking advice on hearing solutions that they or their loved ones can afford. People tell them that an investment in the latest Phonak is money well spent. You might as well tell them to fly to the moon. Looking forward to innovation in this space.

@d_Wooluf said:

On a related note I was castigated in another place for using the phrase “someone with hearing loss”. I was informed that “hard of hearing” is the correct term. And I thought I was usually the pc person in the crowd.

According to Google AI overview, both are correct.

Simply correct, or politically correct?

In order to be politically correct you have to make deficits sound like superior advantages.

@d_Wooluf said:

On a related note I was castigated in another place for using the phrase “someone with hearing loss”. I was informed that “hard of hearing” is the correct term.

In my mind, hearing loss describes most of the people on this forum who began life with normal hearing then started lose some hearing as they became older.

In my case I’ve always been hard of hearing, so I never experienced a hearing loss.