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Lost hearing aid while traveling

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I can’t be the first person to have this problem. I’m from New York and in California for another two weeks. Lost one yesterday. My NYC audi’s office says it will take days/weeks to replace my lost HA because “they (Phonak) are in Illinois and they have to get the parts and manufacture it and we have to fit it to your ear,” all of which seems prima facie ridiculous. Also, they say it will cost $425, even though Phonak’s website says they have a one-time lost/damage free replacement policy.

Was just calling audiologists in San Francisco. One office said if I brought the replacement, which my NYC audi would have to order, they could program it and “fit” it for…$925.

Anyone have experience with or knowledge about this?

12 people in this conversation6 min readJump to latest

Call Hearing & Low Vision Solutions (hearsf.com2) on Geary ST (415-319-7301): It’s “mom and pop shop” and they are honest. They may be able to help.

Replacing an is not an instant process, it can take two+ weeks because the replacement unit has to be sent from Phonak (just like when you order a new hearing aid). Sometimes you may be able to get a loaner from your provider.

Yes, there is usually a deductible for loss/damage (My Phonak Infinio’s is $300/device).

Welcome to my town – lots of stuff to do here this weekend.

Hope this helps.

@Richard.D said:

My NYC audi’s office says it will take days/weeks to replace my lost HA because “they (Phonak) are in Illinois and they have to get the parts and manufacture it and we have to fit it to your ear,”

That’s bollocks, it doesn’t actually take 2 weeks to order and have it delivered, are they still using the pony express or something, and no the only that need to be “made to fit your ear” are custom moulds, that goes for , if your using then any clinic could supply and bill Phonak, I mean this is really bad service and just goes to show it’s not worth the paper it’s written on, if I was you I’d kick up a fuss about the total lack of service to you, no back up and no hearing, your at a disadvantage for 2 weeks otherwise, god I just love , never have to put up with crap service, when you get back to NYC find a more sympathetic clinic .

I’ve had warranty replacements. They order the new aid while I ship the old one in. My new one comes in the mail, about a week and a half as I recall. They should have your last session in target and call it up to program your new aid. If you have a mold they should be able to order one of those too.

Apple AirPods Pro to get through the trip?

WH

Going forward, always keep your previous set sitting around (properly stored), then either take them with you or have them overnighted to you at your hotel. My two cents for the next time you replace a missing unit.

In reply to @tenkan

@tenkan said:

I mean this is really bad service and just goes to show it’s not worth the paper it’s written on, if I was you I’d kick up a fuss about the total lack of service to you, no back up and no hearing, your at a disadvantage for 2 weeks otherwise

What do you expect the clinic in NYC to do? Express courier him a loaner device to California at no expense while they wait for his custom device to be built?

Yeah so this is the thing that gets it out of wack, people pay 5,6 or 7k for in a “bundle” price, but all it means is “I’ll help out when I can” not when you need it, clinic’s who can’t be bothered with doing anything at all for their money, shapeshifting with “it’s not in the fine print” is everywhere in business, it’s like a scam artists paradise in the medical field, not everyone of course but for @Richard.D it just seems a case of “tuff cookie” not my problem, hey it’s only 2 weeks suck it up.

It’s not an arbitrary number though, I don’t think? At least not where I am. Expected services over X years are mapped out to come to a final number. Those services don’t typically include “courier loaners across the country” in my experience, although I suppose in individual clinics they could.

It seems the seller could contact another same brand seller in California to get the client some aids. Then the sellers should be able to get reimbursed through the manufacturer warranty.

Wishful thinking???

I know with Cochlear I can contact Cochlear with my issue and they will have most issues fixed within 1-3 days

@Raudrive said:

It seems the seller could contact another same brand seller in California to get the client some aids. Then the sellers should be able to get reimbursed through the manufacturer warranty

This is exactly my thinking, seems it’d only be up Phonak to ok it over the phone, yeah it could just be wishful thinking on our part.

In reply to @Raudrive

Someone in California could order the L&Ds, but then it will still take 2-3 weeks for the custom devices to be built by which time he’ll be home. Would make more sense for the California clinic to provide him with loaners–they would maybe accept an outside test but would still charge for the fit and the loan.

OP has not responded.

Are we talking about in the ear aids or aids? The OP’s hearing loss uses domes I would think. Very simple set up with RIC aids.

Maybe this is an Australian thing. My suggested I insure them. I have always had my hearing aids/ insured through my house contents insurance. They are portable medical devices. Portable meaning world wide coverage. The costed $7500 AU which equals $5.3 US roughly.

I lost my Phonak aids, both, container and all. I was on the Ferry, crossing from Orkney Island to Thurso mainland Scotland. We had a big swells on that crossing. They were on the table one minute , next they were overboard. Yes I was without aids for 3 weeks, until I got back home. I’d emailed my AuD she had new ones waiting for when I got back home. Made a claim on my contents insurance and they paid in full.

I’m so not up to date on devices, do they have a function built in to allow the owner to locate them through the app like CI’s do?

One temporary possibility is to get one/some of those ‘hearing amplifiers’ such as the Beurer HA20 Hearing Amplifier or Kinetik Wellbeing Hearing Amplifier whilst your is sorted. They’re not true hearing aids but might help. They’re off the shelf here in the UK (e.g. Argos) and dirt cheap.

Like Eliotb, I kept my previous aids as a back up. (in actual fact, my replacement Danalogic optician-provided,NHS funded, aids aren’t as good as my original Oticon ones that were provided by the NHS hospital).

I have had a couple of panic moments when I couldn’t find my aids . One time was in a theatre when I had the staff looking under all the seats for a lost aid after the finish and it eventually transpired that I had only take one aid with me and the ‘lost’ one was at home! The app. does has a ‘find my aid’ function but if it is lost within the house, this is of no use.

In reply to @Steve12

@Steve12 said:

Phonak doesn’t have a tracking system. I lost one once but the clinic said there’s no tracker.

What you can do is use an app like LightBlue which will show you signal strength of the bt signal. As you wander around, it may get higher or lower, as you get nearer or farther from the missing device. Then it becomes a game of “you’re getting warmer!” As you wander around.

Hope this helps someone!

WH

One of the reasons I went to Costco to get aids was that they will replace one aid at no charge. The other reason was the 180 day no questions ask if I want to return them for full refund or exchange them. And lastly was the cost.

In reply to @eliotb

This, I’m a pretty much full time traveller who spends 80% of his time on the road blogging about it (https://donotgogentlytravel.com/5 if anyone’s interested). I have been living with NHS hearing aids since I first got them, but started getting paranoid that if I had a problem when travelling, I’d be in bother). I decided to splash out on private Phonak isphere 90s), but travel with both pairs in case of emergencies.

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