United Health Care hearing aids

@dockristin said:

i have talked to more than a dozen patients who have returned the HI united hearing aids. i have not yet talked to one person who has kept them (besides reading what painter posted).

these people are all over the company and then came to my company to get real hearing aids.

the biggest part of hearing aids is the service and adjustment component…i just don’t understand how the majority will be successful WITHOUT the service component. it seems nearly impossible for it to run smoothly.

^This is cute. Not realistic, but cute as an attempt to deter people from finding alternatives to the expense of “market priced” hearing aids. Industry folks need to recognize that change is coming. Patients aren’t content with being fed whatever soup the cook feels like cooking anymore. I’ve been hearing about the “80% of hearing loss population that doesn’t seek treatment” for years now, and no one has done anything about it…ever. At least this company is offering an alternative to the $4-6,000 instruments so many are forced to settle with. If I could fit hearing aids that people only had to come out of pocket $500-$700, I can assure you I’d corner the market as best I could.

@eman6501 said:

< snipping out the condescending part of your post > At least this company is offering an alternative to the $4-6,000 instruments so many are forced to settle with. If I could fit hearing aids that people only had to come out of pocket $500-$700, I can assure you I’d corner the market as best I could.

Actually, hearing aids in that price range are available with full professional fitting services. Look for an ad in your local paper and there’s bound to be one or two “low price” ads that fall within that range or not too far above it. For example, in the Twin Cities there’s a chain of clinics that in the last month has run newspaper ads featuring the ReSound Live for $695 per ear. Three years ago the Live was ReSound’s flagship model so these aren’t exactly “crappy” off-brand aids. They may try to upsell you when you go in (I don’t work there so I’m not sure of their protocol), but my understanding is that if you tell them you want to stick with the Live that is what they will fit you with and they will honor the price.

Many other clinics offer “budget” models that they’ll show you if you start your conversation with them by saying “Look, I’m on a very tight budget and can only afford to spend $1,500 to hear better. What you can do for me?”

Another option would be Sam’s Club hearing aids. Sure, their brand of hearing aids aren’t exactly in the same calss as those from the major manufacturers, but they are in the price range you mentioned and will help someone with a hearing loss hearing significantly better than they currently are.

Generally, the reason people spend more money on hearing aids is because they want to benefit from the best technology available rather than settling for what was the best five years ago. Now if you could find a way to offer the best technology currently available for $700 I’ll agree that you’d corner the market pretty quickly, but unless you’re stealing the designs from other companies (without paying any royalties) I’m not clear on how you’d be able to make cutting-edge hearing aids at that price.

@painter said:

I received 2 HA’s from hiHealth Innovatations last week…mini BTE’s…2 HA’s for $660. I am insured by a member company owned by United Healthcare. I can have one new set every year if needed.

These are my first ever HA’s. I have been to HA presentations… Lyric and Siemens. I’ve also been tested about 3X by different dispensers while I was investigating HA’s. I was told each time that I have moderate bordering on severe hearing loss. I really only have issues when I am in a noisy environment with a lot of background noise. One dispenser…I think Beltone…allowed me to wear a set while in the office…their $6k ha’s.

I do not claim to be an expert, nor am I an experienced user yet. So far I have about 20+ hours of wearing time.

I decided to go with hiHealth Innovations because paying $6k for something “new” for me seemed like a lot of $$$ for a first time buyer. hiHealth gives a 45 days free trial. I decided that I had nothing too loose. I could try them, see if they worked satisfactorily, return them, or keep them for 6 months to a year and then move on to something else if necessary.

Initial observations and experiences:

1. The HA’s are about the same size at the $6k Beltones. No problem there.
2. They come with 5 volume levels and 3 programs.
3. The mid volume level seems to work fine for me. Have not really determined if one program is better for me than another. According to hiHealth I should experiment with each program in different environments and different volume levels.
4. I wore the HA’s in a moderately noisy restaurant 2 days ago. With out the aids I know that the background noise would have created a problem. With HA’s I could easily over hear a conversation from a booth about 10 feet from me. Quite a surprise to me. I could also hear the waitress talking to various people at other tables that were 15 to 20 feet from me.
5. My TV experience thus far is very positive. I can turn the volume on the tv down several levels and still easily hear all the words spoken by the speakers. Normally I would expect to miss some of the words.
6. So far so good. Still adjusting to the tubes in my ear canal. After about 6 hours I experience some soreness. But I’m sure that will pass.
7. Very happy with my decision to go with these HA’s. Easy on the check book and they do the job. Voices sound natural and music sounds just fine. I am not sensing any distortion. I regularly listen to music with an mp3 player while at the gym using using ear buds that I place fairly deep in the ear canal. I can compare these musical sounds with the sounds I hear with the HA’s. Other than a thumping base that I get with the mp3 player, the mids and hi freq. sound the same.
8. Obviously it would be interesting to again wear a $6k set (ideally from several different mfgs) and then compare. Perhaps the $6k sets are superior…but I am sure not $5k+ better!!

Just my experiences and observations…

LOL at this obvious commercial from UHC.

@MarkHill said:

LOL at this obvious commercial from UHC.

My post clearly ends with “Just my experiences and observations…” and the body of the post states my lack of experience at the time of the post with hearing aids, my previous investigations of various HA’s, and my experiences with the HiHealth HA’s as of the date of the post. From this you conclude with your snarky comment: “LOL at this obvious commercial from UHC.”

[FONT=Verdana]“Obvious” as in "plain, manifest, clear, palpable, unmistakable" and “commercial” as in “a paid advertisement or promotional announcement.”[/FONT]
Surely you have evidence to support your claim? Such as:

1. Proof of payment or compensation in any form to me by HiHealth, UHC, or its subsidiary insurance companies
2. Evidence of communication such as emails, texts, snail mail, and phone records between myself and the above entities.
3. Statements from me in any form that I was paid, coerced, encouraged or otherwise solicited by the above listed entities to endorse the HA’s.
4. Corroborating evidence from any source as to the veracity of a quid pro quo relationship between myself and the above entities.
   We both know you have none of the above. Rather than demonstrate in writing your ignorance and stupidity I suggest you give more careful thought in the future to your posts.

thank you!

please keep us informed. are the HI aids OK?

elijah

@elijahlovejoy said:

thank you!

please keep us informed. are the HI aids OK?

elijah

I have been a user for almost 2 years. I remain very happy. Excellent value.

@christobal said:

I respectfully disagree with elijahlovejoy. UHC wants to give virtually zero personal service on their hearing aids. I heard this directly from someone who worked there. After you get their hearing aids, you are steered towards calling into customer service instead of bothering them in their selling locations.

On the contrary customer service has been great. I did not “hear” this from someone who worked there. I experienced great customer service personally! One of my HA’s started malfunctioning after 11 months. HiHealth requested that I return it. I did. Received a call from HiHealth on the day they received the HA. They confirmed the malfunction. Immediately shipped a new replacement. Had it in my hands 2 days later. Apparently this person who assisted me failed to get the memo that UHC “wants” to give virtually zero personal service. Perhaps, christobal, you can provide the name of the mysterious “someone.” Better yet, have “someone” resend the zero personal service memo. Obviously there are traitors at UHC who are failing to follow orders.

thanks, Painter, for a detailed post based on actual experience.

anybody out there having problems hearing? i urge you to call hihealthinnovations

855.523.9355

make an appointment, and TRY their appealing, inexpensive aids.

then, please report to all of us here.

item: they do NOT have a RIC or RITE aid. electronics are happier above the ear than in the moist, warm ear canal.

If you want to see clients, sellthem something fragile, so they return. Maybe you can sell to them again.

half of all HA sales are repeat sales. important for the business.

If indeed HI wants to see only once, they want to solve your problem, not give you a fragile receiver in the ear.

maybe I am dead wrong. ? or maybe HI is really going to help some of the millions who need help and are losing social contact with the world. That is my belief and hope.

and Hey, maybe they will help YOU!

try them, and let us know.

elijah

“Cosmo…J
ust looking for an update; has anyone been fit with the UHC - HI Innovations devices? and how are they working out?”

thank you Cosmo!

good idea to find out how these inexpensive devices WORK in people’s ears.

cheers, Elijah

i called UHC at 855.523.9355

got appointment with Charlie Redmon, outstanding rep in Bellevue, near Seattle.

some fitters are rightly concerned that UHC is selling fine aids for < $800 per ear.

i think they are revolutionizing the marketing industry.

please try, and report back: thumbs up or thumbs down

thanks!

elijah epliv@me.com retired prof, u od Calif

@Kemahsabe said:

… in person locations…? Really? I asked about that and a hi Health Innovations rep told me they don’t have “in-person locations” and that all fitting is done via phone and mail. BTW, the rep never called me back as they said they would. That was about the same time that the website went down. I think you’re blowing smoke, Will.

@Kemahsabe said:

I’m also looking for an update, if we can get this thread back on track.

I have UHC insurance. Went to an in-network audiologist for my hearing evaluation. Then found out he’s not in-network for HA’s. No one is.

I have to get my HA’s via mailorder from hi Health Innovations or Epic Hearing Healthcare. That seems like a bad idea but I really have no choice.

So, does anyone have any experiences with the above companies that they’d like to share?

I posted something about HI hearing aids the other day as I now have UHC insurance. I just got a set of BTE (not micro) and am pretty happy with them. I wore ReSound Azure prior and still have those aids. They never seemed right to me and my audi did work with me to program the best we could. I could hear with them so so I settled. That was 3 years ago. then the left aid started giving me problems and when I found out UHC offered aids through HI I figured I would give them a shot. I know this thread is old, but I wanted to post my experience.

1. You must have an audiogram within the last year - you then fax or mail it to them. I had my audi do the test and told her I was looking into these new aids. She said she had never heard of it, did not think it would work. But your exam is yours - get a copy and send it in. I have to add this was my yearly checkup with her and I pay for her services.
2. they call back and discuss what aid is best. I do think they could have been more knowledgeable on the product. No tech specs were discussed, nor why these would work for me. But since they only offer 1 aid (in 4 different styles) there really isn’t much of a choice.
3. Under my UHC plan the aids were $475 each.
4. The aids have 2 programs - I do not understand the difference - they tell you to try and each see which is better
5. Volume is all manual - 5 levels
6. The sound quality to me is very good, overall very happy but have only had them 2 days and have yet to get to the office with them (a real test)
7. I am calling tomorrow (monday) to talk about possibly switching domes - these seem too tight on the left, but it could just take some getting used.

I agree that mail order aids might not be for everyone (just like eyeglasses), but if you have a simple, standard loss it’s worth a shot to see if the aids will work. The difference in price is huge, and as we all know, HA’s don’t have the longest life.

So, my advice - give them a shot. The worst that will happen is you will need to return them because they didn’t work out. They offered me a 70 day trail.

THANK YOU, tSmith, for your detailed report. it’s important for us to understand how low prices seem to go with minimal CS.

we will see if UHC can deliver quality aids in a satisfactory manner.

i hope they can, but your report raises serious questions.

elijah epliv@me.com

QUOTE=tsmith4034;101533]Seems I may be duplicating as there was another thread I started not realizing this one already existed. I am only on day 3 with my new HI BTE aids. I did call customer service about some questions/issues today. I was not satisfied with how they handled things. Also, let me be clear, while there MAY be some actual centers where you can go to be fitted and for followup, they are few and far away. The closest to me is NYC which is about 200 miles (?) away. And it’s not like I live in a small city. Look at the site for a listing of offices if this is important to you. But back to today’s call. I’ll detail each item discussed with the CS rep (who was clearly not anyone overly specialized - just some one in CS).
1 - The telecoil does nothing for me. In fact I hear better on the phone without it. When I purchased my aids I was interested in the mini BTE. We discussed the telecoil and the rep said it was not available in the mini so I would need the full BTE. She assured me that I could swap it out if I discovered I did not need it or that it wasn’t working for me. When I told today’s rep I wanted to do that, she said sure - for $100/aid. I was never told this during the sale and yes, it is in the contract, but I was assured it would not be the case if I wanted to swap. Not so. I asked over and over and she just said “that’s the way it is”
2 - I asked about the 2 programs. She was clueless. Told me what the book told me - try them both and see which is best. She said 2 was my normal settings and 1 was just a “quieter” setting. She said if I got feedback on program 2 to switch to 1. yes, I knew that. It’s the same thing the book said.
3 - I asked about smaller domes. They sent me closed domes whereas my previous aids had open. When I asked about switching to open she said the only thing they could do is swap out the large closed domes with a medium sized dome. BUT it has to be a double dome. not sure how comfortable that will be. She is sending them.

All in all my experience has not been all good with Hi-health. I’ll wait and see about these new tips, but I’m still annoyed enough about the telecoil return that I might just give up and send them back. It is true (for me at least), that CS is not good.

As I said in my other post, I am thinking of giving up on these inexpensive aids. I guess it really comes down to needing someone locally to work with you and trusting the company. At this time I do not trust that these are 1) a quality product and 2) that I am getting the service needed. I guess my audio was right when she said she didn’t see how this could work.

Originally Posted by seb

             <b>It sounds kind of like what the VA is doing  with HA buy in quantity, but they have their audiologist program and do  adjustments to save money</b>.  The insurance co. is also buying in  quantity but then they are sending the person the HA and having them do  their own adjustments.  Sounds like one way to cut cost for the vast  majority of wearers, but I could see problems for people with severe or  tricky losses that even the audi has problems getting dialed in.

@IMBack said:

where do you come by this silly information??

Did you actually read the above quote? Did you try to explain what is silly about seb’s opinion? No it’s just another “professional” knee jerk reaction to competition. I’ve no experience with the VA HA programs, but seb states that
the VA has their own audiologists do the necessary adjustments to the HAs and they accrue savings by buying HAs in bulk. Finally seb does not equate VA policies with UHC/hiHI but merely notes similarities that are designed to save money.

I own a pair of the hiHI BTE with telecoils and have been using them for over half a year. I am very happy to finally have hearing assistance to deal with hearing loss that had been diagnosed close to 20 years ago by a professional audiologist. If I remember correctly it was a home visit by a Belltone rep. I wanted to do something about my hearing loss then but the price for even one for my left ear was WAY out of my range. I had never heard of any kind of hearing assistance device that was remotely affordable (other than the kind of thing you see in ads that say “not available in store” or “Order now and we’ll send you two of these great devices”.)

Given that I had 70 days to try these out and if I decided to send them back I’d get all my money refunded, it seemed like a more than worthwhile “experiment.”

I am personally offended by those who denigrate the idea that anyone other than a professional can deal with a hearing loss. Advances in technology improves many things. Why should hearing aids be any different. DIYers in any field like auto repair, appliance repair, home improvement, and so on always face the objection from those professionals whose livelihood is linked to keeping people in the dark about the service that they, the professionals, provide.

I (and my family) dealt with my hearing loss for those twenty or so years and I can only tell you that being able to reduce the TV volume from “21” to 13-15 when I’m in the room is a boon to all of us.

kbrowne

@MarkHill said:

LOL at this obvious commercial from UHC.

I just found this site January 2014 so am just getting near the end of the thread, but there is an almost universal, consistent “defend my turf” mentality shown by those who recommend avoiding the hiHI product. There are many,
like Painter (and myself) who would love to be able to try a $6K set to compare. I don’t doubt that they would be effective, and probably superior to my two BTE w/ telecoil HAs that I got last Summer, but living on retirement income and going without any HA assistance for most of my adult life, I jumped at the chance to get two hearing aids at a price I could afford/justify on my budget. I am most satisfied but if I weren’t I would have returned them and gone back to being “half deaf in one ear and can’t hear with the other.” Dad’s saying, but not far from the truth based on audio testing that I’ve undergone over the years, including one that I had done by an audiologist and sent to hiHI when I made my purchase.