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My Phonak M90 purchase from eBay

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Just a couple things you should be aware of. First, Hearing aids bought online, most of the manufacturers, do not honor warranties on their product sold over the net. So you should check to see if you have a warranty.Second, when you call an insurance company for coverage if they say any % , throw a number at them and make them tell you what’s covered. A lot will say 100%, but the part of the statement that they don’t tell you is “up to $$$” so you have to tell them $4000 for example so they will tell you the proper coverage. Good luck with your new aids, check the warranty…

In reply to @daali

I just wanted to add my two cents that if you’re in IT and more technically inclined, getting a Noah wireless and Target 6.1 will unlock further capability of your aids. Why? Because there’s so many options and you’ll be able to try them out one at a time. Just don’t mess with the actual fitting levels unless you’ve backed up the aid settings and you have an idea of what you’re doing.

I love having the noahlink wireless. Has made a big difference for me in my hearing journey

I’d add a caveat to being “technically inclined.” You need to be a pretty self sufficient problem solver. There is some help available on the forum, but nobody is going to hold your hand. I’ve seen multiple people who claimed to be technical professionals want a lot of handholding and seemed to have little ability to troubleshoot. It really isn’t overly difficult though.

Two years ago I purchased a Noahlink Wireless and have been programming my Oticon OPN ever since. It is fairly doable and you really just need to have a backup of your “original” setup in case you mess around too much. One thing I am very strict about is to keep the gain as close as possible to the prescribed gain suggested by the software - I fear that an extra gain could lead to hearing loss. Buying the Noahlink and DIYing was a great decision I made, second only to the purchase of the hearing aid itself.

To add to to others comments, self programming takes time to learn. Most people can not just jump in and figure it out in a short time. It’s one of those things that the more the more you learn about it the more you realize you don’t understand.

Self programming is also a bit of an art, not just science. Everyone’s hearing is different so what helps Joe might not help Jane. Each hearing aid manufacturer has their own software for programming their aids. Each manufacturer has different terminology for very similar things. It can be confusing talking about these things on the forum.

As mentioned about the warranty, buying aids off eBay pretty much gives up all warranties and also gives up all support from local audiologists. There might be exceptions out there but hard to find. Knowing this, you as a buyer need to buy name brand aids that you feel are quality made and reliable.

Good luck and have fun.

WOW - We’ve now gone from 100% insurance coverage (which a very rare thing), to buying HA’s on eBay (though no professional audi/ would recommend that), to now “self programing” your own hearing aids. WOW

Excuse me but when someone buys something as costly and complicated as a “adjustable digital hearing aid”, you leave the all the fine tuning, programming and recalibration to a trained Audiologist. Preferably with a PhD in front of their name. And last I checked a three year warranty was “free” from any reputable HA manufacturer - where if you buy a HA on eBay you get “squat”.

But of course someone who buys there aids off eBay, probably does their own HA self programing at home in the garage, while barbecuing a few steaks at the same time. Raudrive - you are just so multifaceted

In reply to @youbgone

Jack of all trades, master of none.

My post is as true as I can get it, no nonsense, just the way it has worked for me for about 11 years now. No WOW factor.

The OP asked about buying hearing aids on eBay. The fact that doing this limits their resources for warranties and getting the aids tuned. But, it gives many the chance to own hearing aids when they couldn’t afford hearing aids from the brick and mortar businesses. In all my years of buying hearing aids I probably haven’t spent as much on everything from aids to the equipment to program them as some have spent on one pair of aids from a PhD audiologist.

As far as needing someone to program your aids with a PhD, that’s silly. As many have mentioned on this forum including the pros, programming hearing aids has little to do with a big college education. It’s an understanding of the software and great communication skills with the person wearing the aids.

Enough of my ramble.
Good luck

So…just out of curiosity…where do these Phonak Marvels on EBay come from? I am pretty sure they aren’t used and then put up for sale, or come from an authorized Phonak dealer. So, I’d doubt they come with any kind of warranty. Any ideas?

In reply to @focusandearnit

@focusandearnit said:

For what it’s worth, the PhD is usually at the end of their name

And there are so many PhD’s on eBay who are not only hundreds of miles away from you - but happy to sell you non-guaranteed hearing aids - someone else didn’t want. And (sorry eBay pushers) but when hearing aids come later this year, why would you want to buy off eBay? Work with a {professional) if you’re dealing with a hearing loss and require hearing aids. Or you can follow Raudrive’s advice, and drive right off the cliff.

In reply to @hold4triple

@hold4triple said:

Or you can follow Raudrive’s advice, and drive right off the cliff.

Where did that come from? Makes no sense.

Strictly an opinion but OVC aids will fit those with mild hearing losses. Those with more hearing loss will still need real deal hearing aids. Brick and mortar or eBay.

In reply to @uburoibob

The Phonak Audeo M90 RT aids I just bought off eBay were used for a week and a half for 3.2 hours/day, like new. Data from Target.

The seller told me she would support me with warranty issues if they came up until 2023. This might be all talk, I don’t know. She was a very nice person from all the messages we shared.

In reply to @Raudrive

I’m looking at doing my own programming as well. The local audi’s around here willl program anything if you throw money at them…including something bought somewhere else. Money talks. I’m learning to tweak my Phonaks because I don’t care for the way they are setup…and the place I got them says that’s the best they can do. Hell they didn’t even know how to save the setup file to an usb drive so I could have a copy. They lined up all the pretty lines on the software page and said there you go…where’s our money…!!

I was fortunate that my insurance covered 80% of the cost. But they were way to expensive in my opinion especially after I started to understand the pricing models and see what some other practices were charging. This is my first set of ’s at 67 so I am learning the ins and outs of this whole process. Going forward I now know exactly what I would do different and what I would expect on price and service.

In reply to @wagenerga

@wagenerga said:

But how does one go about finding a local audiologist who would be willing to program hearing aids that were purchased somewhere else?

I can’t say this is the way, but this was my progress.

I asked my current audi. He hemmed and hawed, said he doesn’t really do that, but he could possibly program them them one time for me. I got the impression he’d probably keep doing appointments on a “one more time” basis indefinitely, but that’s not what I wanted.

I then cold-called several near me. Some didn’t do Phonak. Some told me no. Some told me they don’t do real ear measurements. Others told me to come in, they would see what they could work out. I got the impression they were going to try to sell me something else. I may have been wrong, but that was the feeling I got. I didn’t want to risk having to take off work only to find they weren’t what I was looking for.

Finally, after seeing the videos from Dr Cliff Olsen, I went to his website Find a Provider | HearingUp9 and found clinics near me (there weren’t many). The first one was willing to see me unbundled, but they did not do Phonak. The second one I called set me up with an appointment. I’ll know more after the 12th.

In reply to @demarzob

@demarzob said:

First, Hearing aids bought online, most of the manufacturers, do not honor warranties on their product sold over the net. So you should check to see if you have a warranty.

The seller said the first year warranty would be covered by Phonak’s international warranty, the next two under Phonak Korea’s. If the need arises, I’m hoping that I can just work through the audi if there are problems with them.

Bottom line for me, I had a certain amount of money I could afford, and buying them on eBay fit what I could afford.

Edited

In reply to @youbgone

@youbgone said:

But of course someone who buys there aids off eBay, probably does their own HA self programing at home in the garage, while barbecuing a few steaks at the same time. Raudrive - you are just so multifaceted

You went from questioning my honesty to speaking for most posters to sarcastically going after someone offering legit advice.

I have to ask… why?

Seems the object of this forum is to help one another. I’ve found most of the posts in this thread helpful. Yours, not so much.

Edited

In reply to @uburoibob

@uburoibob said:

So…just out of curiosity…where do these Phonak Marvels on EBay come from? I am pretty sure they aren’t used and then put up for sale, or come from an authorized Phonak dealer. So, I’d doubt they come with any kind of warranty. Any ideas?

Those I bought said they were from an authorized dealer in South Korea. The seller had me upload my to program them, and made a recommendation to use more powerful receivers based on the audiogram.

When I got them, I could tell that the program was similar to my current Q90s. The Q90s were programmed 6 years ago, and the current audiogram is not that much different than my original one from back then. That, and the receiver recommendation, indicated to me that they were really set up by an audiologist.

I’ll also add, the came with the original boxes (empty, because the aids had been fitted with receivers and put in the charger) and all the various accessories. I was able to register them for warranty online with Phonak. I suspect when the audi checks them on the 12th, they will show as new (minus the week and a half I’ve worn them). I don’t know if the warranty will be good, but am hopeful that it will be.

The eBay seller was lesoon7. If you do a search on eBay for Phonic, (s)he still has more listings.

In reply to @hold4triple

@hold4triple said:

Or you can follow Raudrive’s advice, and drive right off the cliff.

Frankly, he seems to be doing fine with his cliff.

Seriously folks, we all have different needs, resources, and abilities. I don’t understand the hostility towards those doing things a different way.

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