Have any of you guys bought a hearing aid off eBay?

@zafdor said:

Connexx is the SOFTWARE, you will need a HIPRO to program them, this is the hardware interface between the instrument and the PC. You will also need cables. There are some good threads on self programming for the bigger brands, but this is an uphill route and highly discouraged by the manufacturers. With America Hears, you just buy the whole lot at once (and get tech support).

Click on the link, it is also the hardware.

Siemens ConnexxLink Hearing Aid Programming Device (works with 301, 501 and 701 level products and Nitro 300 & 700 BTE’s only)

Adjust your own hearing aids with the ConnexxLink.
The ConnexxLink™ package includes:

ConnexxLink wireless programming system
USB transmitter
Power supply
Lanyard
Rechargeable battery

To enable programming with PCs, ConnexxLink comes prepaired with a Bluetooth USB dongle. Simply insert the transmitter into a free USB port on your PC to set up the Bluetooth connection between the PC and ConnexxLink. There is no need to install any extra software.

ConnexxLink enables quick and easy programming and read out of hearing instruments equipped with e2e wireless 2.0 capabilities.

From the official source:

http://hearing.siemens.com/en/01-professional/03-partner-solutions/08-connexxlink/03-connexxlink-package/ConnexxLink-package.jsp4

@zafdor said:

Connexx is the SOFTWARE, you will need a HIPRO to program them, this is the hardware interface between the instrument and the PC. You will also need cables. There are some good threads on self programming for the bigger brands, but this is an uphill route and highly discouraged by the manufacturers. With America Hears, you just buy the whole lot at once (and get tech support).

So I guess the programming software is built into the hardware? Or do you download it from the Siemans site?

Don

From Here: http://hearing.siemens.com/en/01-professional/03-partner-solutions/08-connexxlink/01-plug-and-programm/plug-and-programm.jsp7

QUOTE: “6. To enable programming with PCs, ConnexxLink comes prepaired with a Bluetooth USB dongle. Simply insert the transmitter into a free USB port on your PC to set up the Bluetooth connection between the PC and ConnexxLink. There is no need to install any extra software.”

QUOTE: “While the hipro certainly gives you more flexibility”

I don’t know that that is even the case. Should know soon.

I’m beginning to have doubts about thehearingcompany.com2 so hang loose on them until I get my order (or not) At least they are lousy at answering my email and phone calls since I ordered. Did it through PayPal so should be OK if they turn out to be a dud.

I received my Siemens Pure 501 RIC aids today from bidbybid. The package including the Tek Remote and charger is very impressive.

Phillip included the warranty card on which he had written the serial numbers as he registered them, he said in my name. I located the serial numbers in the battery compartments and verified both match the numbers he registered. The warranty card is indisputably a Siemens card and I am sure he did register them in my name. I am looking into how to get hold of Siemens warranty to confirm this to be the case.

But for those wondering if these are genuine, if you could see all that is included and the very high quality of everything that is included you would have no doubt that they are genuine Siemens hearing aids.

Also, I received an email from The Hearing Company that my Connexxlink has been sent Priority Mail and as I am only about 160 miles from them I should get the package tomorrow. I will let you know.

Thanks for the phone number. I will call it. bidbybid is a retailer with over 17000 positive responses on ebay. 100% positive from previous buyers.

@dr.amy said:

You need to call Siemens at 1-866-210-1037 to ensure that they warranty is registered to you and for how long. I had this happen a few weeks ago with Siemens aids and a trusty Siemens warranty card but registered to someone else (previous user). But they were NOT purchased from the same person you are referring to, so hopefully yours check out okay.

dr. amy

Just as I thought, Phillip is an honest businessman. I just called the Siemens number and she confirmed that my two aids were registered in my name by the seller. She was a little reticent to give me the information, and it seems to be a number for professionals because she asked me for my account number. After explaining what I was doing, ie confirming the registration, she would only confirm they are registered in my name.

@Casey said:

Just as I thought, Phillip is an honest businessman. I just called the Siemens number and she confirmed that my two aids were registered in my name by the seller. She was a little reticent to give me the information, and it seems to be a number for professionals because she asked me for my account number. After explaining what I was doing, ie confirming the registration, she would only confirm they are registered in my name.

Sorry about the number for professionals, it’s the only number i had…

dr. amy

Just like Casey, I took delivery of a pair of Siemens Pure 501 BTE RIC HAs 10 days ago from bidbybid on eBay. For $2800 I received two instruments, one Tek remote control/Bluetooth, one Bluetooth transmitter with all cables necessary for connecting to my TV or any other audio device (iPod, etc), battery charger/dryer, two rechargeable batteries, 60 zinc/air batteries, a nice little dayplanner sized travel case and an assortment of replacement domes of different sizes and design (open, tulip, double tulip, etc.). And then for another $350 I boughtl the hardware and software required to program them.

They came to me set up with my audiogram and I have since put a couple of tweaks in, but nothing major. They are good enough so that I forget I have them in until I take them out at night and I can hear what my students are up to when my back is turned to the class. Feedback has not been a problem at all, even with the open domes. The Bluetooth is great, I just keep the Tek remote in my shirt pocket and my phone clipped to my belt.

I wouldn’t recommend this route for my dear old mother or any other technophobic person, but I am an engineer by training and I was eager to take control of my HAs. It doesn’t hurt at all that I’ve saved over $3000 from the quotes that I received from two audiologists for equivalent (miniature, RIC, wireless link, Bluetooth, rechargeable) equipment.

Bidbybid just got another 5-by-5 feedback from me to go with his already perfect eBay rating with over 17,000 transactions.

hi, i haven’t read this entire thread, but i’ll share my ebay experience.

i bought 2 resound azure dvi’s from a uk seller on ebay about a year and a half ago, for about $1000. at that time, the best price i could find in my city was $5800.

i knew i was taking a huge risk, but i had never worn ha before, and simply was not fully aware of how huge a difference in quality of life they would make for me, and $5800 was simply out of my reach. so i took a chance, the ha practitioner in the uk programmed the azures according to my chart, i got the aids and i’ve been hearing well ever since. sounds crazy, but i really didn’t realize just how poor my hearing is, i’d been coping with this moderate to severe loss without hearing aids for about 15 years.

i do have several issues, but for me they are a liveable compromise:

1. no warranty

2. the invoice from the seller stated that i bought ear phones, not hearing aids, so i had to pay an additional $40 in duties upon arrival. i don’t have a proper invoice so i can’t insure my hearing aids on my home insurance plan.

3. difficult to find a ha practitioner here that will service them…the tubes that came with my ha were way too long for my small ears, so i found a practitioner in my city who deals with resound. i went to him to get a new set of tubes and domes, and when he called in the serial numbers and discovered they weren’t registered in north america, he became quite rude, belligerent actually…i was so not expecting to be treated like i had done something criminal, but other clients in the waiting room told me his attitude is typical of him, he is a crusty sort lol. he said that the thin tubes i had and wanted to replace were not available in north america, so he put thicker tubes on and that made such a huge difference in the programming that i hated my hearing aids, everything sounded ‘hot’ and really out of whack with those fat tubes. he insisted that my ha were programmed all wrong, that i had to use the bigger tubes and that i had to have him re-program them properly…at a cost of $2000. thankfully, i was able to find the correct tubes from an online supplier. took a couple of tries to get the right size domes and tubes from precision hearing (they are actually resound metrix tubes, i just took a chance from the picture, they looked the same) but all is well now, and i hear very well and the fit is good. aside from the dome wanting to ‘turn’ out of my right ear all the time, the hearing aids perform great and i’ve had no issues or problems with them. i’m pretty sure it’s just because my ear canals are so small, i have to adjust the right dome quite frequently.

4. because my ears are so small with very little room behind my ear, the azures are a bit big for me, i don’t have room to wear my glasses comfortably while i have my hearing aids in, but i wear contacts most of the time anyway. if i had gone the traditional route, a ha practitioner might have found something smaller but still powerful enough for me, like the phonak audeos maybe.

so bottom line…i would neither encourage nor discourage anyone from buying on ebay. i know it isn’t the optimal way to make such an important purchase, but i also know that had i not purchased these hearing aids, i probably would still be coping without, as i simply cannot afford them thru a local practitioner. thus, i’m still very happy with my decision, still hearing very well, and still feel it was the best decision i could have made for my particular circumstances. i would purchase this way again, if something happened to my azures.

Fear of having an experience similar to yours is why I wrote Phillip (bidbybid) with questions 3 times before ordering. He is extremely courteous and prompt, answering within a few hours. He reassured me with answers to my questions and by the time I made the purchase I was completely confident in him and the product. With his perfect 17000 votes of confidence and my personal experience I would not hesitate to refer anyone to him. He is simply the most honest businessman I have ever encountered.

This might sound like a paid commercial, but I can assure you I had never heard of bidbybid before, and when my 501’s are due for replacement, I hope he is still there to get my next ones from.

He has also answered questions from me since the sale, just as courteously as during the buying process.

The purchase of my Connexx didn’t go quite as smoothly but since getting it I have talked to Andy (thehearingcompany) on the phone and he has also been extremely helpful.

I wouldn’t drive 400 miles for a Costco. My closest one is less than 5 miles, but doesn’t sell hearing aids, so I’ve made numerous 100 mile one way trips and it is not worth it…