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

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I have had my Dot 30’s that I purchased over a year ago on Ebay. I had a lot of reservations about it.

Since then, I have purchased the Hi-Pro box and the cables to program them myself. I did this after having two different audi’s provided bad service. I had one that argued with me when I told him I could hear “white noise”.

I will buy the next set from ebay. This is much easier for me in the long run.

But, If raising the money and going to an audiologist is easier for you, then by all means do so. For me ebay and self programming is not so hard.

I bought and sold the following hearing aids from EBay. As a USA buyer you should learn to use Credit Card Chargeback rights if you want to buy with confidence.

Buy pair Oticon Epoqs
Buy another pair Oticon Epoqs
Used my Credit Card Chargeback rights to obtain refund for defective Oticon Epoqs
Buy pair ReSound Live 9s
Buy another pair Oticon Epoqs
Sell pair ReSound Live 9s
Buy pair Oticon Agil Pros
Sell pair Oticon Epoqs

Click on the links in my signature line below for more detail. For simplicity I left out all the EBay programming equipment purchases (plus cables, boots, etc).

In reply to @BubbaB

@BubbaB said:

Just like Casey, I took delivery of a pair of Siemens Pure 501 BTE RIC HAs 10 days ago from bidbybid on eBay… And then for another $350 I boughtl the hardware and software required to program them.

Hi BubbaB,
Can you say how you got the reprogramming gear for $350? I’m interested.

I got my Siemens Pure 501 3 weeks ago from bidbybid on eBay. He even agreed (after I’d already paid) to throw in a spare pair of receivers to address a concern of mine, so I’m very happy. At little more than 1/3 the price from local audis I’m prepared to take some risk on service (I’m in Australia so may have additional issues to US buyers). Local audis say they will refuse to offer service. Although RIC’s need the receiver replaced more often I’m glad I can do it myself. bidbybid quoted me $1100 for the gear to reprogram them, so I’d love to hear how you can get it for $350.
Cheers,
Neil.

This link should take you to the ConnexxLink page at thehearingcompany.com5 site where Casey and I both got our rigs,

http://www.thehearingcompany.com/Siemens-ConnexxLink-Hearing-Aid-Programming-Device-works-with-301-501-and-701-level-products-and-Nitro-300-700-BTEs-only_p_228.html11

Its a shop in Florida and the price is still listed as $350, and I must say that for what you get it seems to be a bargain, The aids themselves are very feature rich and this kit allows you to explore all the possibilities on your own time,

My only advice is to make sure that you turn off all other bluetooth devices like the TEK remote and any cell phones nearby when you are working with your aids. The connexx uses bluetooth and it doesn’t play nice with others. Since I adopted that course, all my programming sessions have gone quite smoothly. This works great for me.

BTW, I’ll be making my 3rd trip down to OZ next summer, It is one of my favorite places on earth.

In reply to @JordanK

That’s such a BS!!! Audiologists are dumb and are a rip off. I am one of the educators for their continuous education classes and 95% of them have no idea what they are doing as far as programming. If any of you guys had to come back for adjustments more then once, then the fitter has no idea how to program your hearing aid. Besides most of the hearing aid dealer’s education is high school diploma or GED!!

In reply to @hearingaidsonebay

@hearingaidsonebay said:

That’s such a BS!!! Audiologists are dumb and are a rip off. I am one of the educators for their continuous education classes and 95% of them have no idea what they are doing as far as programming. If any of you guys had to come back for adjustments more then once, then the fitter has no idea how to program your hearing aid. Besides most of the hearing aid dealer’s education is high school diploma or GED!!

While I would argue against purchasing hearing aids off the internet and programming them yourself, If that what someone chooses and is aware of what that entitles them to (or doesn’t entitle them to) then so be it.

However, to make a blanket statement that Audiologists are “dumb and a rip off” is ridiculous and insulting. Additionally, any statements made by you regarding the knowledge an Audiologist has (or doesn’t have) are only made to further your own financial interests “hearingaidsonebay”. I am exceptionally knowledgeable and good at my profession and I still ask that my patients return more than once for adjustments on their devices. I do this not because I don’t know what I’m doing, but because I have a vested interest in my patients success, their increase in quality of life, and I want to ensure that everything is working well for them. You cannot just plop in a certain amount of volume/settings on hearing aids, send a patient out the door, and expect everything to be fine. Adjustments are necessary. Even those people on this thread who have serviced themselves have had to make changes to the settings, to the way they fit, to any number of things. Also, most people cannot tolerate prescribed levels of gain if they have never worn a hearing aid before. Your statement would say that my 93 year-old patient with a moderately severe to severe sensorineural hearing loss and poor word recognition and has never worn a hearing aid is dealing with someone who doesn’t know what they are doing because they needed to return more than once for an adjustment! Absurd. Your lack of knowledge about the ear and how it works is doing a serious disservice to those you interact with all in your chase to make a buck but under the guise of helping.

Furthermore, I’d be interested to find out how you are supposedly providing CEU hours to a field of Audiologists and in what setting you are providing them. Instructors providing CEU’s typically work for the hearing aid manufacturers and provide educational sessions regarding their own technology. Please share with me your credentials so that I can be sure to avoid working with companies who feel that such a large number of the people (i.e. Audiologists) they sell hearing aids too have no idea what they are doing. It seems to me that a rate that high would speak poorly of the training they receive from people like you and not their education since a majority of specific programming knowledge is gained through training provided by the hearing aid manufacturers themselves.

@DocAudio said:

While I would argue against purchasing hearing aids off the internet and programming them yourself, If that what someone chooses and is aware of what that entitles them to (or doesn’t entitle them to) then so be it.

However, to make a blanket statement that Audiologists are “dumb and a rip off” is ridiculous and insulting. Additionally, any statements made by you regarding the knowledge an Audiologist has (or doesn’t have) are only made to further your own financial interests “hearingaidsonebay”. I am exceptionally knowledgeable and good at my profession and I still ask that my patients return more than once for adjustments on their devices. I do this not because I don’t know what I’m doing, but because I have a vested interest in my patients success, their increase in quality of life, and I want to ensure that everything is working well for them. You cannot just plop in a certain amount of volume/settings on hearing aids, send a patient out the door, and expect everything to be fine. Adjustments are necessary. Even those people on this thread who have serviced themselves have had to make changes to the settings, to the way they fit, to any number of things. Also, most people cannot tolerate prescribed levels of gain if they have never worn a hearing aid before. Your statement would say that my 93 year-old patient with a moderately severe to severe sensorineural hearing loss and poor word recognition and has never worn a hearing aid is dealing with someone who doesn’t know what they are doing because they needed to return more than once for an adjustment! Absurd. Your lack of knowledge about the ear and how it works is doing a serious disservice to those you interact with all in your chase to make a buck but under the guise of helping.

Furthermore, I’d be interested to find out how you are supposedly providing CEU hours to a field of Audiologists and in what setting you are providing them. Instructors providing CEU’s typically work for the hearing aid manufacturers and provide educational sessions regarding their own technology. Please share with me your credentials so that I can be sure to avoid working with companies who feel that such a large number of the people (i.e. Audiologists) they sell hearing aids too have no idea what they are doing. It seems to me that a rate that high would speak poorly of the training they receive from people like you and not their education since a majority of specific programming knowledge is gained through training provided by the hearing aid manufacturers themselves.

Well said…thank you :o

dr. amy

In reply to @hearingaidsonebay

@hearingaidsonebay said:

That’s such a BS!!! Audiologists are dumb and are a rip off. I am one of the educators for their continuous education classes and 95% of them have no idea what they are doing as far as programming. If any of you guys had to come back for adjustments more then once, then the fitter has no idea how to program your hearing aid. Besides most of the hearing aid dealer’s education is high school diploma or GED!!

Audiologists are dumb and are a rip off? I am not one, I am just a satisfied customer of one of those dummies. I don’t take offense at your post, it doesn’t refer to me. However, I think this post speaks volumes for your own claims. How can someone who sounds uneducated be an educator? And you are claiming that “If any of you guys had to come back for adjustments more then once” implying that one fitting should do it all … and you claim to know what you are doing and that you train others to program??? If you believe that yourself, you are so far off course that you could not possibly be an educator … or educated. And there you are insulting the average hearing impaired person … stating that they should know exactly what to tell the fitter the first time they are experiencing new hearings aids … and that they should not require an adjustment or learning period with their new aids during which they might very well want to try different settings to fit their own personal needs, desires, or requirements. Now then … who is full of BS? Try looking in the mirror. Who is a fake … break out that mirror again.

In reply to @zafdor

@zafdor said:

There is no doubt portable MP3 players can get loud enough to damage your hearing. I never tried to measure the output of one, but I doubt they match the output sound of even a mid power Instrument (~120db). Certainly the output power of them is a fraction of a watt.

If the big auto makers could outlaw tuning up your car, they would have! Now that I think about it, reality is that with electronic ignition there is no such thing as a tune up.

BTW, there are a couple of companies that supply decent hearing aids along with the programming hardware & software. HearSource.com America Hears, and you can purchase the instruments over the internet. Most of their instruments are priced around $1000 with the programming kit included.

Also consider HearSource.com1. Excellent hearing aids and customer service. Really couldn’t get better for the do-it-yourself hearing aid programmer. Everything you need included in the kit for $995.

And they are set up to provide support and happy to do so. No sneaking around without support or warranty.

@Normandy said:

Also consider HearSource.com. Excellent hearing aids and customer service. Really couldn’t get better for the do-it-yourself hearing aid programmer. Everything you need included in the kit for $995.

And they are set up to provide support and happy to do so. No sneaking around without support or warranty.

HS may be ideal for you. But some of us prefer not being limited to one specific brand. The various brands have different features and capabilities that some of us may not want to do without.

Learning your way around various fitting software programs does take some effort. But I believe the average person can do it without constant hand-holding.

Once you become successful at programming various brands then you are free to switch to other brands. Also note, I believe that “most” people with profound hearing losses are likely better served by using an experienced audiologist. I say “most” because I believe it depends on the individual and on the severity of loss.

In reply to @hearingaidsonebay

@hearingaidsonebay said:

That’s such a BS!!! Audiologists are dumb and are a rip off. I am one of the educators for their continuous education classes and 95% of them have no idea what they are doing as far as programming. If any of you guys had to come back for adjustments more then once, then the fitter has no idea how to program your hearing aid. Besides most of the hearing aid dealer’s education is high school diploma or GED!!

this is not constructive. it is insulting. i wish Admin would delete it.

That was posted a year and a half ago - why resurrect such an old thread just to complain about it?:confused:

In reply to @Casey

@Casey said:

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.

Hi Casey
Did you ever get your Connexxlink?
How did things work out?.
Are you happy with everything?

Hi, wow this thread is a couple of years old and has taken a lot of twists and turns ,but the origional question is exactly my concern. And even deeper , I actually bought a pair of used (referbished) Delta 6K from a Audi company on line. I’m not a rich man but thought that for an entry level bte it was a good investment. I don’t need lots of hi tech features like bluetooth etc. I currently own a pair of in the ear ha’s ,probably analog ,for 10 years. I hate them and they sit in a drawer.
Now my next step is to locate a Audi ,get an hearing test and adjustment.
My investment was a crap shoot not knowing if these HA’s will fit my needs,hopefuly they will. I have hi freq. difficulties,cupping my ear with my hand solves my problem but I can’t walk around doing that all day. :-)))
So, my question is how should I approach the Audi ? It’s like going to a McDonalds and asking them to cook “my” hamburg.
Will appriciate your comments

CLIFFORD

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