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

@clifford said:

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 HA 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

is there a university or community college near you which teaches Hearing Aid Fitting? The people there need patients to practice on, and they don’t care where you got your aid.

I’ve thought of writing to all the audis around, individual letters, saying "I’ve just moved to the area and have … aid, what would you charge…?

And if you walk in, maybe it would be better to talk to the fitter, not to the front desk secretary/receptionist who may have been told “Don’t encourage people who bought somewhere else…”

The tide is changing. Audis will soon realize that people who bought elsewhere can bring an income stream.

And, hey, they all are in business to help people, right? Many really are.

Let us know how it goes.

elijah

I bought a pair of Resound Azures from E-Bay a couple of years ago, at a VERY good price! The seller was in London, England. I sent my hearing chart and they adjusted the aids in advance, and I can hear very well. The downside is that it’s VERY hard to get adjustments and parts! You are asked to “go back to the place where you bought them!”

@Venster said:

I suggest you rather stick to the tried and tested. Wouldn’t want to waste your money now would you?

the evidence suggests that you lose money if you do NOT buy from plilip. bidbybid. No?

let us know how you fare. thanks. elijah

I’ve bought hearing aid supplies ie ear hooks, battery draws etc and its been very good. But would never buy HAs off eBay as I go or fittings all the time, might be as I’m profoundly deaf

I am considering replacing my older Siemens with Siemens Pure Micons.

Would like to learn opinions as to whether in 2013 I might have favorable experiences with the newer Siemens technology that would be similar to experiences of Casey and BubbaB in 2010 with the older technology.

I am contemplating dealing with bidbybid for the aids and thehearingcompany for interface and Connexx software.

Will greatly appreciate pertinent observations from members and guests.

I don’t know about Siemens. Also guests cannot post and it took two weeks for my post above to be made visible by the moderators. Anyway…

Do many of you think it is worthwhile to try to buy the audiologist software and interface, if you are a geeky user rather than an audiologist?

Oh this thread is ancient, but I think still important today. I’d highly recommend getting the s/w and interface. I’m on my 2nd pair of hearing aids from bidbybid (supplied with s/w). I’ve successfully used the wireless ConnexxLink interface (but I think that is no longer available) and now I’m using a mini pro from AliExpress with cables from thehearingclub.com.

DIY is not beyond the average geek, a great learning experience and allows trying out so many different settings that would not be at all pragmatic if it involved an appointment. Most recently I’ve been trying out high frequency compression (shifting). Don’t think its generally useful to me but I can hear cymbals in music again!

I’m sure there are some great audiologists that provide good value to some customers, but that has not been my experience and I don’t want to pay 2-3 times more for hearing aids from a local audi for a few “free” appointments. I’ll only deal with an audi’s that offers service for a fee.

This is a resurrected 4 year old thread. I doubt that user is still involved here. Clicking on his name or avatar suggests he hasn’t moved to the new site either.

I agree, that one should be able to Obtain the software and Hardware to program their own hearing aids, if they want to… I agree with the previous post, that DIY is not beyond the average geek a great learning experience .
I have procured numerous hearing devices from Bidbybid, over the years. These devices are / were under warranty from the manufacturer. I feel guilty mentioning the Bidbybid, nevertheless, the folks there always have answered any questions and concerns I have had about the products. I rate them as impeccable.

I also have procured hearing devices from some outstanding local Audiologist’s too.

I work long hours and don’t always have time to take off work for a tune up appointment for my Hearing aids or to look for the latest technology when wanting to a hear little better, then I do today. or streaming TV, or listing to Iphone , etc.
.

You pay a premium when you buy from regular EBay sellers as opposed to buying from a one time seller like in this link (member archive).

There is one seller that programs the aids free I you buy the HAs he list on eBay. Send him your audiogram. His eBay ID is “earsrus”