How Much Do Hearing Aids Cost?
What is the cost of hearing aids and professional fees?
The price of hearing aids varies depending on the size and quality of the hearing aids. At the Herkimer Hearing Aid Center the price includes the evaluation and testing to help create the correct hearing aids for you, ear impressions, and office visits. Remember that we only offer high quality hearing aids with state of the art components to enhance your remaining hearing ability and to bring it back to as close to normal hearing as possible. Quality hearing aids start at around $1000 for a larger hearing aid to around $2,000 or more for a miniaturized hearing aid (like a contact lens for the ear). Many people are happy with the hearing aids along this price range. Unfortunately, some people will require even more sophisticated (and more expensive) hearing aids because of their particular type and degree of hearing loss. The good news is that even though they are more expensive, we ARE able to fit these people with the necessary prescriptions to make them hear well again. Keep in mind that cheaper hearing aids are available as well, but the sound quality is not as clear (learn more about the cheaper hearing aids below). As a general rule, the smaller the hearing aids are, the more expensive they will be. The same is true with the internal electronic components - the better sound quality the hearing aids produce, the more expensive they will be. The actual price varies depending on your particular needs, the type of components that will be in the hearing aids, and the actual style & size you select. A deposit is required when ordering your hearing aids. We do accept all major credit cards, and also offer interest-free payment plans.
REMEMBER: Don't be fooled when "shopping around" for hearing aid prices. Read the paragraphs below and remember: You get what you pay for.
IMPORTANT:
Why shouldn't I get those cheap hearing aids offered by some providers, or those "bargain" mail order hearing aids? What about those "advertised specials" I see in the newspaper? How will I know exactly how much my hearing aids will cost?
People like to shop around. When it comes to hearing aids, many people "get taken" by some providers who tell people what they want to hear in order to do business with them, rather than telling people what they should really be looking for in hearing aids and risk losing the "prospect" because the price may be more than what they anticipated. The same is true with those "deep-discounted specials" you sometimes see advertised in your local newspaper or mailers featuring cheap, low quality hearing aids just to lure you into the offices of these unscrupulous dispensers. These unethical marketing tactics are even used by many national hearing aid centers, which unfortunately work with quotas and commissions. Their goal is to get as many people as possible through the door, and the "advertised special" does just that. People who answer to these ads will only be disappointed when, after an hour of testing, they are told that this "special" is 'not right for their particular hearing loss'. They will then be pushed and pressured to purchase hearing aids costing several thousand dollars. This unfortunate "sales tactic" has been plaguing the hearing healthcare field for decades. Be aware of these deceitful advertising practices when you see them.
The truth is that less expensive hearing aids can make you hear louder, but they do not produce the clarity that better hearing aids produce. Cheaper hearing aids may not work well in certain environments such as group functions or when among family and friends. In fact, they may become so annoying and unbearable that you really will not want to wear them much at all. Usually when people get the cheaper hearing aids they either end up unhappy and frustrated, or the hearing aids will just sit in the drawer instead of in the ears, thus the money that was paid for the hearing aids was in reality just wasted.
This does not mean that a hearing aid costing thousands of dollars is necessarily better for you than a $1200 hearing aid. Your hearing loss may not be complicated enough to require more expensive hearing aids, or there may be a point where your remaining hearing ability may not be sensitive enough for you to be able to distinguish the difference between a good hearing aid and a better grade hearing aid. Or perhaps your personal needs simply don't require the features that a $2000 or $3000 hearing aid can provide. On the other hand, because of your particular personal needs you may benefit from the added features that a more expensive hearing aid provides. It really is impossible to give "an exact price" to someone who is shopping around. Your best bet is to go to a hearing healthcare provider who you can trust -- much like going to your dentist or your doctor.
At the Herkimer Hearing Aid Center we truly care about your hearing. A hearing test will tell us which frequencies you are having trouble with, and to what extent. After the evaluation, and once we know what your personal needs are, we will know what prescription you need and will tell you exactly what hearing aids you should be thinking about -- nothing more and nothing less. It is because of this philosophy of honesty and integrity that the Herkimer Hearing Aid Center has proudly grown to be recognized as one of the finest and most reputable Hearing Healthcare Providers in the Mohawk Valley.
Keep in mind that high quality components are necessary for the hearing aids to process sounds with clarity. This enables you to not only hear louder, but also clearer, because only those frequencies you need amplified will be amplified clearly to your particular needs. Only through this method can a hearing healthcare provider determine what hearing aids you need, and how much they will cost. Nobody can tell you, either on the phone or in an advertisement, how much the hearing aids that you need will cost.
At no point does the Herkimer Hearing Aid Center recommend the "economy-line" hearing aids. Don't fall for the "advertised special" trap. You should always be weary about a practice who uses ads featuring cheap hearing aids. When seeing such an ad, you should ALWAYS ask yourself: "Is this a Hearing Healthcare Provider who is looking out for my best hearing-care interest? Or are they just trying to lure me into their offices by advertising low priced (and low-quality) hearing aids?"
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What if I can only afford to buy one hearing aid?
That is up to you, but you should know that your hearing balance will be affected if you need two hearing aids and only choose to wear one. Also, when only one ear gets fitted with a hearing aid, the unaided ear will no longer be getting the benefit of "being talked to loudly". Thus, the unaided ear will be used less often, and in time begin to show the affects of Phonemic Regression and Permanent Distortion more prevalently. This is referred to as "Late-Onset Auditory Deprivation". It's also important to keep in mind that if you decide to get the second hearing aid after that ear's Phonemic Regression and Permanent Distortion has increased, even with the correct prescription, this previously unaided ear may fail to recognize even more speech sounds than it did when the first ear was fitted. So if you have hearing loss in both ears, you should really think about investing in a set of two hearing aids. If money really is a problem, please ask about our convenient interest-free payment plans.
Are there other benefits in getting two hearing aids instead of just one? Why do some people only wear one hearing aid?
A single-sided (unilateral) hearing loss requires only one hearing aid (monaural fitting). Sometimes only a monaural fitting is done because only one ear has a hearing loss. Other times the hearing loss of one ear is so great that it can no longer be helped with a hearing aid, and only one ear can be helped. Unfortunately, there are also times when people, for whatever reason (money, pride, denial), insist on only one hearing aid, and the hearing healthcare provider goes along with it in fear of not "selling" anything at all (the "selling" one is better than "selling" nothing mentality), or perhaps the patient is just unwilling to pay for a second hearing aid no matter what. In such cases the hearing aid wearer will have a hard time hearing and understanding things in their daily lives, even though they are wearing a hearing aid (actually, it's BECAUSE they are wearing only one hearing aid). Nationally, over 70 percent of all new hearing aid fittings are binaural (two hearing aids). Binaural hearing provides a much more natural sound. Clinical studies have shown that binaural hearing
aids enhance satisfaction and provide better overall hearing in more difficult
listening situations when background noise is involved, such as in groups and gatherings, outdoor environments,
and in cars. Binaural hearing also enables the brain to locate where sounds are coming from, and tell approximately how far away they are. One ear alone is unable to provide the brain with the information necessary to do this. Another benefit of binaural hearing is that the hearing aids can be set at a lower volume setting. This will help keep sudden loud sounds from becoming too uncomfortable. Many of those people who try to get away with wearing only one hearing aid end up getting the second one at a later time because of these factors. It makes no more sense to wear only one hearing aid when two are needed, than it does to wear glasses with only a one-lens correction.
© 2008
Herkimer Hearing Aid Center
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