Dr. Max S. Chartrand Ph.D.
Dr. Chartrand answers a reader's question about a "bargain" price for mail order / internet hearing aids.
The Real Cost of Mail Order / Internet Hearing Aids
Question:
Dear Dr. Chartrand: I saw an ad for a mail order hearing aid that only cost $295. Why such a difference in price from my local (dispenser)?---Mr. A.T.
Answer:
Dear Mr. A.T.: First of all, mail order hearing aids are unregulated devices that attempt to circumvent the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Hearing Aid Rule, and are outlawed in many states in the U.S.
Furthermore, there are a host of state and federal regulations designed to protect the health and safety of the public that are simply ignored to the detriment of many unsuspecting and ill-informed hearing impaired individuals.
In recent court cases, purveyors of such substandard care and technology denied that their devices were even "hearing aids". So much for deception of those who need it the most!
Essentially, you would be getting little or nothing. As a result, what you DO pay is still too much.
When one succumbs to the siren song of cheap mail order / internet hearing aids, there are a host of essential and wonderful things they miss out on:
- Video otoscopy examination, an enlarged visual examination of your ear to ascertain the presence of serious ear conditions that may require medical attention.
- Complete and thorough hearing and speech evaluation, including medical referral in cases that meet the FDA Red Flag conditions.
- Assessment of communicative needs, along with counseling relative to empowerment under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
- Safe and appropriate ear impressions of your ear by personnel properly trained and certified in ergonomic prosthetics of the ear.
- Appropriate and effective advanced hearing technology, including digital programming, real ear and soundfield verification, and aftercare services that protect your investment for years to come.
- Approximately 12-20 man-hours of hands-on auditory rehabilitation training and hearing instrument servicing during the first year alone, and about 8-10 hours of behind-the-scenes work on your behalf.
- The comfort of knowing that you've received instrumentation and care under the best standards of practice, and have retained a professional who knows you as a special individual and who will work hard to meet your needs.
The list could go on, but the truth of the matter is that legitimate, quality hearing care is, bar-none, the best bargain for your healthcare dollars today. In fact, in real dollars hearing health care offers you ever-increasing benefits at a lower real dollar cost that has steadily declined since 1948.
Our communicative health is much too precious to leave to chance. Certainly, it is too vital to one's cognition, happiness, and well-being to entrust to those who would circumvent best practice standards, and the laws and regulations that were instituted to protect your best interests.
