Where can I get honest professional advice on hearing aids?

Question

My Mum is 81, and has a hearing aid, which was very expensive. (£1500.00) and is virtually useless. I consider this to be a total rip off. Considering that you can get state of the art computers, TV's etc for less than this, I can only conclude that hearing aid companies are only interested in making fat profits from the vulnerable, for what is essentially a microphone and speaker. Can anyone point me in the direction of a company that actually cares about its customers,and not soley on its profits?
Genuine answers only please. Thank you.

Answer 1

The NHS offers digital hearing aids - free.

Answer 2

Wow, there's some really bad information here.

First off, let's address the issue of cost. When it comes to private hearing aids, or indeed private medicine period, the cost you pay has to cover everything. So for £1,500 someone with a professional qualification drives to your (or your mothers) home, tests the hearing, takes impressions, returns with a custom built hearing device, programs it, fits it, and returns for rehabilitation advice, service and adjustments right there in the home for the rest of the patient's life.

As well as the cost of all of these in home treatment, there is the cost of the technology. The company I work for now in the US, recently developed a new digital technology. It took four years and $40m to develop. That's about £20m. So everyone who buys a hearing aid system is paying their portion of these R&D costs.

While I accept that £1,500 is a lot of money, you have to weigh that against what you are getting. Expensive digital technology, custom made for the patient, along with the services of a trained, qualified, and licensed professional visiting your home.

Let me ask you this question. How much would you expect to pay for a custom made suit if a tailor came to your home, measured you for it, produced it for you, and then offered to come back and clean it and make alterations free for life? Do you think it would be the same price as a Burton's suit off the shelf? Of course not. Custom built hearing aids are no exception.

Now you claim that your mother is doing poorly with the hearing system. Well first I would have to question, why she is only wearing one hearing aid? Unless she is totally deaf in the other ear or there is some other medical contra-indication, wearing one hearing aid is a recipe for failure, no matter how good it is. It would be like wearing a monocle instead of a pair of prescription glasses or contacts.

If she is doing poorly she should contact the company that provided the hearing aid and seek help. There may be adjustments that can be made to improve her situation.

As someone who has worked for the two largest private hearing aid companies in the UK, I can assure you that they are not fat cats making oodles of money. Their profit is no more impressive than any other business.

As far as the question as to where to shop, I honestly think it boils down to the individual dispenser more than the company he or she works for. In any profession there are those who are lazy, and those who are conscientious. If I were you I would try to be present at the hearing test, and see how competent the professional is.

A good professional should spend well over 90 minutes doing his presentation. This should include a detailed test, a detailed explanation of the results, a justification as to what hearing aid system he/she is recommending, and a demonstration of a real hearing system that should yield measurable and impressive results. Failure to do any of these things means that the person you invited to your home is lazy or inept.

If I were shopping I would audition Hidden Hearing, Amplivox, Scrivens, and an couple of local independent hearing professionals. This will give you a good feel.

Now I’ve not worked in the UK for seven years, and some things have changed. But I’d like to address some of the really misleading comments that have been made in answer to your question:

Hearing aids are available free on the NHS:

- Sure they are. But what they offer is a waiting list as long as 18 months in some areas, and the most basic digital technology out there. Compare this with state of the art technology fitting within a week or two in the private sector.

Digital hearing aids are available on the NHS:

- I believe they now do this. But that’s like saying, all petrol cars are the same. The NHS do offer some basic digital technology, but it is not state of the art, and unless they have radically changed their policies recently, they love to fit one ear, as opposed to correcting the whole problem.

And now some specific points raised in this question:

Phatty – No hearing aid audiologist is going to tell you that you need hearing aids when you don’t. The penalty for this is revocation of license. So it seems hard to imagine that a person would take such a long time to become qualified just to flush their license and livelihood down the toilet by prescribing a hearing aid unnecessarily.

Furthermore, your GP is not qualified or licensed to fit hearing aids. He may have an opinion, but he is not a specialist and most of them know little to nothing about hearing loss, except the kind that can be treated medically. I know this for a fact because I have several friends who are GPs, and several patients who are retired GPs.

boogeywoogy – Yours was some of the most misleading information of all. While hospital based Audiologists may have no ‘ulterior motive’ in what they do, they are equally constrained what the NHS allows them to do. So they may have the best intentions in the world, but this doesn’t mean they have access to the best technology or resources. After all one of the reasons that most people in Britain assume that one hearing aid will solve a bilateral hearing loss is because the NHS strongly pressured their Audiologists to fit only one hearing aid, at least until 2000 and probably beyond. Was this in the best interest of the patient? Heck no. It was an exercise in cost saving. So let’s not try to pretend that the NHS is this wonderful bastion of giving the hard of hearing exactly what they need.

As for your misguided comments on hearing aid dispensers, this is the kind of propaganda and intellectual snobbery that I’ve heard about from audiologists. The fact is, the courses I took in Hearing Aid Audiology I took along side NHS employees. They were exempt from certain classes and certain portions of the exam. This was back in the early 90s and may have changed. But at that time those in the private sector had to do more, in terms of their dispensing license.

Hearing aid dispensers are fully qualified and licensed to perform a hearing test and analyze the results. They know when to refer for medical reasons, and are experts in hearing aid selection and fitting. They know only too well that incorrect fitting of a hearing aid can lead to their license being yanked, and their career being finished.

But like any licensed professional, some are not that good. Just like in any other profession. Including people working in the NHS. Just because they give away free hearing aids doesn’t mean they are magic.

Answer 3

Hospital-based audiologists do not have ulterior motives when recommending and dispensing hearing aids; they do what is best for the patient.
Your ENT can refer you.
Avoid hearing aid dispensers, as all they want is to sell you something you don't need, or isn't right for your type of hearing loss. Many of them aren't even audiologists, either, so are not qualified to do an in-depth hearing assessment.

Answer 4

I had theses people round my house, did a test and told me I needed hearing aids and they would cost me £3,000 each, I went to doctor , had test and he told me I didn't need hearing aids and if i did, I would get them from the NHS for free anyway

Answer 5

there is not any longer a therapy for ANY virus. Herpes is going dormant - and does not pass away the physique. If all and sundry is questioning of doing this...do no longer do it. Testimonial letters do no longer advise the anitibodies are long gone from the physique.

Answer 6

Get in touch with your GP and he will refer you to the audiologist at your NHS hospital, explain your predicament and I'm sure they will solve your problem.

Answer 7

take her to the docs and get one free on the nhs

Answer 8

WHAT!!? I CAN"T HEAR YOU!!! DID YOU SAY DEAR RING PAID?? WHAT THE HELL IS THAT??!!