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Buying Hearing Aids: Online, or from an Audiologist?

One of the most important considerations when investing in hearing aids is cost. Some models cost $1000; some cost upwards of $7000 for a pair. But it’s not as straightforward as simply comparing numbers. There’s also the question of where you buy.

If you purchase hearing aids from an audiology practice, servicing and other follow-up care will typically be “bundled” into the price of the hearing aids.

If you choose to buy online, some servicing may be covered, but you may be “on your own” when it comes to in-person follow-up care. You may want and benefit from this care, and the cost is a big unknown. This makes it very difficult to compare the “all in” costs of buying hearing aids from an audiologist, vs. buying online.

But the fact is, even if you buy hearing aids online, you can still seek servicing and follow-up care with your local audiologist. And based on an excellent study recently released by Hearing Review, this approach will save you money in a large majority of cases.

The Hearing Review Study

Hearing Review collected data 503 patients for a year after their initial hearing aid fitting, to see how often they returned for follow-up care.

The findings: if you buy hearing aids from an audiologist, you’re likely to make an average of 3 follow-up visits in the year after purchasing your hearing aids. But this isn’t the whole story. There are a very small number of customers out there making 5, 10, or even 15 follow-up visits, and they inflate the overall average.

 

If you’re like most people, you’re much more likely to be at the lower end of the range. In fact, there is a 50% chance you will make 2 or fewer follow-up visits, and an 80% chance you will make 4 or fewer follow-up visits.

Hearing Aid | Audiology Post Dispensing Visits

Let’s take this a step further. If we estimate the average cost of a follow-up visit at $100*, this means that if you buy online, there’s a 50% chance you’ll be adding at most $200 to your all-in first-year cost, and an 80% chance you’ll be adding at most $400.

If we compare with the thousands of dollars you’ll save by buying the hearing aid itself online, it becomes clear that if you’re like most people, you’ll save money overall by buying hearing aids online. However, it’s also true that buying online is not for everyone. If you have an unusually high number of follow-up visits, you’ll end up paying less overall for the “bundled package” of care provided from the audiologist.

*A report commissioned by the Virginia State Senate in 2009 found that the average cost of an audiologist was $46.

Hearing Aids | Embrace vs Audiologist Price Comparison

 

So... Should I Buy Hearing Aids Online?

Buying hearing aids online is not for everyone. But if you’re like most people, buying online is likely to save you money, while providing flexibility to seek follow up care with the audiologist or hearing aid dispenser of your choice.

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The X-Series Models

Vs
  • Compare to:

  • Our price per ear/pair:

  • ? This is the number of frequency bands we use to program your hearing aids to the results of your hearing test. The hearing aid then uses these bands to re-build sound to meet the needs of your hearing loss. The greater the number of bands, the better the sound quality delivered to you.
    Programable bands/channels

  • ? Our comprehensive warranty covers any manufacturer defects including free replacement of rechargeable batteries and receivers as well as half price one-time loss and irreparable damage replacement. In addition, during the warranty, there is no charge for reprogramming or adjustments.
    Warranty (and Loss Insurance)

  • ? Connects directly to your smartphone (or other Android or Apple device). Two way streaming enables completely hands free calls. Add our TV Connector for direct streaming from your TV so you can adjust your TV volume without affecting the sound for others.
    Bluetooth for completeley hands-free calls

  • ? Although the software on these hearings makes adjustments seldom necessary, it is possible to change the volume and some manual settings using either the free smartphone App or the buttons on the aids. An optional hand held remote is also available.
    Volume and Program Control

  • ? We offer a choice of disposable 312 battery or lithium ion rechargeable battery on some models. The rechargeable battery will perform for up to 24 hours after a 3 hour charge. The disposable batteries will last 3-7 days depending on hours of use, level of hearing loss and amount of Bluetooth streaming. A year’s supply of size 312 batteries currently costs about $30/year/aid.
    Power Source

  • ? The hearing aid's software automatically identifies and adjusts to changes in your sound environment (e.g. From a quiet car to a noisy restaurant) so no manual adjustments are needed.
    Automatically adjusts to your environment

  • ? This is the best technology for group situations. It provides optimal speech understanding from all directions by dynamically scanning your environment to focus on the active speaker in your immediate vicinity.
    LiveSpeechFocus

  • ? While most people find that the restoration of high frequency hearing through the use of properly programmed hearing aids significantly improves tinnitus symptoms, there is more we can do. All of our hearing aids come with a tinnitus management program. This is not a cure but it can further help alleviate tinnitus symptoms through the use of a self-adjustable 'white noise' sound in the background.
    Tinnitus Manager Program

  • ? BiCROS hearing aid progamming is for people who have unaidable hearing loss in one ear but have some level of hearing in the other. You would wear hearing aids on both ears. We program them so a microphone picks up sounds from the weak ear and transmits them to wirelessly to the ear with better hearing.
    BiCROS programming

  • ? REMOTE PROGRAMMING - With the X-550 and X-950 models, we can make adjustments to you hearing aids remotely. You would explain the issue to our Audiologists and the new program would be uploaded to your hearing aids automatically (via Bluetooth).
    Remote Programming

  • ? TELECOIL - The telecoil is also known as a T-coil, or T-switch. When activated, the telecoil permits the transmission of sound from a "Hearing Loop" sometimes found in public spaces and theaters. If you require this feature, please call us for details at (888) 929-9555.
    Telecoil

  • Colors

The C-Series Models

Vs
  • Compare to:

  • Our price per ear/pair:

  • ? This is the number of frequency bands we use to program your hearing aids to the results of your hearing test. The hearing aid then uses these bands to re-build sound to meet the needs of your hearing loss. The greater the number of bands, the more natural the sound and the better the performance in more challenging situations, like restaurants.
    Programable bands/channels

  • ? Our comprehensive warranty covers any manufacturer defects including free replacement of rechargeable batteries and receivers as well as half price one-time loss and irreparable damage replacement. In addition, during the warranty, there is no charge for reprogramming or adjustments.
    Warranty (and Loss Insurance)

  • ? Although the software on these hearings makes adjustments seldom necessary, it is possible to change the volume and some manual settings using the Android/Apple smartphone App or optional hand held remote.
    Volume and Program Control

  • ? The disposable size 10 batteries on these hearing aids will last about 4-6 days depending on hours of use and level of hearing loss. A year’s supply of size 10 batteries currently costs about $30/year/aid.
    Power Source

  • ? The hearing aid's software automatically identifies and adjusts to changes in your sound environment (e.g. From a quiet car to a noisy restaurant) so no manual adjustments are needed.
    Automatically adjusts to your environment

  • ? This is the best technology for group situations. It provides optimal speech understanding from all directions by dynamically scanning your environment to focus on the active speaker in your immediate vicinity.
    LiveSpeechFocus

  • ? While most people find that the restoration of high frequency hearing through the use of properly programmed hearing aids significantly improves tinnitus symptoms, there is more we can do. All of our hearing aids come with a tinnitus management program. This is not a cure but it can further help alleviate tinnitus symptoms through the use of a self-adjustable 'white noise' sound in the background.
    Tinnitus Manager Program

  • ? BiCROS hearing aids are designed for people who have unaidable hearing loss in one ear but have some level of hearing in the other. You would wear hearing aids on both ears. A microphone picks up sounds from the weak ear and transmits it to wirelessly to the ear with better hearing
    BiCROS programming

  • ? With the C-540 and C-940 models, we can make adjustments to you hearing aids remotely. You would explain the issue to our Audiologists and the new program would be uploaded to your hearing aids automatically.
    Remote programming and adjustments

  • Telecoil

  • Colors

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