Hearing Aid Prices
The main thing to establish is whether or not you audiologist is likely to deliver good quality after care for years to come.
As two-thirds of the price of hearing aids is for this service provision, this is very important.
It is relatively easy to identify providers that are likely to be around for a while. Established ‘Independents’ and big, well known high street chains for instance. Is it better to form a good working relationship with your professional? Probably. Long-established independents might be your safest choice, so long as the price is relatively fair.
THE TRUTH FOR MOST OF US WITH STRAIGHT-FORWARD HEARING LOSS
Most hearing aid wearers end up being happiest with ‘thin wire’ or RIC hearing aids. Most RICs are pretty good, when set up competently. Most of us with mild hearing loss will find that good, solid ‘so-called’ lower technology hearing aids are perfectly satisfactory. Examples would be BERNAFON ZERENA 1, OTICON OPN S3, PHONAK AUDEO B30, WIDEX EVOKE 220, RESOUND QUATTRO 561. A pair should cost between £1000 and £2500. IF your chosen audiologist seems to have a good reputation, good reviews and even better – offers an evaluation period before choosing, then it’s probably worth paying about 15 to 25% more for this ‘reassurance’ (If you’ve been recommended personally to visit a place, this is normally a good sign!).
IF YOU WANT TO DO THE ‘BEST’ FOR YOUR HEARING, THEN I GUESS YOU SHOULD GO FOR THE TOP VERSIONS ON OFFER
The ability to trial 2 or 3 models before making such a big decision is invaluable. This is very important. The current high performance models are OTICON OPN S1, PHONAK MARVEL M90R, STARKEY LIVIO AI, RESOUND QUATTRO 9, WIDEX EVOKE 440 etc.
Price competition on Phonak is quite obvious, so a pair can apparently be bought from as little as £2695. You may need to pay up to £3700. The same applies to most brands, except Oticon that generally cost a little more (£3300 to £4500).
BEWARE, HEARING AID OUTCOMES ARE EXTREMELY VARIABLE
Demand a trial period before buying!
