How to Price Hearing Aids

Pricing hearing aids can be tricky. Most hearing aid clinics don't want you to know the prices of high-end hearing aids because you probably wouldn't make an appointment or come in. Hearing aid clinics offer "free hearing tests" to get you in the door. After completing a hearing test, if you need hearing aids, the clinician will present a long list of reasons why you should purchase your hearing aids from her clinic that day. Then comes the bomb. Hearing aids can range in price from $500 to $5,000 per aid. This may sound a little far-fetched, but it's the reality of the hearing aid industry.

Things You'll Need

• Telephone book
• Newspaper
• Telephone
• Pen and paper

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Instructions

Cost vs. Benefit

• 1

  Check your budget. Decide how much money you can comfortably spend on hearing aids. Depending on how advanced the technology is, a set of hearing aids can range in price from $1,000 to $10,000.

  Hearing aids are going to restore your hearing while you're wearing them. The more advanced your hearing aids are, the greater clarity and speech understanding you will experience while wearing them. You really do "get what you pay for" with hearing aids.

• 2

  Decide what level of technology you want--low, middle, or high end. Low-end hearing aids work best in quiet environments and range in price from $500 to $1,500 per aid. Mid-level hearing aids work best in quiet or moderate noise and range in price from $1,500 to $2,200 per aid. High-end hearing aids work best in all environments, especially noisy social settings, and range in price from $2,500 to $5,000 per aid. Second to your budget, your lifestyle and how well you want to hear in your life can help you determine what level of hearing aid technology you want to price.

• 3

  Call local hearing aid clinics and ask what brands of hearing aids they carry and what their price range is for the level of technology you've decided on. Most hearing aid clinics won't give you prices over the telephone; instead, they will give you a range, and they will try to set up an appointment for you for a free hearing test.

• 4

  Shop around. If you haven't had a hearing test or read information on different manufacturers' hearing aids, now is the time. The best way to price shop hearing aids is to set up 4 to 5 appointments at different local hearing aid clinics; make sure they offer a free hearing test, and plan on spending 1 hour at each appointment. Let each clinician test your hearing, explain your results and show you what type of hearing aids he recommends. This way, you'll get familiar with hearing aid brands, technology, styles, and prices before you make your final decision.

• 5

  Don't settle for the first price you're given or the first type of hearing aid you're shown. The combination of hearing aid styles, brands, technologies and prices on the market is staggering. Once you have decided on a brand, style and technology, remember, hearing aids are always on sale. You will see full-page newspaper ads for hearing aid sales. Hearing aids are a multi-billion dollar industry, and most clinicians are paid sales commissions; even doctors who sell hearing aids make a commission. This gives you some say in how much you pay for your hearing aids; most clinics will give you at least a 10% discount off of any price that is not already discounted.