Hearing aid repairs

[OzMan]

I bought an expensive Widex hearing aid in Australia about 5 years ago. The Bangkok Widex agent says the microphones are broken and need replacing. Unfortunately, the model I bought is not sold in Thailand and they can only offer a substitute microphone, but will not guarantee how long it will work. I could mail them to Australia to be fixed, and then get them mailed back, but mail with COVID could take months. Not sure what to do. I could buy an inexpensive pair to make do, as Consumer Reports say that expensive models are not much better than cheaper models and not worth the money.

[rjwill01]

I broke one and lost one. Ordered good used ones on Ebay. Worked great and only cost me about $100. U.S.

[cmarshall]

After six or seven years of use I sent my first pair of HAs back to the US for repair.  The repair worked, but the pair gave out some months later.  While Consumer Reports is quite correct that HAs are marketed on features that don't improve speech recognition much if at all, such as increasing the number of channels, there are some genuine improvements to be had for newer models.  My current pair, the Kirkland Signature 9.0 came from Costco in the US which rebrands and discounts units from major manufacturers.  The key new feature for me is integrated bluetooth and it's a game-changer.  I can now enjoy phone conversations, youtube videos, movies, etc. as never before.  These have true bluetooth functionality.  There is no need for a separate bluetooth receiver like the previous generation of HAs.  

 

In the coming years I expect further improvements, which I hope will come from the Chinese.  HAs should be fully programmable from a smart phone which can even provide an audiogram.  This would free distribution of HAs from the greedy grasp of the audiologists who have caused HAs to be the only consumer electronics to increase in price year after year.

[OzMan]

On 9/12/2020 at 7:21 AM, cmarshall said:

My current pair, the Kirkland Signature 9.0 came from Costco in the US.

Kirkland hearing aids get the best reviews, although I assume you bought yours in the US as they need to be programmed for your hearing?

[izod10]

I would start a conversation with India, medifee.com, audiology They have all the latest procedures and whatever u want at a fraction of Thailand especially

  skype  sms whatsapp     Ive been over before covid to see a doc

[OzMan]

4 minutes ago, izod10 said:

I would start a conversation with India, medifee.com, audiology.

A doctor friend in Australia said that prices in UK are also cheap, his wife goes there to get her HA's. The savings pays for the airfare. I would consider India but travel restrictions are limiting my options. Any suggestions for a good clinic in Bangkok, the Widex store is a long way from the BTS? HA prices must be one big rip off.

[cmarshall]

16 hours ago, OzMan said:

Kirkland hearing aids get the best reviews, although I assume you bought yours in the US as they need to be programmed for your hearing?

Yes, you would have to go to a Costco in the US.  The point of my post is to recommend HAs with bluetooth if you use a smartphone a lot.

[cmarshall]

2 hours ago, OzMan said:

HA prices must be one big rip off.

More of a rip off than you might imagine.  Unlike every other consumer electronic device the prices of HAs have been going up, not down, for years.  About 8% per year, even though the heart of an HA is a digital signal processor similar to those in cell phones, headphones, etc. which have gotten cheaper.  So, what is unique about hearing aids that has been driving the price up, if not the technology?  Well, the distribution channel is unique.  An HA is the only medical device you buy directly from a health care provider, usually an audiologist who is a commissioned salesperson wearing a white coat.  The audiologist charges you for the audiogram, but she makes her money on the high margin on the HAs she sells to you directly.  There are two facts that enable her to influence the selection you make more than any other purchase.  First, you don't know anything about HAs.  Second, as Consumer Reports found in their study, even though 40% of HAs are not correctly fitted, 75% of purchasers were satisfied with them.  For the audiologist this creates a lucrative opportunity to upsell these naive customers while knowing that the customer is almost certain to be happy no matter how much he overpays.  I paid $1200 for my first pair while a friend at the same time paid $12,000 for his from an audiologist who sold no products as cheaply as $1200/pair.  We were both quite happy and raved about the improvement in our hearing using the same words.

 

As I mentioned above, the long-term solution to this problem is to push the audiologist out of the transaction.  I expect that the Chinese will eventually develop HAs that can be fully programmed with a smartphone using the results of an audiogram produced by the same smartphone.  There are already some early products at self-programmable HAs, such as one from Bose, but they are not ready for prime time yet.  After all, programming HAs is pretty much like adjusting any equalizer.