It is generally recognized that for most people, the purchase of hearing aids is probably the third largest expense you ever have, after your house and your car. Unfortunately, only one in five people who could benefit from wearing hearing aids own them, with the most frequent reason why being the cost. The top-of-the-line, newest hearing aids could cost as much as $8500, and that is a huge amount of money for the vast majority of people in the USA.
The purpose of this article is to address the cost of hearing aids from the perspective of what a patient could do to make them affordable. Hopefully, this will motivate more people to go to their audiologist to get tested and to be able to afford the devices that will make a big difference in their lives.
What Determines the Cost of Hearing Aids?
Not all hearing aids are priced the same, and understanding what drives the difference helps you have a more informed conversation with your audiologist before any purchasing decision is made.
Technology level is the primary cost driver.
Every major hearing aid brand including Phonak, Oticon, Widex, Signia, Starkey, and ReSound, offers their devices across multiple technology tiers, typically three to five levels per brand. Entry-level devices perform well in quiet, predictable environments such as one-on-one conversations at home. Mid-level devices handle more varied situations such as family gatherings, smaller restaurants, meetings. Premium devices use advanced processing to manage complex, noisy environments in real time, often incorporating AI-driven speech separation, motion sensing, direct Bluetooth streaming, and comprehensive tinnitus programs. The higher the tier, the higher the price. The right tier depends on your lifestyle and listening demands, not on what is newest or most expensive.
What is included in the purchase also affects the total cost.
Hearing aids purchased through a licensed audiologist include professional services that are not available with over-the-counter or online devices: the fitting evaluation, Real Ear Measurement to verify the device is correctly programmed for your specific ear, and follow-up care over the life of the devices. At Audio Help Hearing Centers, every purchase includes a five-year concierge plan covering unlimited follow-up visits and free batteries for the duration of the warranty. That ongoing clinical relationship is built into the price and represents significant value over the course of ownership.
Style plays a smaller role than most patients expect.
Behind-the-ear, receiver-in-canal, completely-in-canal, and invisible-in-canal devices are available across all technology tiers. The style affects comfort, visibility, and handling, not necessarily the price tier. Your audiologist can walk you through the full range of hearing aids and products available at Audio Help and match a style to both your hearing profile and your preferences.
Patients in New York City, Scarsdale, and Stamford are welcome to schedule a no-obligation hearing evaluation at any of our five locations. Understanding your audiogram is the starting point. It tells your audiologist which technology tier your hearing loss actually requires, which is the most reliable way to understand what your investment will look like before you commit to anything.
The first rule in thinking about paying for hearing aids is to put this cost in perspective with the other two big ticket items most people purchase…the house and the car. In both those situations, the purchase is not made with 100% cash and the time of the purchase. Rather, almost everyone takes out a mortgage to finance the cost of their house, and also most people finance or lease their car. The same opportunity exists for the purchase of hearing aids, as there are several ways to finance them so you do not have to shell out thousands of dollars at the time of purchase. The following are two very common ways to finance hearing aids:
- Almost every audiology company has a financing option, in which patients can spread out the costs of their hearing aids over several years, so the monthly payments are more friendly. At Audio Help Hearing Centers, we have a few options, with the most popular being a 12-month interest-free financing program.
- Another option that is very popular for residents of New York and Connecticut is state-run financing programs that will enable a patient to pay off the cost of their hearing aids over 3-4 years at only a 4% interest rate. If you ask your audiologist, they can tell you how to connect with these state organizations.
Another way to make purchasing hearing aids more affordable is to work with your audiologist to find a lower-cost alternative to buying the top-of-the-line devices. Some examples of this are:
- Take advantage of promotional programs offered by many audiology clinics. Several times during the year, we at Audio Help Hearing Centers will run promotional specials where we offer as much as $1500 of the suggested retail price of the devices.
- Another option is to discuss with your audiologist whether you need the highest technology devices. Most brands of hearing aids offer four or five different technology levels, and a discussion with your audiologist could identify a lower technology model that will give you everything that you need, at a much lower price than the top-of-the-line model.
- A third way to reduce the cost of hearing aids is to see if your audiologist has any new devices left over from the prior year, which you could obtain for a significantly lower price than the current year’s model. In many, if not most situations, this will prove to be an excellent alternative to the current year’s model.
- If last year’s model still is outside your price range, some audiologists will have reconditioned hearing aids available, which can generally be obtained at a fraction of the cost of a new high-technology hearing aid.
In summary, if you need hearing aids, it is important to figure out a way to get them. Most people do not know that untreated hearing loss is directly related to significant increases in the likelihood of the person getting dementia, Alzheimer’s, or depression. Also, people who do not treat their hearing loss have 47% more hospital visits than people who get hearing aids.
At Audio Help Hearing Centers, we work closely with our patients to find the optimal solution to address hearing loss, considering the patient’s degree of loss, their lifestyle, and their desires relative to vanity and comfort. We care very much about our patient’s health and will do whatever we can to help them hear better.
