News / Business
Openfit.com responds to New York Times article about high cost of hearing aids.
Openfit.com, an internet leader is selling high quality user programmable hearing aids responds to the New York Times article “Buy a Hearing Aid? You’ve Got a Lot to Learn.”
On July 24, the New York Times wrote an article about Bob Buckwalter’s search for hearing aids. The article detailed Bob Buckwater’s learning experience as he purchased a new pair of hearing aids in January for an astonishing price of $4600. We at openfit.com would like to add our thoughts on the hearing aid process as detailed in this article. Below are excerpts from the article (in parentheses) and our response.
(“It’s a monumental amount,” Mr. Buckwalter said.)
Yes, unfortunately hearing aids are very expensive. However, $4600 is an extreme amount of money to pay for a set of hearing aids. When you wear a hearing aid you in fact wearing a tiny computer behind your ear. They are expensive to manufacture, but would you ever pay $4600 for a pair of computers? The fact is most of the cost in hearing aids today are due to manufacture’s overhead and hearing aid dealer’s exorbitant markups. Additionally, many hearing aid dealers do not have a printed price for hearing aids. This often leads to discrimination based on economics or even race. At openfit.com we strive to provide users with the lowest price possible, highest quality hearing aids. All of our hearing aids are less than $1000 per aid.
(But the technical leap is not the only reason for high prices. Traditionally, hearing aids have been sold through professionals who also fit and adjust the devices as part of the overall cost. The system, however, leaves room for plenty of inept or even greedy providers to take the reins.)
We completely agree. We recommend becoming your own hearing aid professional. With a little help, we can have you programming your own hearing aids on your computer. If you can send an email, you can program your own hearing aids!
(Once you buy, manufacturers offer a trial period during which you can return your hearing aid at no cost or for a minimal fee. Many states mandate a minimum trial period, usually 30 days. Some providers and manufacturers offer 45 days.)
At openfit.com, we provide a 50 day trial period. If your hearing aids don’t work, you are welcome to return them to us for small restocking fee. We are not interested in high pressure sales pitches to get you into a set of hearing aids.
(Separately, there is legislation in both the House and Senate proposing a tax break for hearing aid purchases.)
We encourage all people with hearing needs to contact their U.S. Senators and Representatives and ask them to pass the Hearing Aid Tax Assistance Credit Act.
The hearing aid industry is changing rapidly. We encourage people with hearing needs to explore all of the options before you decide on a solution. The mission of openfit.com is to provide the highest quality of hearing care, adjustable by the consumer at reasonable prices. Typically when you purchase a hearing aid, you are paying up to 200% over the value of the aid for the option to have the aid adjusted in the future. Hearing aids are not that difficult to adjust and we encourage you to shop us before paying much more for audiologist prices.
We currently sell 3 different consumer programmable hearing aids. Give us a call to discuss the one that is right for you!
