The True Cost of Hearing Aids

So you’ve started to develop a mild case of hearing loss, the good news is that you have many options in hearing aids. The bad news is that you have many questions on where to start. Your first question you have to ask yourself should be: “How much do hearing aids cost?” Once you find out the answer to these common question, you may be shocked. The average price for a mid-level pair of hearing aids can range from $4,200 to $4,500. That’s without all the bells and whistles. Yes, there are less expensive hearing aids priced at $700 on TV, magazines and retailers like Ebay and Walmart, but it depends on the level of quality and options you need to manage your hearing loss. So, why does a pair of hearing aids cost so much? Well, there’s a few factors that go into the cost…

Manufacturing

• Specialized equipment like microprocessors and microphones.
• Required extensive research and development can cost almost three times as much as the parts and materials themselves.
• Teams of professionals like electrical engineers, audiologists, computer programmers and even musicologists are hired to design and create new equipment.
• When desired to make the best possible product, companies developing a high tech hearing aid can easily involve 200 to 300 people over three to four years.
• 8-10% of cost comes from production.

Distribution

• The retail price of hearing aids includes any dispensing fees and administrative salaries.
• Getting hearing aids is an elaborate process, involves many hours of fitting, adjusting and proper maintenance by highly trained professionals, which factor into costs.
• Insurance, staff salaries, rent, utilities and marketing materials are some of the expenses that hearing care professionals sustain at their offices you visit for your appointments.

Economics

• Competition between manufacturers drives marketing costs.
• When hearing aids are produced on a larger scale, the manufacturer can spread costs more thinly. This way, the company has an opportunity to reduce costs and pass savings on for the consumer.
• About 2 million hearing aids a year are sold to consumers, so cost reductions are unlikely in the future.

To learn more about getting information on hearing aids and costs, or to share information with someone you care about, please contact us at our Clifton Springs, Pittsford, or Canandaigua, New York locations.