How To Buy Hearing Aids Online - The Ultimate Guide
3 Ways To Purchase Hearing Aids Online & Save Money
Why it’s important.
Our hearing plays an important role in how we interact with the world around us. It facilitates the forming of relationships and opens up a wealth of sensory experiences. It is also very complex and extremely sensitive, so let’s give it the attention it deserves...
Introduction to Buying Hearing Aids Online.
It is possible to buy hearing aids successfully online and hear better for less. There are currently three main methods of purchasing hearing aids online and naturally, we believe ours is the best!
It’s also better for helping others. Pocket Hearing has committed 30% of all company profits to give the gift of hearing to those without access to hearing care.
Why Buy Hearing Aids Online?
Cost & convenience are the main factors. Buying hearing aids from a private hearing centre means that you pay for everything upfront i.e. the hearing test, hearing aids, and all further appointments; often for the lifetime of the aids! As you can imagine, this can add up.
Currently, there are three ways to buy hearing aids online. Whichever online method you use, there should be a cost saving. If there isn't, then you may as well go to the hearing centre and get the full service if convenience isn't an issue.
It's obviously extremely convenient to sit at home, take a hearing test and order your hearing aids online. It's even better when you receive great support within an instant.
COVID-19 has also made receiving hearing care online a necessity for some people. Thankfully, we live in an age where we can provide remote hearing care to people in their homes.
3 Ways To Buy Hearing Aids Online
Hearing Aid Mail Order Companies
These companies sell you hearing aids directly without any medical or professional intervention.
The only benefit of buying these hearing aids is that they’re usually cheap, typically between £20 and £550 each.
The hearing aids are not programmed to match your specific hearing loss and are not recognised by the audiology profession.
2. Hearing Aid Wholesale Companies
A wholesale company will sell you a hearing aid without any programming and/or service help. This allows you to take them to a hearing centre and only pay for the individual services you require, as and when you need them.
It should represent a saving in the long run. However, not all private hearing centres are happy to provide this service as some see it as unwanted competition that undermines the service they themselves provide.
The retailer should be able to recommend a private hearing centre near you who will be happy to help you for a fee. As time goes on, an increasing amount of hearing centres are happy to help.
3. Dedicated Telecare Audiology Companies
Recent advances in telecare health technology have allowed these new companies to start providing really effective services and now represent fantastic value. The motivation to buy from this type of supplier may be convenience or cost.
If you choose to buy your hearing aids online, then the best advice is to buy them from a company that is set up to do just that.
Online sales of hearing aids are best when supported by a testing, fitting and service infrastructure.
There should also be a cost-benefit from buying online as it saves the provider money. A personal face to face service from a professional, either in a clinic setting or in your home is expensive.
However, we still believe a hearing care professional should be involved at the beginning of the process and one should be available at any time should you require it. Not all suppliers will have this service level online and that will be reflected in the cost.
The involvement of an audiologist in your care will ensure you get the most out of your purchase. This is true for online and offline purchases.
At a hearing centre, you will be involved in a number of appointments and it can take some time to receive your hearing aids.
With telecare audiology, that time is saved and the constant back and forth is removed.
To understand the differences fully, we need to look at both the old, traditional process of buying a hearing aid and the new, online telecare models so that you can compare them. The wholesale method is fairly self-explanatory and the description above should be enough.
The first appointment at a hearing centre will involve an interview, examination and possibly a number of tests to make sure that you don't have any health issues in and around the ear; to ascertain your lifestyle so the hearing aids can be set up for your specific needs and naturally, to measure your level of hearing across the frequency range.
You should follow a similar process when you buy online. There should be a questionnaire to eliminate health risks and to establish your personal requirements. The questionnaire could be completed online prior to your purchase or as part of the telecare service following the purchase. Either way, it should be completed before receiving your hearing aid/s.
Once ordered, online hearing aids should arrive within a matter of days.
This process is usually much slower in a hearing centre, with the average time to receive hearing aids being 1-3 weeks
There should also be a hearing test. The hearing test itself will measure the overall level of your hearing but it can't be considered diagnostic if it is completed online. If you feel there is something wrong with your ear health other than the natural ageing process, or you have a condition that you're already aware of; then you must have a diagnostic hearing test at a hearing centre.
Whilst the offline buyer will be visiting the hearing centre to have their hearing aids 'fitted', the online buyer could be left to fit their own hearing aids. They will have all the parts they need in order to do this, Some instructions and service will vary here depending on the company.
At Pocket Hearing, we're with you every step of the way with phone calls, how-to videos and remote programming adjustments.
You will get the best hearing aids that would normally cost thousands of pounds at a fraction of the cost from Pocket Hearing.
Generally, you will get what you pay for. If you paid tens of pounds, then you're unlikely to get anything more than an amplifier and will be left completely to your own devices.
If you paid hundreds, then you should at least expect something programmed for your specific loss with some degree of control.
If it's in the thousands, then you should definitely expect the full remote care experience; with a hearing care professional able to adjust the sound of your hearing aids via an app on your phone. You should also have a high degree of control, usually via an app on your mobile phone.
In the UK, at least one 'follow up' appointment should be included with your purchase of hearing aids. Traditionally, this is another trip to the hearing centre.
It is likely that more companies will probably move to provide this element of the service via telecare. It usually involves some minor adjustments based on your experience so far.
There may be other follow-up appointments and regular 'check-ups' every six months. Some people will benefit from these appointments, but often they are literally just a check-up.
It's obviously far more convenient and effective to be able to have appointments at the precise time that you need them, wherever you are!
Why Telecare Audiology & Why Now?
You guessed it; technology. However, the recent pandemic has also led to innovative ways to provide hearing care to the more vulnerable in a safe and distanced way.
Pocket Hearing is also using this technology to provide help to people without access to hearing care around the world by reassigning 30% of all company profits to its mission.
Below are some of the technological advances that have benefitted the buying hearing aids online process:
Auto-acclimatisation - When you first start to wear hearing aids, it all sounds very strange and it takes a while for your brain to adapt. This is the same for everyone and the longer your hearing has been deteriorating, the longer it takes for the hearing aids to sound like your normal hearing, with added clarity. Your audiologist can set the hearing aids to gradually increase in amplification and clarity over time rather than having to do it manually at the hearing centre.
Self-Learning - When you change the volume within your different programs, the hearing aids will learn from the adjustments you make so that the next time you wear them, they will automatically be set to how you like it.
Apps - The telecare apps from all of the major hearing aid manufacturers are improving all the time, making the customer experience simple and easy to use as well as enabling the professional's ability to provide a full service remotely.
Ratings - These are a quick way for the wearer to send a rating to their hearing care professional. This informs the hearing centre that one of their clients may need their assistance. It also tells them when they are happy so a check-up might not be necessary and vice versa.
On-demand Appointments - A company that's set up for remote telecare should be able to meet you online via your phone app and offer advice, assistance and make changes instantly. - A company that's set up for remote telecare should be able to meet you online via your phone app and offer advice, assistance and make changes instantly.
Videos - are a great way of explaining things and they can be paused and rewound to help people with any service issues they may have. A hearing centre might teach someone how to change their filter at a 'fitting' appointment but by the time they actually need to do it, they've more than likely forgotten how to. Videos may be within the app, or something that can be emailed or texted as and when you need them.
Hearing Aids - The hearing aids themselves have become more universal. Unless someone has a very specific need, unique or profound hearing loss, they can usually be fitted successfully by most hearing aids of quality. In days gone by, the style of hearing aid was mainly determined by the severity of the hearing loss.
Conclusion:
Telecare Audiology is the future of hearing care and will serve the greater public well. That doesn't make face-to-face appointments with an audiologist defunct. If you require it, audiologists have skills and equipment that require your presence.
However, this level of personal, advanced service is not required by 95% of people and it is also expensive to provide. As a group, we still own and run a hearing centre that provides essential and specialist audiology products and services that you can't get online and we'll continue to do so for years to come.
Convenience and cost savings are to be found with online telecare but if you want or need the personal touch, then that will remain at a premium in a traditional hearing centre - just be sure that you're getting more than you would have got online!
There are a number of high street retailers that don't offer much more than a very basic service for a very premium price. Pocket Hearing Prices are over 65% less than those found at a premium hearing centre or on the high street.