![]() Their products have a wholesale cost that ranges between $99 and $149, compared with similar products that wholesale between $300 and $1,200. In 2015, the Academy of Doctors of Audiology and Minnesota-based manufacturer IntriCon created earVenture LLC to distribute high-quality, affordable, FDA-registered hearing aids to hearing health care providers. ![]() (A check of one site showed that the online price was about $700 less than the retail price.) They then buy a recommended hearing aid from the site and then take it to a professional in their area for a fitting fee in the range of $500, Rogin says. (See the HIA website for the list.) A consumer can even get their hearing tested at some manufacturer's sites. "Our members have some very cool internet sites," says Carole Rogin of the HIA. Once anathema, direct-to-consumer online sales are now being embraced by many of the global manufacturers and industry organizations. So what's a hard-of-hearing consumer to do? Go online. And industry professionals also point out economies of scale: Apple sold 3 million iPads in the first 72 hours of a recent launch the hearing aid industry sells 3 million units in one year. "If iPads were personalized and worn in the body, those prices would rise too," says HIA's Rogin. "The key to effectively treating hearing loss is the person who takes care of the patient," says Rita Chaiken, president of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) and an audiologist in Atlanta. But that two-thirds is the most important part of the equation, say hearing care professionals. The device typically accounts for one-third of the total price, and professional fees and services the remaining two-thirds, according to Dave Fabry, audiological consultant to the Washington-based HIA. ![]() "I have never had a patient I couldn't find a hearing aid for within their budget," she says. The key is to discuss options with your audiologist, says Carly Girard, an audiologist with several practices in Illinois. This makes them competitive with Costco, which offers devices from the big manufacturers as well as its signature brand, Kirkland, in the same price range. According to an April 2016 issue of the Hearing Review, a trade magazine, some hearing aid providers offer models at prices ranging from under $1,500 to under $500. Not true, say hearing care professionals. Patrick Freuler, chief executive of Audicus, an online company that partners with a German manufacturer to sell private-label hearing aids, makes the point that consumers are not being offered the low-cost choices, but are being presented with only luxury devices. When buying a car, for example, the consumer not only can choose between a Lexus and a Chevrolet, but also decide on particular features, such as wire wheels or gold trim. Blazer and others recommend that pricing be unbundled, so consumers know what they are really paying for and can make choices. This includes not only manufacturer's costs like materials and research and development, but also the expenses incurred by the provider: rent, salaries, training, licenses, diagnostic machines, marketing and ongoing patient support. "This is problematic," says Blazer.Īnother problem, he adds, is lack of transparency, "including transparency of the cost of production of hearing aids compared to the cost to distributors." Many hearing care professionals bundle all their costs into the final retail price. Not all models are available at all dispensers. Consumer choice is also limited because hearing aid providers typically contract with only two or three selected manufacturers, says Carole Rogin, president of the Hearing Industries Association (HIA). Six global manufacturers control 90 percent of the market. Gibbons professor of psychiatry emeritus at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., who chaired the NASEM committee. "One reason the prices remain high is that a fairly small group of companies controls the market," says Dan G.
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