The price of digital hearing aids can be an important factor when selecting the best solution for you. At Hearing Aid UK we offer low prices on the full range of commercially available digital hearing aids and we publish our prices for all to see. Our hearing aid prices include all testing, fitting, programming and aftercare for the life of the hearing aids.
So why are digital hearing aids so expensive? When you purchase a digital hearing aid through Hearing Aid UK you are not simply purchasing a consumer product. You are also employing the services of our audiologists for the life of those digital hearing aids at no extra cost.
This is commonly referred to as “aftercare”. Aftercare includes the likes of periodic hearing tests and assessments, reprogramming of the hearing aids, rehabilitation of the client and much more. A digital hearing aid should last about 5 years if taken care of properly and perhaps much longer.
Most of the digital hearing aids listed on our price list are actually “ranges” of hearing aids. This means that they are available in many different shapes and sizes. Contrary to most people’s belief, the physical size and shape of the hearing aid bears no relation to the cost.
The price is determined by the level of technology contained within the hearing instrument. Here is a list of the most commonly used styles of hearing aids in order of size – starting with the smallest first.
There are six major hearing aid manufacturers or hearing aid brands - namely Oticon, Widex, ReSound, Phonak, Starkey and Sivantos (Signia). Interestingly, the first three are Danish companies. Each manufacturer has its own unique technology and provides a different client experience. It is therefore in the interest of the client to be able to have access to all products available.
Most audiologists in the UK have affiliations with certain manufacturers or offer a limited price list. Hearing Aid UK is able to choose from all commercially available hearing instruments. When our audiologists recommend a hearing instrument then you can be assured that it has been selected from the widest possible choice.
So, how do you choose the right hearing aid? The choice of what hearing aid to choose is perhaps not as straightforward as one may think. There's no 'one size fits all' when it comes to choosing them. The usual procedure is that the hearing aid dispenser recommends a particular model and the client ultimately decides whether or not they are prepared to pay “that much money” and frequently a compromise is sought.
My advice to any and every prospective hearing aid purchaser is always the same. Always invest in the best technology that you can afford. Only you really know your budget. Sadly, many dispensers are afraid of offering the very best hearing aids to their clients.
This may sound strange but many hearing aid companies charge excessive prices and their dispensers know it. They, therefore, suggest lower technology hearing instruments at a more palatable price.
There’s little point in buying some hearing aids and then not wearing them because of embarrassment. There are plenty of cosmetic solutions out there so this really shouldn’t be a problem.
More demanding lifestyles require more clever features. There are many hearing aids that offer wireless connectivity to devices such as television, telephones, mobile telephones and hands-free car telephones.
Although you may not need these straight away you may wish to consider hearing aids that can perform such functions at a later date. Your aids should last at least 5 years and the accessories are actually quite cheap in comparison to the hearing aids themselves.
Make sure you are comfortable with handling the batteries, inserting and removing the aids, using the remote controls etc.
If you have a severe or profound hearing loss then you may require a more powerful hearing aid. This could substantially reduce the options available to you and rule out the smaller hearing aids. Certain rarer types of hearing loss may indicate other specialist technology such as conductive hearing losses requiring bone conduction hearing instruments.
Discuss your needs in-depth with the hearing aid audiologist and ask them to make their recommendations to you and to find out what the best hearing aids are on the UK market. Don’t be afraid to challenge them and ask them to explain their thought process.
Ask them to quote you for the very best hearing aid that would be suitable for you. As a general rule, the very best technology should cost no more than around £1600-£1700 per hearing aid inclusive of a 5-year extended warranty. If they’re asking for more than this write down the hearing aids they have quoted then compare prices on the internet.
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Do not spend hundreds of pounds without getting a second opinion from us.
If you are looking at this page then it is likely that an audiologist has suggested that you purchase this particular hearing aid, so is this the best model for you?
In general, any audiologist will always be recommending to you the model that best suits your needs. Here is a useful check list to make sure that is the case.
If in doubt, feel free to give us a call. That's what we're here for.
If you have a significant hearing loss in both ears, you should be wearing two hearing aids. Here are the audiological reasons why:
Localisation. The brain decodes information from both ears and compares and contrasts them. By analysing the miniscule time delays as well as the difference in loudness of each sound reaching the ears, the person is able to accurately locate a sound source. Simply put, if you have better hearing on one side than the other, you can't accurately tell what direction sounds are coming from.
Less amplification required. A phenomena known as “binaural summation” means that the hearing aids can be set at a lower and more natural volume setting than than if you wore only one hearing aid.
Head shadow effect. High frequencies, the part of your hearing that gives clarity and meaning to speech sounds, cannot bend around your head. Only low frequencies can. Therefore if someone is talking on your unaided side you are likely to hear that they are speaking, but be unable to tell what they have said.
Noise reduction. The brain has it’s own built in noise reduction which is only really effective when it is receiving information from both ears. If only one ear is aided, even with the best hearing aid in the world, it will be difficult for you to hear in background noise as your brain is trying to retain all of the sounds (including background noise) rather than filtering it out.
Sound quality. We are designed to hear in stereo. Only hearing from one side sounds a lot less natural to us.
For most people, the main benefit of a rechargeable hearing aid is simple convenience. We are used to plugging in our phones and other devices overnight for them to charge up.
For anybody with poor dexterity or issues with their fingers, having a rechargeable aid makes a huge difference as normal hearing aid batteries are quite small and some people find them fiddly to change.
One downside is that if you forget to charge your hearing aid, then it is a problem that can't be instantly fixed. For most a 30 minute charge will get you at least two or three hours of hearing, but if you are the type of person who is likely to forget to plug them in regularly then you're probably better off with standard batteries.
Rechargeable aids are also a little bit bigger and are only available in behind the ear models.
Finally, just like with a mobile phone, the amount of charge you get on day one is not going to be the same as you get a few years down the line. Be sure to ask what the policy is with the manufacturer warranty when it comes to replacing the battery.
For most people, the answer is yes. But it's never that simple.
The majority of hearing problems affect the high frequencies a lot more than the low ones. Therefore open fitting hearing aids sound a lot more natural and ones that block your ears up can make your own voice sound like you are talking with your head in a bucket. Therefore in-ear aids tend to be less natural.
However the true answer is we can't tell until we have had a look in your ears to assess the size of your ear canal, and until we have tested your hearing to see which frequencies are being affected.
People with wider ear canals tend to have more flexibility, also there are open fitting modular CIC hearing aids now that do not block your ears.
There is also the age old rule to consider, that a hearing aid will not help you if it's sat in the drawer gathering dust. If the only hearing aid you would be happy wearing is one that people can't see, then that's what you should get.
Most people can adapt to any type of hearing aid, as long as they know what to expect. Have an honest conversation with your audiologist as to what your needs are.
Generally speaking, six or more. Unless it's none at all.
The number of channels a hearing aid has is often a simplistic way an audiologist will use to explain why one hearing aid is better than another, but channels are complex and it is really not that straightforward.
Hearing aids amplify sounds of different frequencies by different amounts. Most people have lost more high frequencies than low and therefore need more amplification in the high frequencies. The range of sounds you hear are split into frequency bands or channels and the hearing aids are set to provide the right amount of hearing at each frequency level.
Less than six channels and this cannot be done with much accuracy, so six is the magic number. However, a six channel aid is typically very basic with few other features and is suitable only for hearing a single speaker in a quiet room. The number of channels is not what you should be looking at, it's more the rest of the technology that comes with them.
As a final note, different manufacturers have different approaches. One method is not necessarily better than any other. For example some manufacturers have as many as 64 channels in their top aids. Most tend to have between 17 and 20. One manufacturer has no channels at all.
Hearing aids are easily lost, misplaced or damaged and typically are one of the most expensive personal possessions an individual can own. We offer hearing aid warranty cover for £80 per year per aid. Find out more here
All our audiologists use the very latest technology and provide the full range of tests to accurately measure your hearing for free. Find out about what we offer all our customers here
Hearing Aid UK offers all their customers free home visiting services and home visits for hearing aids - Including hearing tests, fittings, maintenance, check-ups and much more in the comfort of your own home and at your convenience. Find out more information here
Here, at Hearing Aid UK, we are dedicated to offering low hearing aid prices. We achieve this by having no head office and low marketing costs. Our hearing aid prices are amongst the lowest you will find anywhere in the world.
When we refer to a product as 'Latest Launch', we mean it is the latest to be released on the market.
When we refer to a product as 'New', we mean that the product is the newest hearing aid model on the market.
When we refer to a product as 'Superseded', we mean that there is a newer range available which replaces and improves on this product.
When we refer to a product as an 'Older Model', we mean that it is has been superseded by at least two more recent hearing aid ranges.