Why do hearing aids cost so much is a question asked by many people facing buying one.

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The latest digital hearing aids can cost several thousand dollars and, although they are sophisticated devices compared with the basic hearing aids available in the past, their prices seem high compared to other electronic products.

Of course you can still buy a basic analogue hearing aid cheaply. These are basically just amplifiers which amplify all sounds at the same level. This can help in quiet situations like when just one person is talking and there is little background noise. But in noisy situations it simply makes all the noise loader and does nothing to help hear what people are saying.

The problem is that as people get older the ability to hear high frequency sounds is often reduced. This results in difficulty in hearing speech properly when there is a lot of background noise (it may be more difficult to understand women than men). What is actually needed is a hearing aid that just amplifies the high frequencies and leaves the user to hear other sounds normally.

This is what digital hearing aids can do. Hearing is measured and the resulting audiogram is used to program the hearing aid to match.

So why do hearing aids cost so much? Well it is basically because market forces do not apply here. In the US, regulation is at the state level and many states still allow only Licensed Dispensers to supply hearing aids. Manufacturers, Audiologist and Licensed dispensers have a stranglehold on the hearing aid market which artificially forces higher prices onto the consumer and it is at the dispensing end of this chain that the big profits are made.

However, things are changing, the market is now opening up with a waiver procedure. This means that the buyer is able to waive having an examination before purchasing a hearing aid. This opens the door to online retailers to compete on price (although they cannot offer the same personal service) and enable buyers to shop around.

When considering what this might mean, compare the situation to that of reading glasses. At one time they had to be supplied by an optician and were not cheap. But it was recognized that this was unnecessary and you can now buy them cheaply off the shelf.

If hearing aids cost has deterred you from buying in the past you might have a look at Century Hearing Aids who offer a range of competitively priced hearing aids online. You can make major savings compared to buying from a licensed dispenser and get similar quality. The service is good but of course they cannot help with any fitting/comfort problems but they do offer a money back guarantee if you are not happy.