I was shocked, when I found out.
Of course, you aren’t just paying for the hardware. You are also paying for all the medical stuff surrounding the kit.
You can understand why vested interests fought so hard to prevent making hearing aids OTC.
Like I said, I suspect that gravy train may have derailed.
Having worn hearing aids for 3 decades (in the US), and not going cheap, the high end name-brand ones have always been about 4-6k for a pair. (and most of the time growing up, health insurance didn't cover it)
From everything I've ever seen or in any conversation online, 50k is either a misremembered or made up number for BTE or in-the-canal hearing aids.
They are a lot more expensive.
Thanks so much for the comment.
I'm fortunate that I could reasonably plan to pay for it myself... the bigger hold-up/concern/issue has been the drastic change in "how I hear" that it would involve. (experiences are widely variable it sounds like, but loosely about a year for the brain to gradually learn and improve how it uses the new input?)
I haven't even opened the manufacturers' books given to me, or done more research on the possibility since that appointment though...
My moms hearing aids cost 3000€. They support bluetooth so she can use them with her iPhone. The price includes hearing tests, getting molds of the hearing canal, all the setup and configuration performed by skilled technicians.
Sure they are expensive, but there really isn't much of an opportunity for disruption. Customized hardware is expensive, there's no way around that.
I noticed that someone else posted a comment, saying that Americans exaggerate medical costs.
We don't.
Our doctors drive Bentleys.
I'm really glad that they have broken the monopoly. Maybe some politicians retrieved their souls.
It's absolutely insane how expensive healthcare is in the US.
But THANK GOD we don't have socialism! /s
In this case, I agree that your earlier post exaggerates the cost of hearing aids in the US.
For example, [1] quotes a top price of $3500/ear. That makes $7000 total. A page full of search results [2] will tell you that prices are in ranges like $1-6k each. Even the hearing aid producers are quoting those prices. [3]
[1] https://www.hearinglife.com/hearing-aids/prices
[2] https://www.google.com/search?q=united+states+hearing+aid+pr...
It's not worth arguing about. This is not an area I'm anywhere near expert in, as I suspect, many other commenters are.
You mean the specific hearing aid searches?
It was a general comment on the state of health care in the US (not just hearing aids).
Before the new legislation, we couldn't just go to the corner drug store, and buy a hearing aid off the shelf. It needed to come as part of a package, including many tests and appointments with ENT folks.
But I cede the point. It was a low-quality comment that is likely to trigger folks with certain political views, and I apologize. Won't happen again.
Costco has sold them for at least 10 years. You just need to make an appointment and they take care of the rest.