Hearing aids

[carol sheridan]

I need a hearing aid and I have been quoted about 2530 euros here in New Zealand, where I am visiting my daughter.
I wonder if anybody has bought one in France and how the price compares. The $NZ4,000 was for the bottom of the range!
I know the most help you can get in France is about 130 euros and I don't have cover on my top up insurance.
I have even thought of trying some 'health tourism' and combining the purchase with a trip to Prague!

[Allan]

I need a hearing aid and I have been quoted about 2530 euros here in New Zealand, where I am visiting my daughter.
I wonder if anybody has bought one in France and how the price compares. The $NZ4,000 was for the bottom of the range!
I know the most help you can get in France is about 130 euros and I don't have cover on my top up insurance.
I have even thought of trying some 'health tourism' and combining the purchase with a trip to Prague!

Carol, sorry to hear you need a hearing aid, regrettably you are now entering the realm of one of the biggest rip-off industries. Anyone that knows anything about electronics will realise that they are hideously overpriced, you can buy disposable hearing aids for a few pounds but put the same electronics in a permanent unit and the cost runs into hundreds, if not thousands.

You might find this article of interest http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -offs.html

I urge you to do your research before buying one, a lot of shops selling them are just vultures preying on older people.

[Colin L]

Carol
I can't answer for prices in France, but I was quoted - only yesterday - £3,100 for a pair of top of the range Phonak aids. Next down was about £2500 and then below that £1700. These were supposedly at a 33% discount. That includes "free" aftercare the cost of which which will obviously have been factored into the price.

Adding to that now that I have read Allan's posting. Some cons
Disposable hearing aids don't offer the same flexibility and range of acoustic programming?
They don't provide a custom fit.
They only cater for mild to moderate hearing loss.
At something like 50p per ear a day for them, the cost will catch up with the less expensive customised aid in about 2 years - with a further 3 years of life expectancy in the customised ones. For those top of the range ones, it is much longer of course, so you have to calculate on how much the better assistance to your hearing is worth to you.

I think the last point is the telling one for me. I am lucky enough to afford the initial outlay on customised aids and therefore to benefit from their exact programming to suit my hearing needs and from the long-term cost advantage.

[Allan]

Carol

Adding to that now that I have read Allan's posting. Some cons
Disposable hearing aids don't offer the same flexibility and range of acoustic programming?
They don't provide a custom fit.
They only cater for mild to moderate hearing loss.
At something like 50p per ear a day for them, the cost will catch up with the less expensive customised aid in about 2 years - with a further 3 years of life expectancy in the customised ones. For those top of the range ones, it is much longer of course, so you have to calculate on how much the better assistance to your hearing is worth to you.

I wasn't advocating disposable hearing aids, just pointing out the massive disparity in price for similar electronics. I looked into this a few years ago for my father and found an industry populated by thieves and shysters. I also found out that when the NHS buys hearing aids they pay less than a tenth of the price charged for the same item on the high street.
You are right about calculating how much your hearing is worth, unfortunately someone has done this already and decided that people are prepared to pay inordinately large amounts.

[Libby]

I agree with Carol's post.
I would urge you though, as a wearer of many years, NOT to buy one, but two.
The result, with one, will be, in my opinion, uneven and frustrating.
The aids are 'tuned' to each ear to get a balance.
Another thing to be very aware of is that they will NOT bring your hearing back to natural and there will be times and situations where you won't get a great deal of advantage, such as noisy parties.
However, I would not be without mine.
Don't go down the disposable route. You need to get them correctly fitted and tuned for YOU.
I, and several friends, have bought from Audika.
Ours from Argèles Ville, but they are a national company.
All the suppliers use the same makers, they are only suppliers, but I've found this firm good.
Mention my name and I may get commission!!!!
Good luck.

[Sue]

I too bought mine from Audika in Argeles village. I found them really good and didnt have to pay a thing (around 5 weeks) until both I and they were happy. Unfortunately I couldnt afford to buy two but understand what Libby is saying. I had very limited hearing in my left ear and slightly impaired in my right. I was only given a prescription for the left. I opted for a very small aid which sits just inside your ear and not one that sits behind your ear. I tried the over ear one for a week but we just werent compatible. The cost was the same for all types I seem to remember. The top of the range one was around 2100€ but I went for the next one down (as I dont attend a lot of large functions) at a cost of around 1900€. The contribution from CPAM and Mutuelle was minimal!!

[carol sheridan]

Many thanks for all the information. As I live alone and have no social life in France, I am not worried about noisy parties or road traffic. I am fine in one to one conversations normally, but I cannot her my son-in-law in the car. I can hear female voices much better.
I haven't noticed the loss at home because my I have no neighbours, but my sister and my daughter have told me that I have the TV far too loud.
I did buy an over-the-ear from Hearing Direct, for 300 pounds, without any fitting, etc. but the tube seemed to be too small and the device would just hang down - in the end, I lost it.
I have looked at lots of information on line, and tried to compare the merits of all the different makes. I have tinnitus (a side effect of years of taking dicoflenac for arthritis) and some aids will help with that.
I might be 72, but as a retired tax inspector I don't think I can be viewed as some vulnerable elderly person - I do a lot of research before I buy anything and I am very good at complaining!
I think it is time for me to bite the bullet and have a proper consultation with the audiologist here while I have time to be fitted and, if necessary, have any adjustments made.
The information on line has shown me the features of the various types, and I think I want one that fits in the bowl of the ear and uses slightly larger batteries, but of course many different makes fit these criteria.
I am here for six weeks and was planning to tour North Island and also go down to Fjiordland - I will have to scale back my plans a little, but I can still get the Interislander from Picton to Wellington (my son in law is a Master!) and spend a day or so there.
I will borrow my daughter's car to drive down the West coast of South Island to Queenstown and take a cruise to see the fjiords.
I am going to be spending three months here from next Nov - Feb, so I will have plenty of time to explore and decide if I really do want to emigrate in a few years, as my daughter would like.
In the meantime, I am revelling in the warmth and sunshine, having left my Alpine village in thick snow!

[carol sheridan]

I got my hearing aid yesterday, here in New Zealand, for about 1,800 euros and I am very pleased with it. It is lovely to be able to watch TV with my family at a volume they can stand!

[Sue]

So pleased you are happy with it. The prices seem to be pretty universal unless you are lucky enough to pick up an offer!! Happy hearing.

[carol sheridan]

Thank you - I have order more batteries online from Hearing Direct in the UK, as they are about twice as expensive in NZ, like many other things.

[Sue]

I have just ordered 60 Duracell (size 10) for £14.99 + £3.00 pp from a hearing aid company on ebay. I have tried both Rayovac and Duracell but think the latter have the edge.