Cover Your Ears Cost of hearing aids can be daunting
PHILADELPHIA — David Decker had all the signs.
He often missed things that actors said on TV. Hearing in crowds was a challenge. And when he came home each day from work in a noisy data center, where cooling fans whirred nonstop, his wife would tell him he talked too loudly.
Why not get hearing aids? A big reason: the cost.
Decker, 70, of Philadelphia learned what millions of aging baby boomers are starting to discover. High-end devices can cost $6,000 a pair, and most insurance plans cover a fraction of the cost at best. Medicare, to the astonishment of many, covers none of it.
“It's costly,” Decker said. “Insurance companies basically pay diddly-squat.”
Lower-cost options have started to emerge in recent years, but some entail less in-person service. And for the uninitiated, the menu of choices may seem daunting.
Large retailers such as Costco sell lower-cost hearing aids. One insurer, UnitedHealthcare, sells the devices through a sister company, both to insured members and others, who pay slightly more. And like most other things, hearing aids can now be bought online.
Yet consumer frustration remains rampant, said Carolyn Meyer, outreach coordinator for the Pennsylvania Office of the Hearing Loss Association of America, a consumer group.
Meyer, 71, who has worn a hearing aid for decades, estimates she gets three calls a week from people dismayed by the price tag. She provides information about financial assistance for low-income people with hearing loss, but options are limited.
“It breaks my heart,” she said.
The technology has undergone great changes in the past two decades. Virtually all hearing aids now are digital, meaning they can be programmed to amplify sounds of various frequencies by differing amounts, depending on the person's hearing loss.
Able to hear the rumble of a garbage truck but have trouble understanding the high-pitched voices of children? A digital aid can help.Other newer developments include custom settings for listening to music and talking on cell phones via wireless Bluetooth technology.It all costs money, but customers wonder why a hearing aid should cost more than other sophisticated devices, such as a laptop computer.Industry officials cite multiple reasons, among them the products are medical devices sold in lower numbers than computers. But the biggest is that the price includes much more than just the device.Audiologists, who have traditionally sold most hearing aids, usually include an array of follow-up care in a unit's price. The tab includes fitting, programming, adjustments and training, among other services.Providers also teach strategies so that new hearing-aid wearers can make sense of the sudden influx of sound. After years of living without amplification, their brains are likely to need help, said Lynda Wayne, treasurer of the Pennsylvania Academy of Audiology, a professional group. And everyone's brain is different, so the sound-processing algorithms that work for one person may not work as well for another.“It's not like you slap them on your ears and you're good to go,” said Wayne, of Cadence Hearing Services in Langhorne, Pa. “You're not buying a washer and dryer.”The cost of the device alone is hard to find out. When The Inquirer asked six major manufacturers for the wholesale prices they charge to audiologists, all declined to answer.Ross Porter, the chief executive officer of Embrace Hearing, estimates it costs a manufacturer $400 or $500 to make a good-quality pair of hearing aids, which are then sold to an audiologist for $1,000 and to the end-user for $5,000 or more.Carole Rogin, president of the Hearing Industries Association, a manufacturers' group, said at a typical audiology practice, one-third of the consumer's total price is for the device and two-thirds for the professional services.Some audiologists say they need to do better in explaining the cost, and have begun to “unbundle” their services, letting patients pay for a hearing aid and follow-up care separately.
