What Makes a Premium Level Hearing Aid Premium?
When I speak with people that are considering purchasing a hearing aid one of the questions I am often asked is "aren't all hearing aids the same?" and "why are some hearing aids more expensive than others?" These are actually great questions to ask. First of all, let me explain what a premium level hearing aid is and how they can differ. A premium level hearing aid should be the best available technology. They should have the most features to help you hear in the most difficult listening environments like restaurants and group events. People with active lifestyles will benefit the most from those features. The computer chips that power hearing aids have gotten incredibly fast and intelligent. With wireless features and bluetooth, more advance directional microphones, noise reduction, and feedback suppresion, a faster computer chip allows all of those features to work together and provide you with the best possible hearing in a multitude of environments.
There are a lot of places now to get hearing aids that are touted as "premium" but that is not necessarily true in many cases. Big box stores and even drug stores claim that they are selling premium products. In most cases, those products were, at one time, premium products. Some are even made by very respected hearing aid companies. The thing is, just because at one time they were premium, does it mean that 2 or 3 years later they are still premium? To me, premium means the best. The highest level of technology available. How can those hearing aids still be premium if there are higher levels of technology available? Most of these places use technology that our clinic was working with 2-3 years ago. We have moved on to newer and better technology.
Hearing aid technology is on par with mobile phones and most hearing aid companies introduce new hearing aids every 1-2 years. That doesn't sound like a lot of time but in today's world it really is! If I purchased a new computer or mobile phone that was advertised as premium and found out later that they were actually giving me old technology I would be irate. So why is that ok with hearing aids?
