This answer is starting to make a lot of sense. Do you know any place/site to search serial numbers to find out what country a set of HA’s might come from? If there are fake copies of high end, name brand hearing aids out in the marketplace, we all need to know about it.
Have you ever seen or heard of any? Thanks!
No one is making fake aids that i have ever heard about.
Phonak, Oticon, Widex, Siemens and other brands are from Europe with offices all over the world.
They will not recognize any aids from country to country nor will the warranty be honored in a different country, from where it was purchased.
Phonak aids purchased in Canada will hot have an warranty in The USA.
When i get patients from Germany or England, they have no warranty on their aids in this country even though
it is a national brand.
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That sounds like a very good reason that my pair would not show up in the USA database.
In that case, I am still left wondering where they came from.
I like to know about these kind of things. Thank you!
This is Not True: All Phonak hearing aids and Roger gear have worldwide warranties, as does Sonova’s Advanced Bionics division.
Call Phonak in and ask them if they will honor a warranty on aids purchased in Canada.
They won’t.
And the serial numbers will not show up in their computer.
They MIGHT make an exceptions if the patient has a copy of the sales agreement showing where and from whom the aids were purchased.
Phonak’s phone number,…1800-777-7333
I can confirm that the serial numbers won’t show up.
I bought my first set of Naidas in 2011 from https://www.discountedhearingaids.com and the serial numbers didn’t work when ringing Phonak UK.
What format was the serial no and how is the pair finally working for you?
no formate just insert in fitting software if detect everthing like tecnology level model name firmware sn number etc then its genuine
I bought Siemens Pure Binax 7bx a couple of years ago. The price was $550. for the pair and that included receivers. I was very worried about the purchase because the price was too good to be true. I checked the sellers feedback going back for years. The seller sold maybe a few of them a month. Not one of them had a negative feedback. The seller had an occasional negative feedback, but never for a hearing aid. After a couple of weeks of trying to decide I finally made the purchase. Each hearing aid was in a sealed plastic bag that said “Made in Singapore”. The receivers were individually packaged and appeared brand new. I do my own programming and found Connexx software detected serial numbers. I programmed the hearing aids and they work perfectly. Because these hearing aids don’t have a warranty I decided to go ahead and buy 2 more pair at the same price. Get them while you can. One day in the future hearing aids might become prohibited on eBay.
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Thank you!
Months after buying my pair of Signia aids, I have decided that they are indeed real. I think that they are from Canada, or possibly even Europe.
That would be a reason that they do not show up in the US data base. Like yourself I am a self programmer.
I purchased a new in sealed box Connexxlink. It paired right up with my new aids. It all works great! At a huge savings too.
This has all been quite an adventure and learning experience. Would I do it again? For a savings of many thousands of dollars the answer is a resounding yes.
I could never have afforded hearing aids if the only choice was the conventional route of acquiring them.
Thanks to everyone on this site for your input on this subject.
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Signia(siemens) manufactures in Singapore.
This is most likely the correct answer. I’m not sure, but I think there are region-specific serial number databases that are accessible to reps in a given country. Happy to be corrected on this. I know in the past I have heard of international warranties being problematic for this reason…
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Thank you! Yes, the software is online for free. I purchased the programmer for $299.00 on eBay.
Brand new in a factory sealed box. What a great deal!
My bad. I read Connexxlink programmer as Connexx fitting software.
Hey gkg50, I use Hi-Pro USB, cables and flex strips. As I remember I spent $450 on the Hi-Pro USB and maybe another $150 on the cables and flex strips. I don’t have the equipment to test my own hearing yet. My hearing doesn’t seem to change very much so I’m in no hurry to purchase an audiometer. Most audiology offices offer a free hearing test. If you do go for a free hearing test, beware that they might program your hearing aids without asking, then try to charge you like $150 for the programming. If this happens to you, kindly remind them that you only came in for the free hearing test and you never agreed to the programming.
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gkg50, Another way to get hearing aids inexpensively is to buy them second hand. I’ve done this and found they work just as good as the ones I bought brand new. When buying second hand I think its good practice to remove the outer shell and gently swab the inside with alcohol. I also soak the outer shell in alcohol. Once everything is spotless I reassemble the hearing aids, install new receivers and domes. YouTube has a video on installing a Color Conversion Kit. This video shows you how to remove the outer shell.
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Hello. Brand newbie here. I found the forum and this page after looking into a pair of Siemens via EBay and just want to make sure they are legit. I was already told by the seller they will not have a manufacturer warranty and my local audiologist offices won’t perform adjustments “if purchased online.” I have a recent audio test and found someone also via online who will adjust.
Anyway my question for those who also went this route (since per reading above they sound legit) is if the Siemens/ Signia app works for the NX line as it should even with those "mystery serial numbers.
Have you thought about self programming? I buy my hearing aids off eBay and self program them.
I self program as well I got hold of an Oticon fitting link for mine from Germany