Dr. Cliff and Audigy

Hearing Aids
#42

No disrespect but the components in an iPhone are only worth $300. The reason an iPhone costs $1500 is that the research and development that is required to bring a new iPhone to market costs Apple Billions$. Those cheap Chinese air buds only cost $25 because they reverse engineer and steal someone else’s intellectual property and then sell them for nothing. Same holds true for hearing aids.

The difference with hearing aids is that the development costs are extremely high and the volumes of product sold are extremely low. Hence the high cost.

Just my two cents…

Jordan

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#43

Yeah, I agree somewhat with what you are saying Jordon, everything I usually buy, communication wise, is Apple… I like quality, and it usually lasts… $300 production costs seems reasonable, and a 200% markup for sales profit, and R&D seems very reasonable of Apple… But, $6k or $7K, for a $100 set of aids seems way OTT to me… I reiterate, too many fingers in the actual Pie…Cheers Kev :wink:

1 Like
#44

No need to apologize Kevels55! I’m not privy to the whole manufacturing and selling big picture, with banks and investors who make it possible, and all the rest. I’ll just say that you failed to mention anything about my several points. These advanced aids didn’t fall out of the sky; the cost of component parts isn’t the whole picture. fAr from it. Jordan K makes excellent points.

Unless you think the Rand D folks,. the shippers, the cost of building manufacturing facilities, import fees, payroll, managers, stockholders etc etc all should happen for free.

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#45

LOL I’ve made statements equally ridiculous and unsupported. But that was a few decades ago and/or when I was drunk.

#46

On the other hand…Chevron jsut posted record profits while the whole world was paying outrageous prices for gas for heating and cars. That’s the beginning of MY rant! And big pharma…oy. It is dispiriting.

Here’s the Beatles:
everywhere there’s lots of piggies
living piggy lives
you can see them out for dinner
with their piggy wives
clutching forks and knives
to eat their bacon

there’s doubtless some of that going on in the HA industry.

3 Likes
#47

That is only with services bundled in with the cost of the aids. Before the recent price increase, the unbundled cost of my More 1 was $2820. I also paid $1045 for fitting and the first 60 days of services.

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#48

No argument @Jeffrey, I agree with most of what you are saying, I believe the whole system stinks, the $100 pair of aids in someones ears, can mushroom into 50 or 60 times its actual manufacturers cost… Somebody’s making money ??? Cheers Kev :wink:

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#49

That’s a reasonable price for the states Bruce, I hope everything works out successfully with your Reals… Cheers Kev :grin:

#50

Than I think I need to pay about $230 due to the price increase.

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#51

Just learned something. I’d found it puzzling that Dr. Cliff was partnering with Audigy when I was pretty sure Audigy hearing aids were locked. I found a post from Dr Cliff specifically recommending against Audigy hearing aids because of this, BUT apparently they also sell branded hearing aids that are not locked and he recommends you buy them if you go to Audigy. My audiologist recommended AGX hearing aids, but when I look at all the information on the internet they are barely referenced. Consumer Reports doesn't include them. How do they rate?

#52

That article claims that in request they will provide unlock code to another audiologist. Unless the user can get a code for DIY, they are still locked.

#53

Found the comment you were talking about quite a few comments down. It basically depends on how cooperative the audiologist is. If the audiologist is hard to work with (or leaves town), it may still be very challenging to get them unlocked, although if when you first get the hearing aids programmed you request a full copy of the record (which should include the code) it should take care of the situation.
I do find the rationale presented by the commenter as rather bogus (protecting all the time they put into adjusting the hearing aids) as the programming is saved on their equipment.

3 Likes
#54

Thanks for providing this source. I’ll check it out.

I’ve watched so many of Dr Cliff’s videos. He has helped me a lot.

DaveL

2 Likes
#55

@JordanK totally agree with you. I also watched his Vlog on YouTube. I believe he is sincere and wants to improve the audiology industry and awareness but like he says - he wants to educate us to be informed consumers/patients. That was my biggest area of downfall, I didn’t know what best practices were and how to convey my description of not hearing well. I just got new Lumity 90RL and love them When I was getting fit, he wasn’t going to do REM. When I asked, he said that he generally gets it really close to what it should be, but he could do it if I wanted it done. Of course I did. He didn’t have to make adjustments. He is very willing to work with me and understands everyday hearing situations. I just popped in on him today for an appointment and I told him I wasn’t hearing speech very well. He adjusted my L90s with Semi Linear compression (I think that’s correct wording). That was this afternoon and this evening I’m thinking this is the direction I want to go. I am hearing my husband very well now. Wish me luck that tomorrow will be just as good. This audiologist may be the best I’ve had

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#56

I wonder if that was just a basic REM. For my last fitting, the machine checked the head and microphone positioning. It tested normal, loud, and soft speech using a paragraph of text. It then ran a sweep test to verify the MCL level. During the speech testing my audiologist also adjusted settings to maximize the WRS percentage from REM. I really doubt manual programming can get those complex tasks close.

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#57

@prodigyplace thank you for your response. I think this must have been a basic REM as I’ve always had the test where they play a audio about Carrots. I didn’t get that. He put the strips/ribbons in y ears. Hooked it up to the computer. I heard sound in each ear as he was looking at the audiogram and lines on the computer. I don’t know if he made adjustments at all, but when asked about his initial adjustments of aids and after REM he said he was right on. I do not have a word recognition score. I’m taking the adjustments one at a time. Another appointment coming up on 6 April, so there will be more to discuss. Presently, with the ‘semi linear compression’ adjustment I am hearing speech much better. Time will tell. The great thing is this Audi is listening to me and working at adjustments for me, not just relying on the computer - which has been the case in the past.

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#58

That was the paragraph at 3 different sound levels.

They ran a test on ribbon microphone placement and had to adjust one. They then checked my head placement relative to the speakers.

#59

My former audiologist always used REM for fitting and adjustments. I was never satisfied.

My current audiologist always uses REM with children and the disabled but does not use it routinely if he can have intelligent interaction and feedback. He has never used it with me. And, I have never been more satisfied with my hearing accuracy.

As always, YMMV

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#60

Great! I am happy so far with my hearing so far. Speech is so much better since this last adjustment. @Psych1, what hearing aids do you have?

1 Like