I’ve been unable to get my backup hearing aid repaired due to the manufacturer saying that it was now obsolete and I am wondering if some manufacturers support their products for longer than their competitors. When I am getting a new aid I would like to factor this into the decision making process.
Basically what companies support their aids for longest?
If a manufacturer is no longer supporting repairs there can be some logic to this. There are some repair services available which are not approved by the manufacturer which replace with inadequate parts. This can totally change how the hearing aids sound. I can’t say for now but I have had previous Widex aids that were still being serviced 8 years after purchase but I rarely need servicing now as reliability has been excellent. I once got them serviced through Boots and didn’t realise they were being sent elsewhere & it was completely inadequate. I then got it sent to Widex and it was good as new.
My audiologist says that Signia won’t fix my hearing aids if they are older than 5 years old.
I would contact an independent like Lloyd’s Hearing aids who does repairs on pretty much all hearing aids and ask them if there’s a company that has longer term parts availability.
This is phonak’s phase out list. Not sure if such information can be found for other manufacturers.
When I had Starkeys they were repaired seemingly forever, in the order of 15 y after purchase.
What’s wrong with your hearing aids?
@RobHooft That’s good to know Rob
@sterei Very interesting list, would be great if they all published this type of info. I did just have a quick search and didn’t find similar.
@ecosound I’ve a Resound Enzo Q as my main HA and my back up aid was my older Resound Verso. So when my Enzo started to give some problems I found out that my Verso was no longer working. Resound said the Verso was “no longer supported”.
FYI: STARKEY has a AllMake lab & will repair any hearing aid by most all manufacturers up to 15 years. I use them at least twice a month for my patients with great results! And the repair cost comes with a 6 month or 12 month warranty as part of the repair charge.
Unfortunately, some providers “forget” to offer the AllMake lab as an alternative for older devices repair… But now you know that an option to repair potentially viable devices actually exists- I say have a frank discussion about this with your provider & see what they say-- my hope is that supporting their patients need is what’s most important to them… best of luck 
(Starkey Allmake is less accessible outside of the USA.)
The GN ReSound Verso is 12 years old now. Maybe they ran out of replacement stock. I think most/all hearing aid manufacturers replace, not repair, defective HAs. The manual labor costs are too high vs the actual cost to manufacture.
This said, the Linux 3D are discontinued and are only 8 years old…
Guys, when we talk about hearing aid repairs. You must take into account that rechargeable hearing aids are not repaired when the battery needs to be replaced. They only replace the entire hearing aid. And the question is how long they can do that.
There we had some topics related to changing the battery, of course unauthorized. It is very difficult to replace it. because you have to remove some of the outer plastic of the case next to the chip, so you have to somehow melt or destroy it in order to get to the battery, and then you have to separate the battery from the chip and re-solder it. That’s not real soldering, I forgot what it’s called.
So, if one wants to use a hearing aid for a long time, it must be a non-rechargeable one.
And if the Amplifier is borked and no longer supplied by the OEM, it doesn’t matter who you send it to.
That is right, HAs are usually replaced completely- if the model still exists. A recent breakdown of the costs of HAs set the material (parts) value at a few hundred dollars, so the labour costs of repairs quickly exceed those. Yes, you could choose HAs with disposable batteries, but the current manufacturing trend goes against this. Given the limited lifespan of lithium batteries I rather see two solutions; first, why can’t those lithium accus be placed in an easily accessible compartment, just like for standard batteries? The EU is enforcing legislation that obliges electronics to carry lithium batteries that can easily be replaced, and this will likely also be the new global standard. Second, giving the shift to streaming (Bluetooth/TV streamers), why not increase the size/capacity of those rechargeables, so they comfortably last an entire day however you use your HAs? Most users aren’t vanity idiots who care about tiny, “invisible” HAs.
I’m not sure you’re right yet. But it’s much closer. There’s been a huge shift in perception over even just the last five years.
That said, “discrete” is still a heavy priority for a huge number of users.
Is the AllMake lab available to retail consumers directly or do they only work with providers?
How do you know what “most” users care about? Have you conducted a scientifically vetted survey?
And who are you to judge someone who cares how they look, anyway? Would you deny someone a wig whose hair was burned off in a house fire? Why is that your business?
I don’t want big stupid clunkers in my ears. What’s wrong with that?
OK- it looks there is still quite a bit of unease around wearing HAs in this Forum, so let’s make that diplomatically “people who set their priorities right don’t care about HAs that accommodate a somewhat larger rechargeable battery”. The main reason people hate rechargeable batteries is, like for EVs, "range anxiety "- they don’t last all day.
By comparison - at their onset, glasses had been ridiculously small, in the pince-nez and monocle eras, but in the 1970s they grew to enormous, owl-like proportions. Hopefully more enlightened hearing-impaired people will feel the same about their HAs one day- just a detail of who they are.
You are correct, I did have the Verso and moved to the Linx aid and this was the aid I wanted to repair. I just got mixed up in my original post.
Generally speaking, I would like if manufacturers supported the HAs for longer, some models are as expensive as a small car and it’s not right that your investment depreciates to zero in 3-5 years. Having residual value on aids would help the people that want or need new aids while giving people access to a refurbished second hand market through audiologists.