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How much did you pay for your Hearing Aids?
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What is your actual perceived dollar value from your Hearing Aids?
I’ll go first:
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$8000.
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$2000.
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1 - $1750
2 - $10000
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5000USD (well, my health insurance did)
Value - priceless - I doubt I would be employed without them.
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Purchase price at Costco was $2150 Canadian for the pair, which is about $1600 $US. After some reduction from our government healthcare system they were about $1330 CDN ( about $1000 US).
I don’t know how to put a value on them. They basically work as they are intended. But they sure do not restore hearing like eyeglasses restores vision. I generally pay $450 Canadian for eyeglasses, again at Costco, and I would suggest they provide far greater value for the money spent than this pair of hearing aids. I couldn’t drive without my glasses, but I sure can without my hearing aids. I would put them in the nice to have category, even though my higher frequency loss is severe. So, I guess I am kind of saying that the HA’s are less valuable to me than $450. If I only had $450 to spend I would buy glasses!!
The Phonak Bolero SP B90’s+accessories were bought at 4k€ new and for me used 320€.
Questions of how much they are worth is mainly one of budget to me. I’d certainly feel bad at shelling out 4k€ every 3 years. However, I would feel happy if it was 1k€.
Nowadays, dollar value and euro value are rather close, aren’t they? Last conversion ratio that I worked with was 1.08 $/€, IIRC.
Phonak Bolero SP B70. $8,500.00 AU approx $5,800.00 US
Compilot 2 $350.00 AU APPROX $241.00 US
Perceived Value
$2,500.00 AU APPROX $1,750.00 US
Worst pair of HA’s I’ve ever had, at 20 months old I don’t wear them as I can’t hear with them anyhow. Constantly needing adjustments, as far as I’m concerned a total waste of money.
Even with the compilot working during phone calls it’s very hard to hear. But this streamer was well worth the money…
phonak marvel: $6200
i literally cannot function (as in, cannot communicate) without them or do my job so they are pretty much priceless. if, as an extreme example, i had to pony up $20k a year to wear them, i’d have to pay it - i’d have no other choice. this isn’t necessarily for phonak specifically, but in general, the ability to wear HA’s.
if phonak went crazy and started charging significantly more than the competition, i’d go back to resound. the advantage i get by using phonak > resound is significant for me, but that gain isn’t so significant that i would just mindlessly spend money on it. some money, sure, but there’d be a limit. thankfully, i don’t know what that limit would be as for me marvels = quattro in pricing at my institution.
and thankfully for my family’s sake, my institution gave me a pretty steep discount off of the $6200 because i work there. 
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I am different my aids are provided by VA and they are like solid Gold to me.
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All prices Canadian dollars.
Paid $1000 for Marvel 30Rs.
Paid $1200 for Unitron Moxi All 600Rs. (now upgraded to Pro)
Paid about $300 each for TV connector and Noahlink Wireless.
Total for my wife and I - $2800.
Perceived value is a tough but interesting question. More than we spent for sure, but how much more? Not too long ago we paid upwards of $50k for a new skid steer. A luxury in some ways, necessity in other ways to maintain comfortable rural living. Had it been necessary, shouldn’t we be willing to pay as much to have improved hearing? Probably. But if I could have only one or the other, it would be the tractor.
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Off topic, but yikes! I consider eyeglasses disposable since they’re so easily damaged and occasionally lost. I only buy bifocals these days, about $35 at Zenni, a little more for tinted. IIRC, their price for the whole 9 yards - titanium, progressive, thin lense and coatings is about $150. Rarely any self-fitting required but easy enough anyway since I already have an assortment of pliers. The other good thing about them being cheap is that I can have a variety of prescription combinations. Sunglasses in 4 vehicles, pocket, computer, shop = 7 pairs. Plus a few spares that are a bit out of date. Getting close to Fred Sanford’s level! Exam and new prescription in BC costs about $75 if over 65 with eye issues.
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I am glad you can get cheap glasses my last pair was $1100 and even after insurance I had to pay almost $600.
I recommended Zenni to my brother and he gave them a try. It took them about three tries to get it right. Their frames are not high quality. And with progressives they only give you a very narrow width where mid and close up vision is corrected. I may use them in future as I now have been scheduled for a cataract operation, and I may need some semi disposable glasses. $450 gets you top of the line premium lenses and frames at Costco.
I do Zenni too. All the bells and whistles for about $100 US.
Usually buy a couple extra frames just in case something breaks.
Paid $3245. for Phonak Audeo B-90:10 and $995. for CROS… Marketing discount for new aids $250.00.
Total paid $3,990.
Don’t know the actual dollar value.
Earlier this year I paid $600 on eBay plus $100 audiologist programming plus $300 accessories and parts. All in (for now) at $1000. No warranty of course, so service if any (when any, I should say) is on me.
Perceived value: $4000.
There are small hearing aid repair shops, many operating online now. So should you require a repair, you have other options instead of the manufacturer themselves.
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- $25 to $700 delivered to the door per pair over the past 10 years.
- As my hearing gets worse the perceived value increases.
My first trip to the audiologist for hearing aids 10 years ago floored me. Have bought used and programmed them myself since.
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There are small hearing aid repair shops, many operating online now. So should you require a repair, you have other options instead of the manufacturer themselves.
Yes, I forget whom I used in the past once for this, but it worked well. I think the most common repair need in RITE aids, assuming no physical damage to the shell, is for a replacement receiver, which often can be found for under $100 plus audi reprogramming. And if you haven’t had an audiogram run recently, add that in too.
I tried going the self-programming route, but it just didn’t work for me. Paying a reasonable fee to an audiologist is how I roll now. /heh
Phonak Audeo Marvel M90-R
Cost:
$7,000 USD
Perceived Value:
Priceless.
I’m a classical pianist and I can once again hear the top octave of my grand piano. I can once again hear the gorgeous sweet shimmer of an orchestral violin section. For me the value I receive from my Phonak Marvels is priceless.
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1-$1600 us dollars
2- $600 can function without and do from time to time but like not saying what did you say or huh so much Value like beauty is in the eye/ear of the beholder