I’ve mentioned in a previous post that you can buy an Apple iPad for a fraction of the cost of a set of hearing aids.  The hearing aids will amplify sound while the iPad has a computer, an accelerometer, a GPS system, video, audio, touch screen and so much more – all for a lot less than one single hearing aid. It’s the high cost of hearing aids that keep many hearing challenged people from wearing them and that’s a shame.

Www.embracehearing.com published an article a few days ago the addressed the ridiculously high cost of hearing aids. Quoting their article…

A modern, RIC BTE hearing aid weighs in at about 2 grams. It may wholesale for $500, and resale for $2,500. On a per-ounce basis, that’s a staggering $7,200 at wholesale, and $36,000 at resale. For comparison, gold is currently trading around $1,600 an ounce.

In all fairness, this approach penalizes manufacturers for making technological strides to reduce the weight of hearing aids, and increase comfort and satisfaction.

Nevertheless, the conclusion holds: on a per-ounce basis, hearing aids cost twenty times their weight in gold.   

It actually took us a while to identify any substance, man made or otherwise, with a higher price-to-weight ratio than modern hearing aids. We think contact lenses come close, but they were too light to register on our scale. But we did identify two clear winners. Plutonium is one. The other is a diamond.

Imagine – the wholesale cost may be $500 on a $2500 hearing aid.   Sure, you get a hearing exam but they don’t have to take molds of your ear anymore because almost all hearing aids are behind the ear.  Just program the aid, find the right fitting ear tip, cut the tube to the right length, and they earn a very nice profit and nice commissions.

Have you ever tried to buy a hearing aid that you can program on your own computer?  Try searching for one. Good luck. The fact is that the hearing aid industry is monopolized by companies that got legislation passed that protects their profits.

To be fair, though, it is those profits that keep the hearing aid companies developing better and better aids. But how fair is it that you have to spend upwards of $5,000 to $8,000 for a really good set of hearing aids when you can fix your vision with a pair of the best glasses that costs a couple of hundred dollars?  And the glasses probably fix the vision problem a lot better than the hearing aids will fix the hearing problem.

I’m sure that many of you rely on TV closed captioning to enjoy your favorite shows. I certainly do.  But, how annoying is it when half of what is being said doesn’t show up in the closed captioning. I hear well enough to know that the actors are talking and I can see their lips moving, but can’t understand what they’re saying. When the closed captioning is not synced, or when lines don’t show up, it can ruin the show.

I was watching Homeland, on Showtime, recently. I think they put a beginner on that show to do the CC. The people who do the CC obviously get the script from the production company because the script is sometimes ahead of what is being said. That’s actually nice. So the question is – why would a company like Media Access Group who does the CC for Homeland, put a novice on a major show like that.  All I can say is that IT’S ANNOYING.  If you’re going to do it, do it right.