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* If any person knows of a medical problem with their ear/s All medical situations must be addressed by an ENT or their primary care physician before an audiological evaluation, especially if the client is currently receiving medical treatment for any condition of their ear/s.
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Q How much are your hearing aids?
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A Prices: Basic Linear Class “A” – $495, Basic Linear Class – “D” $595, Basic Digital’s start at $695 with the average cost around $1295. The various technologies available include a wide range of prices with the most superior technology on the market today at $2795 each. The decision on type will be based on the hearing loss and the individual’s budget.
You must have a current (6 months) hearing evaluation, either brought in from another company or performed by us. The results will provide the information needed to have appropriate choices of price and technology. |
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Q How much are your hearing tests?
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A Screenings are no charge (expect up to one half hour). Full evaluations are $40.00 (expect over an hour). Several promotions are made during the year when we do not charge for the evaluations, these include newspaper ads, and/or off-site testing at specific out of town locations.
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Q What brands do you carry?
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A Starkey, Rexton, Bell, Persona Medical and Phonak (for children) are our major suppliers, but we can get any brand, except Miracle-Ear and Beltone, or brands that are sold specifically by franchise offices such as Sonus, and Avada, in which case your choices are limited by what they offer.
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Q Can you repair aids?
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A Yes we can repair any brand, often we can repair it in our office, if it has to go to a repair lab, the cost will be discussed first. If the aid is more than six years old the parts needed may be obsolete.
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Q How long does it take to get new aids?
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A Custom made devices can take an average of 2 weeks, There is a new style called OTE’s On The Ear which may be in stock for delivery the day of the evaluation, or can be ordered and received within a week.
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Q Do you have batteries and how much are they?
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| A $2.50 for a pack of 4. Sizes 10, 312, 13 and 675. |
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Q Do you have amplified phones, Assisted Listening Devices, FM systems, Pocket amplification devices, TTY’s, or any other device associated with hearing?
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A We presently do not carry any of these items in stock but we can order them for you, you will have to discuss any of these items with Jim Davis.
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Q Does an audiologist do the testing?
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A Our hearing specialist is a National Board Certified Audioprosthologist which is the highest credential obtainable in the hearing aid dispensing profession. Our hospital has an audiologist on staff.
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Q Can I make payments?
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A We have financing available with no interest up to 18 months available through Care Credit. Information and online applications available through carecredit.com.
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Q Why do some hearing aid dealers say that their hearing tests are FREE?
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A Having worked for companies that offered “Free” hearing tests there was something apparent with most and that was the price of the aids that people purchased offset the cost of the people who had their hearing tested and did not purchase aids. The evaluation in some cases was not complete and was little more than a screening, which all. to my knowledge, providers offer at no cost.
We charge $40. for a full hearing evaluation, we also supply you with a copy of that evaluation (which is required by law), should you wish to compare services and prices.
NOTE: when comparing prices it is extremely important that the instruments are alike in their operation and options, while an aid is reported to be a Class “A” linear, which you might perceive as being the best, this actually is the least expensive, least effective, and the oldest first generation of amplification. Most major manufacturers have eliminated this type of aid because of it’s performance and reliability.
Digital hearing aids presently provide the clearest speech signal to the brain. |
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Q Why can’t I just get one to try?
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A First refer to the 16 reasons that two aids are better than one form. Which you could rename 16 problems you will now have if you try to wear one hearing aid when you need two. Years ago, largely due to the cost, people tried one when they had a loss in both ears. People were not happy, and in most cases hardly wore the one and thought certainly that if they had this much trouble with one then two would cause twice the problems.
THEY WERE WRONG
There is a percentage of the population that have one normal ear and one ear that has a hearing loss. It causes a multitude of problems and these people seek out hearing healthcare providers to fit the bad ear and rectify the problems. Among those problems are balance of hearing, distance, clarity and quality of sound on the unaided side, and trying to understand someone on the unaided side talking with noise on the good ear side.
Now if you try to wear one aid with a loss in both ears you have now created all the problems of having one good ear and one bad. While most people do not want to have to wear hearing instruments if you try one, you will have a major problem, and that is you have one and you need two, that’s the problem. Wearing two will solve the problems, as I have always said “Our creator didn’t make a mistake giving us two ears, we do not have a spare” There are many more technical problems with the facts that each ear has a distinct and separate purpose than the other. |
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Q My aids are only 3 years old and I was told I had to have new ones.
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A Unless you have had a major change in your hearing, head trauma, or an operation in which medication was administered that had an adverse effect on your hearing, it is highly unlikely that you need a new set of aids given the newer technology available. It is more likely that you need an adjustment. A recent audiogram can identify current hearing thresholds and speech understanding levels and your present aids may just need adjustment.
The normal life expectancy is 4 to 7 years, though I have seen older aids that are still providing satisfactory benefit.
It is our policy that upon evaluation of current thresholds and tests of current aids that we do not recommend new aids unless we have evidence that they would produce a noticeable improvement over your older set. |
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Q My aids are 6 years old and I am almost deaf without them and have extreme difficulty with only one working.
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| A We recommend that a person with a severe hearing impairment who has aids that are older (5 or more years), that while their present aids are still working very seriously consider investing in a new system so that you will have a new system and dependable spares should the new ones need to be sent in for repair. |
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Q My doctor told me 10 years ago that I was deaf in one/or both ears, and that there was nothing that could be done.
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| A And very possibly 10 years ago nothing could be done. Technology has constantly changed and we are fitting hearing instruments on ears that were unaidable years ago. There are other options such as cochlear implants that were not available or recommended earlier. |
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Q What is Single-sided deafness?
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A People with a dead ear or Single-sided deafness, up until recently had no options, and were told so.
New technology has produced several options now available in the area of amplification. Please contact us to see if you could be aided by the following;
The small Trans-Cranial CROSS, a CROSS (wired or wireless) , a Bi-CROSS (wired or wireless), or a Bone conduction BTE.
You may also want to consult an ENT physician on medical alternatives. |
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Q What can I expect from my hearing aids?
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A You can expect that after you have adapted and learned to use them properly (usually 4 to 8 weeks), many “speech sound” benefits from hearing aids will become available to you. You can expect your ability to perceive speech correctly will be enhanced. You can expect most conversations will be much easier with the hearing aids. You can expect more relaxed hearing, more confidence and more satisfaction from your conversations. Additionally, you can expect to hear warning sounds more readily with the hearing aids, than without! Every perceived benefit from hearing aids is entirely situational per person.
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Q What problems might I experience while adjusting to my hearing aids?
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A All hearing aids require adjustments. Some common problems that can be corrected in the office include:
“My voice sounds like I’m talking in a barrel, my hearing aids whistle, my ears feel plugged-up, I hear too much background noise…” All of these common complaints/problems can generally be addressed to the user’s satisfaction using new technology, better hearing aid circuits again perceived benefit is situational per person. |
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Q Are hearing aids covered by insurance?
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A Some insurers do cover hearing aids. However, each situation is different! Even though a particular insurer offers hearing aid coverage, you may or may not have it available to you, based on your individual policy. It is always a good idea to call the insurance company and speak with their representative to learn about your personal hearing aid coverage.
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Q What are digital hearing aids?
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A The term DIGITAL is used so often today, it can be confusing. When the term “digital” is used when referring to hearing aids, it generally means the hearing aid is 100% digital. In other words, the hearing aid is indeed a “complete computer”. 100% digital hearing aids have been commercially available since the mid-1990s and they are wonders of modern technology. 100% digital hearing aids can process sound using incredibly fast speeds. Interestingly, most 100% digital hearing aids have some analog components, such as the microphone and the receiver. 100% digital hearing aids transform analog information into a digital signal and process the sound to maximize the speech information you want to hear, while minimizing the amplification of sounds you do not want to hear.
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Q Where do I go to get hearing aids?
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A Hearing aids are available at professional offices. You can sometimes get a referral from your friends or physician, or your health insurance company. Another way to find a hearing instrument specialist is to look in the yellow pages under “Hearing Aids” or search the Internet, placing keywords in a search engine (Google, Yahoo…) such as the name of your town or city, the word Hearing Aids.
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| Q Do you have hearing aids for infants and children? |
| A The Clear Hearing Gallery works with the Children’s Hospitals in Ohio and with the Audiology Dept. of Southeastern Med on any amplification needs for children, or infants, which includes the ordering, fitting, programming, dispensing, adjustments, repairs, and servicing of hearing instruments, and ear molds. The Clear Hearing Gallery is the areas only provider for Ohio Medicaid, Care Source, Molina, and Unison. Other insurance companies may be accepted subject to their limitations. Phonak is the primary supplier of our pediatric fittings, though other brands are available on specific cases.“Please Note; The State of Ohio now requires the hearing evaluation for all newborns. Any child under the age of 18 must be seen by a physician specializing in treating ear disorders (ENT, Otolaryngologist) and preferably pediatrics, before amplification can be considered. |
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