Hearing Aid complaints

dhgunit said:
No. I want to know what exactly you think we are being gagged about? What power do we need? What are you talking about?

That is all I want to know. You are speculating and I have no clue what you are talking about.

I am offering returns with no restocking fee, which is not required by law.

What is your purpose for seeing an audiologist?
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Did you know sallylou is a lawyer? :lol:

Bet you didn't!
 
dhgunit said:
I did not.....doesn't matter though.

I just want to know what she is talking about us being "gagged".
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She's referring to the contracts between the manufacturers and the dealers (you). Basically, she is assuming that no disclosure may be made public since you didn't give her the answer.

But of course, I don't know if you do have a contract with any of them.
 
I go to an audiologist so that she can crank up my hearing aids as I lose more hearing. I have dominant genetic progressive SNL. I'm learning ASL and I'll eventually ditch the HAs. . . except that I may want them to listen to music. I love to crank up the classic rock, and I already know all of the words. lol My kids are hearing now have 50% chance of having the gene and losing their hearing in adulthood.

A typical contract may have a nondisclosure clause in it that prohibits the parties from disclosing the terms of the contract. This clause "gags" the signing parties. Often, a clause like this may protect a valid interest of one of the parties. In a perfect world, no party would be compelled by unequal bargaining power to sign a contract like this, but it's never a perfect world. You may not even read the contracts that you have with the manufacturers. The contracts still define your relationships. The contracts usually contain a clause that requires you to go to mediation if a dispute arises between the parties, too. If I had a quarter for every person who has shown me a contract that he/she signed without reading it. . . you get the idea.

If you explore some threads here, you'll understand that deaf people don't like pity. I hate when professionals want to "fix" me. My audi actually apologized because she couldn't do anything for me. That's her issue, not mine. It would help a lot if audis would learn about deaf culture. Glad that you're taking the time to read here!
 
Banjo said:
She's referring to the contracts between the manufacturers and the dealers (you). Basically, she is assuming that no disclosure may be made public since you didn't give her the answer.

But of course, I don't know if you do have a contract with any of them.
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LOL.....

Can you tell me what question she asked?
 
dhgunit said:
LOL.....

Can you tell me what question she asked?
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What kind of agreements are the dealers signing? There must be a contract between the manufacturers and dealers. I suspect that the purpose of the contract is to keep the hearing aids under the strict control of the manufacturer. Parts are not available any where except from select dealers. I don't begrudge anyone a living for their work, but don't pretend to be on the side of the consumer when the manufacturer is your partner. I often wonder whether dealers are merely franchisees. Dealers don't have the power to bargain effectively with big corporations.
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It may not seem like a question, but I would make a rebuttal if I were you.
 
sallylou said:
If you explore some threads here, you'll understand that deaf people don't like pity. I hate when professionals want to "fix" me. My audi actually apologized because she couldn't do anything for me. That's her issue, not mine. It would help a lot if audis would learn about deaf culture. Glad that you're taking the time to read here!
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I understand that there is a deaf culture and that it annoys you when others take pity or try to "fix" you. Of course I have no way of understanding exactly the way you feel about it.

But from your audiologists point of view, her job is to make people communicate better. So if she doesn't accomplish that task it is dissatisfying for her.

Obviously you want to communicate better to if you see her to turn your hearing aids up.

And can you please tell me what the question is that you think I cannot disclose?
 
Banjo said:
It may not seem like a question, but I would make a rebuttal if I were you.
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I did....I told her I don't know what it means to keep the hearing aids under the strict control of the manufacturer. And what do I need to bargain with them about?

I didn't sign any contract with my manufacturer so I don't know what she is talking about.
 
dhgunit said:
I did....I told her I don't know what it means to keep the hearing aids under the strict control of the manufacturer. And what do I need to bargain with them about?

I didn't sign any contract with my manufacturer so I don't know what she is talking about.
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Good question. I think she may be referring to how hearing aids are usually sent to the manufacturers for repair rather than on site. But she will have to re-clarify what she meant when she asked you the question.
 
Banjo said:
Good question. I think she may be referring to how hearing aids are usually sent to the manufacturers for repair rather than on site. But she will have to re-clarify what she meant when she asked you the question.
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Well, in that case.....I can certainly answer what I know on the situation.

If a patient brings in a hearing aid that has something wrong with it I first try to find the problem. If I can do that and fix it in my office, I will.....and usually don't charge any fee for that.

If I cannot find the malfunction or fix it in my office then it is sent off and the manufacturer charges a flat fee no matter what the problem is.
 
I was referring to my inability to purchase HAs parts on the internet. I have to drive to my audi's office to buy expensive plastic parts. I would prefer to purchase them online (even directly from the manufacturer).

Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal.

I do communicate well. I can speak and write very well. What I can't do is hear people's speech. You'd probably be surprised how little that worries me. I've always read a lot and that's how I get my information. I write. I use email. I'm learning ASL and my family will learn it, too. Noisy restaurants aren't a problem when signing. I wear my HAs less and less. I'm not desperate to regain my hearing.
 
sallylou said:
I was referring to my inability to purchase HAs parts on the internet. I have to drive to my audi's office to buy expensive plastic parts. I would prefer to purchase them online (even directly from the manufacturer).

Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal.

I do communicate well. I can speak and write very well. What I can't do is hear people's speech. You'd probably be surprised how little that worries me. I've always read a lot and that's how I get my information. I write. I use email. I'm learning ASL and my family will learn it, too. Noisy restaurants aren't a problem when signing. I wear my HAs less and less. I'm not desperate to regain my hearing.
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Are you talking about purchasing the wax guards?

I charge $5 for a package of 20 wax guards.......what brand are your hearing aids, I may be able to help you out if you are spending too much.

I certainly don't pity someone without hearing, the human body is amazing in its ability to find other ways to communicate. And as you pointed out there are definately advantages to other methods of communication also.
 
You're nice to offer but that's ok. I drive over there now. I offered to pay for mailing but the office put the parts in a envelope that got eaten by the postal machines. lol Taking care of my family keeps me busy. Two wild boys!
 
OK the first audi I went was great she helped me find the ASL alphabet but she was a kids audi and have not found another as good as her that works with adults
 
In my little journey into hearing aid(s) purchase so far, I have been suprised that it is somewhat like buying a car or furniture-rather than a medical device. I found wildly ranging prices for similar styles. This was a suprise to me. No one shops around for, say, a pacemaker or artificial hips-but I had to do lots of research to find where to get an affordable HA (Costco!).

The lack of insurance coverage is astounding also-I have good insurance, which covered $0.
 
Hearing aids are overpriced. End of story. The whole R&D line is the same load of bullshit we've been hearing forever.

dhgunit, why don't you tell us how much YOU purchase HAs from the manufacturer wholesale? Why don't you tell us how much THEY spend creating the aids? Why don't you show us some numbers on how much HA manufactures are throwing into their R&D departments? Also, I'd be curious to know if any of these manufacturers receive government grants (many are foreign, I know...) to develop these "new" technologies.

And, if R&D is so expensive, why are HAs still technologically low end compared to other electronic devices? Music played through my 600$ iCom and 4k$ Naidas sound like shit compared to my 12$ JVC headphones plugged into my 400$ computer (which does many other amazing things besides play music) and equalized in my FREE itunes.

This is all a matter of supply and demand. Basic economics. The problem is, HAs are a niche market, and thus not capable of generating much profit without artificial market manipulation. HAs dispensation and HA tuning technology/proprietary software are highly regulated when they do not need to be. Fact is, pal, that most of us, if we had access to that goddamn hi-pro and the software you use, could do your job TEN TIMES better than you.
 
Nitpicky bit here. (refer to post 14) I am Deaf or deaf. I am not hearing impaired. My Audi is a sweet lady. She make me comfy. She signs with me and used to be a ASL instructor. My ENT is in the same office suite and he also signs. The front desk staff is well staffed, nurses are well trained and not stretched for time. My insurance only covers a modicum of the HA cost.
I dislke any HA Ive ever tried.
 
Question Alex, what do you think these hearing aids should cost? Think about that for a second.

TheWriteAlex said:
Fact is, pal, that most of us, if we had access to that goddamn hi-pro and the software you use, could do your job TEN TIMES better than you.
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K.

I think I am done here folks. I did want to help and was willing to answer legitimate questions about your hearing aids but I am not going to get attacked like this every other post.

I'm not going to get in an argument with someone whether they can do my job ten times better than me. It's ridiculous.
 
dhgunit said:
Question Alex, what do you think these hearing aids should cost? Think about that for a second.



K.

I think I am done here folks. I did want to help and was willing to answer legitimate questions about your hearing aids but I am not going to get attacked like this every other post.

I'm not going to get in an argument with someone whether they can do my job ten times better than me. It's ridiculous.
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I don't know much about you. Just image yourself in our places, struggling to take care of good expensives HAs that we ve been paying for many years. Like me, I was born deaf and trying to take care of these HAs since I was a child. It's very frustrating for me to learn about the prices that we could have something else useful but we need HAs though.
I appreciate your time to provide your informations to us. Again, we are not fans of seeing the high prices on HAs that we have no choices but buy them. oh well
 
Wirelessly posted

Frisky Feline said:
dhgunit said:
Question Alex, what do you think these hearing aids should cost? Think about that for a second.



K.

I think I am done here folks. I did want to help and was willing to answer legitimate questions about your hearing aids but I am not going to get attacked like this every other post.

I'm not going to get in an argument with someone whether they can do my job ten times better than me. It's ridiculous.
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I don't know much about you. Just image yourself in our places, struggling to take care of good expensives HAs that we ve been paying for many years. Like me, I was born deaf and trying to take care of these HAs since I was a child. It's very frustrating for me to learn about the prices that we could have something else useful but we need HAs though.
I appreciate your time to provide your informations to us. Again, we are not fans of seeing the high prices on HAs that we have no choices but buy them. oh well
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Agreed. If only most entry-level jobs are not hearing-centric.
 
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