# Why are hearing aids so expensive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 26, 2020, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hearing-aids-so-expensive/850351 "2020-03-26T18:49:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hearing-aids-so-expensive/850351/1 "2020-03-26T18:49:41Z")
I had a hearing test and will need hearing aids eventually, if not now. My sister has a pair that cost over $7000 :eek: Her insurance covered a chunk of that, but still. The technology in these must be similar to what’s available in consumer audio gear. The demand is high enough that there are economies of scale. The most expensive Bose noise reduction headphones are “only” a few hundred dollars. What am I missing? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hearing-aids-so-expensive/850351/2 "2020-03-26T19:03:39Z")
One reason is “because they can be.” Another reason is probably because they need a powerful CPU to do all sorts of processing of the audio to filter out noise, and CPUs are extremely expensive to design, and hearing aids don’t have the kind of base that things like smart phone CPUs have to spread that expense across more users. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hearing-aids-so-expensive/850351/3 "2020-03-26T19:05:32Z")
(And I see now you mentioned economies of scale, but I think it is more of an issue than you think it is.) ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hearing-aids-so-expensive/850351/4 "2020-03-26T19:58:51Z")
They used to be expensive because audiologists used to have monopolistic “control” the market and OTC sales were cumbersome. In 2017, President Trump signed a new law making OTC hearing aids more accessible. [President Trump Signs OTC Hearing Aid Legislation into Law](https://www.hearingreview.com/inside-hearing/legislation/president-trump-signs-otc-hearing-aid-legislation-law) Read more here : [Hearing Aids, Monopolies, And Why The Health Industry Is Ripe For Disruption | Techdirt](https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120403/10460818356/hearing-aids-monopolies-why-health-industry-is-ripe-disruption.shtml) And certainly checkout online sellers. One of them [https://www.embracehearing.com/](https://www.embracehearing.com/) is what I used for my dad. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hearing-aids-so-expensive/850351/5 "2020-03-27T01:43:02Z")
I swear we just did this recently, but: CostCo has a range of hearing aids, with the high-end models being something like $2,300. From anecdotal evidence, it seems their hearing tests - for what they test - are on-par with similar tests at doctor’s offices. I had finally resigned myself to go ahead and get some (I’ve had near-life-long higher frequency loss), but now their centers are closed due to COVID. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hearing-aids-so-expensive/850351/6 "2020-03-27T03:28:39Z")
Up until smart phones became common, hearing aids drove a good chunk of the efforts to miniaturize electronic components. In the 90s, I was working for a passive component manufacturer, and the demand for smaller and smaller parts, with the same capacity, and putting out minimal heat, was coming from hearing aid makers. At that time, smaller meant more expensive. So my guess is that part of the current cost of a hearing aid is a carry over of what is used to cost to design and make one. If everyone is used to paying hundreds or thousands of dollars, why would the makers give away all of that money? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hearing-aids-so-expensive/850351/7 "2020-03-27T03:58:28Z")
My understanding, from talking recently with someone in the industry, is that the answer up to now has been limited competition and control of the market by audiologists. But the market is about to be disrupted in a big way by over-the-counter offerings. In the meantime, Bose Hearphones are well worth checking out. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hearing-aids-so-expensive/850351/8 "2020-03-29T03:54:06Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I had a hearing test and will need hearing aids eventually, if not now. My sister has a pair that cost over $7000 :eek: That’s a bit much. But I first tried a $15 Chinese eBay set. I got what I paid for. :eek: > [@Raza](#): > > CostCo has a range of hearing aids, with the high-end models being something like $2,300. From anecdotal evidence, it seems their hearing tests - for what they test - are on-par with similar tests at doctor’s offices. I saw the Costco low-ends at about $1k total, mid-range at about $2k total, and high-end at about $3k total. I went for the $2k pair a couple months ago, with extensive testing, and they’re marvelous! Cheapies depend on batteries to be replaced every week or so but a year supply is only a few bucks. Still, that’s clumsy. My midrange pair included a charger running off a USB port. Drop the drained pair in the charger overnight and they’re up and ready upon wakening. Now, if I’m uninterested in what’s being said, I can just switch them off, heh heh. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hearing-aids-so-expensive/850351/9 "2020-03-29T04:06:27Z")
I heard somewhere that if people were willing to wear larger hearing aids, they could be a lot cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hearing-aids-so-expensive/850351/10 "2020-03-29T17:55:31Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > I saw the Costco low-ends at about $1k total, mid-range at about $2k total, and high-end at about $3k total. I went for the $2k pair a couple months ago, with extensive testing, and they’re marvelous! Consumer Reports shows customer rating of Costco hearing aids to be the highest-rated of eight brands. (They did not perform their own independent testing.) > [@CR](#): > > Ratings are based on our Spring 2018 survey from 4,391 members who purchased a hearing aid since 2014 and provided responses to prescription hearing aid retailer satisfaction questions. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hearing-aids-so-expensive/850351/11 "2020-03-29T18:12:05Z")
CBS Sunday Morning ran a [story](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hearing-aids-you-aint-heard-nothing-yet-2019/) in September 2018 about hearing aids and why they’re so expensive. Getting a hearing aid currently involves a hearing test, a mold made of the ear canal so that the hearing aid shell can be manufactured to exactly fit and then fine-tuning and follow-up care. But, the story said, new laws allow for cheaper hearing aids. One product they mentioned was the [Bose Hearphones](https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/wellness/conversation_enhancing_headphones/hearphones.html#v=hearphones_black), which costs $430. ---
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2020, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-hearing-aids-so-expensive/850351/12 "2020-03-31T02:39:43Z")
My insurance plan works uses a company called HI Health Innovations. We can get a pair for $200-400. I have no idea how they compare to higher cost models, but they seem to work for me. The HI technician who adjusted mine told me that all hearing aids contain a programmable processor, implying that they were all basically the same. I don’t know if HI sells to the general public, but contacting them could be worth a try. $200 beats the hell out of $2000 and up.