It is annoying when one considers a hearing aid is: mic, speaker, audio circuit, battery power circuit as the main components.
Compared to a cell phone which has that and a lot more inside.
Cell phones easily priced at $100 (ok not you apple folks), and hearing aids at ~$2K each
Ok, and apologies for stepping on your toes, but this is statement reveals a poor understanding of the technology in current state-of-the-art hearing aids (e.g. Phonak, Oticon, Signia, Resound).
- All these manufacturers have DECADES of real acoustic and (recently) digital signal processing research that underlies the sound processing in their hearing aids. It is not just an "audio circuit" that simply amplifies sound linearly with clipping. Like in a $49 "hearing aid". Who pays for that research?
- For suppression of steady state background noise in the presence of speech, you need two microphones that are acoustically matched within extreme tolerances. Those are not used in a $49 "hearing aid".
- You also need DSP, digital signal processing, on a chip in the hearing aid. It's literally a sound processing computer on a chip inside the hearing aids. The algorithms are constantly fine-tuned and improved, based on research, with each model release. A $49 "hearing aid" is a simple linear amplifier on a chip, even if it's "digital".
- Ingress Protection ratings of IP68 (against water, dust...think weather-sealed, like in cameras)
- Bluetooth integration with both iPhones and Android phones WITH apps, along with streaming accessories for your TV, which are CONSTANTLY changing and updated. Who's going to test that? You need teams of engineers.
- Remote hearing aid programming. Some brands offer this. Useful in COVID times when the clinician can reprogram your hearing aid from their office while you're at home on your wifi network.
- Custom fine-tuning available by the hearing care professional/audiologist on a very granular level for YOUR hearing loss. Not available in a $49 "hearing aid".
So, yeah, I'm sorry, that is such a Baby Boomer-esque complaint that I really tire of hearing...that a product's price should be based on the on the actual total $$ amount of the sum of its physical component parts. Would you say that about a car? Ask a Mercedes or GM engineer what they think...
Costco's hearing aids are a screaming deal, btw. Other audiologists may charge more, but you're getting concierge-level service in some cases.
(Costcos are WAY too busy for that white glove service, and you need an appointment for any testing, fitting, and service.)
And, yes, you can't just walk in to a VA and walk out with hearing aids. You must get set up in the VA Health Care system, get an audiology appt for the hearing test, get your hearing tested, and, yes, your hearing loss must meet certain criteria to qualify for hearing aids. Sadly, if you're inquiring, you probably DO have hearing loss sufficient to qualify, but you must jump through the hoops to get them.
See this:
https://www.healthyhearing.com/help/hearing-aids/va
Excerpt:
Once approved for VA health care benefits, all Veterans "shall receive a hearing evaluation by a state-licensed audiologist to determine the need for hearing aids," according to the VA's 2014 directive for eye and ear care. However, not every veteran will necessarily receive hearing aids. As the directive explains (page 1-2), the following veterans are most likely to receive hearing aid care are:
"Those with any compensable service connected disability.
Those who are former Prisoners of War.
Those who were awarded a Purple Heart.
Those in receipt of benefits under 38 U.S.C. 1151.
Those in receipt of an increased pension based on the need for regular aid and attendance or by reason of being permanently house-bound.
Those who have a visual or hearing impairment resulting from the existence of another medical condition for which the Veteran is receiving VA care, or which resulted from treatment of that medical condition.
Those with significant functional or cognitive impairment evidenced by deficiencies in activities of daily living, but not including normally occurring visual or hearing impairments.
Those visually or hearing impaired so severely that the provision of sensori-neural aids is necessary to permit active participation in their own medical treatment."
Page 3 of the directive further explains what levels of hearing loss meets the criteria for an audiologist to prescribe hearing aids in this group.