Audiologists and the hearing aid industry are another bunch of “bottleneckers.” My hearing aids cost me $6,000 for the pair, and they aren’t covered by insurance. There’s no way, in this age of cheap electronics, that the technology and materials in hearing aids are worth multiples over what a smartphone costs. Hearing tests at home should be even simpler than eye exams, and probably more reliable. I see that the hearing aid/audiologist bottleneck is starting to erode, and it can’t come soon enough.
After he retired from the army in 1979 he got the idea in the 80s or 90s that he had trouble hearing, which he probably had. He blamed it on his two vietnam tours. He was a helicopter tech inspector. Well anyways he made an appointment with an audiologist here in our town who charged him $3000 for the hearing aid. He wore it maybe for a year or so, but then stopped wearing it.
A few years ago he complained again that he had trouble hearing so he made an appointment at Fort Campbell, Ky with the audiologist. The hearing aid she prescribed for him were only $500, but he only wore them for a few month. I am tired having to yell at him when I say something because he refuses to wear his hearing aid.
I could tell you a thing about his dentures too.