Consumer Reports recently conducted an exhaustive study on the process of purchasing hearing aids, and concluded that people are better off buying their hearing aids from a medical office headed by an otolaryngologist (an ear, nose, and throat physician) who employs an audiologist to fit and dispense hearing aids.
Consumer Reports followed a dozen actual patients for six months as they shopped for and used hearing aids, conducted a national survey of 1,100 people who had bought a hearing aid in the past three years, and lab-tested the features of 44 hearing aids. According to their results, respondents who obtained their hearing aids from a doctor's office gave those hearing-aid providers higher marks on their thoroughness in evaluating hearing loss than did respondents who went to other types of providers. The report also noted that an ear doctor can rule out medical conditions such as a tumor or bacterial infection in the ear that might be affecting hearing, and can also clear the ears of wax so that patients are ready for their hearing test.
Consumer Reports also had audiologists check how well providers fit the shoppers' hearing aids to their individual hearing loss. Two-thirds of the 48 aids they bought were misfit: They amplified too little or too much. The study concluded with a finding many hearing aid shoppers have already faced: it’s a fragmented and confusing marketplace, and shoppers may have difficulty sorting out good hearing-aid providers from less-capable ones. The report offers helpful guidelines that anyone considering a hearing aid purchase should read.
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