Are Your Hearing Aids LOCKED?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 มิ.ย. 2024
- Are Your Hearing Aids LOCKED?
Dr. Rachael Cook, audiologist at Applied Hearing Solutions in Phoenix, Arizona, discusses everything you need to know about locked hearing aids before purchasing them.
00:00 Introduction
02:36 What are Locked Hearing Aids?
04:23 Issues with Locked Hearing Aids
06:41 Benefits of Locked Hearing Aids?
07:30 What to Know Before Purchasing a Locked Hearing Aid
09:41 Final Thoughts
Looking to get hearing aids in the Phoenix area? Visit Applied Hearing Solutions at appliedhearingaz.com/
Applied Hearing Solutions
4045 E Union Hills Dr Suite #D128
Phoenix, AZ 85050
602-877-0000
Looking for a hearing care provider committed to Best Practices? hearingup.com/
Learn more about Dr. Cliff at drcliffolson.com - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Hi Dr. Cook,
For the patient in the story you shared I have thought of a (outside the box) solution that could be of use. I don't know the specifics of the patient but lets say hypothetically speaking it is a Intrigue or ME-Bliss stock RIC. You could use a Genesis RIC demo unit in office, fit the demo device to REM target with the same matrix/dome/venting/etc, print the fitting report with numeric and graph data then give that to the patient, charge the patient your usual and customary fees for REM verification/programming/counseling/etc, then send the patient back to where he purchased them and have the patient give that provider the report with instruction to manually apply it into the programming session. This way you are fairly compensated for your time and the patient does not wind up totally loosing his entire investment and gets adequate programming.
Hope this helps!
i know the question i'm about to pose will seem like i'm being a smart guy but here goes: What response do you expect when the locked provider is asked to adjust their fit to an outsider's prescription? Yeah, ugly real fast maybe.
Edit: removed the rest due to unbecoming angry outburst. My regrets
Yeah, most providers will not adjust based on other provider recommendations.
Getting my first hearing aids next month. Have really enjoyed the information you have provided with your videos. Thank you.
How does one know beforehand whether a specific hearing aid is locked? Only by the brand name?
Thank you, very useful information!
Thanks for the tip!
Great video. I sent it to my buddy with his new Audibel's
Very true and my Health Care Insurance coverage company doesn't remend lock hearing Aides from Beltone and Groceries stores and department stores hearing Aides
Used Audibel for my first aids about 5 years ago. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Never again. The biggest issue I found is the person selling you aids is NOT an audiologist. They are literally just well trained sales people.
If you want proper service and testing, always see an experienced Audiologist.
In my location in Citrus County, FL, Audibel has been frequently running some two full page advertising pullouts! The person whose case is mentions or you should contact Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Report, to alert them of this serious problem, and perhaps, help the client get in contact with legal help. Also, the Federal Trade Commission needs to be alerted so that corrective measures can be made. This horrid form of an oligopoly must be dragged into court, and perhaps restitution be ordered for the client!
Doesn't Amplifon allow other clinics to obtain, maybe purchase, their software for programming?
THIS.. is exactly why you may not want to buy your aids at Costco or Sam's Club just because they are "cheaper" When you go for your first set of hearing aids, where ever you go, the first question to ask your provider is if your aids will be locked. The second question of course is to ask if your provider follows best practices
Exactly
So I just ordered Starkey hearing aids through a local office who accepted the partnering Humana discounted price. I have not received them yet. How do I know whether these will be locked hearing aids or not? Does the office you’re purchasing them from tell you upfront?
Oh by the way, as a first time user, I’m thankful that I found your channel because I have learned a lot about hearing aids. In fact, I tried to find an office that follows best practices which you recommend , but the closest one is a 3 Hour drive , so I didn’t have a choice.
This "sounds" awful! Locked Hearing Aids ought to be outlawed!
How can you hear them if you are deaf and never had heard them before? I totally agree with you 👍💯 definitely awful
I blame the manufacturers for participating in and consequently prioritizing vendor shenanigans over the welfare of their end customers
You are right to blame the manufacturers for some of this mess, but the big retailers Sams and Costco have been doing this for years. Their TV's , Computers, Printers they sell are a few digits different than the same product sold from other stores. When you need parts or service.... you go ... WTF
You didn’t answer the question, how do you know if your hearing aids are locked?
She actually did answer it, she basically said that they can’t reprogram a locked hearing aid so whatever program you have set on it is what you’re stuck with til you go back to where you purchased the hearing aids to do the reprogramming.
@@Dragonesa41083 The title of the post is “Are your hearing aids locked”. There is no answer given in her post to tell me if mine are locked. I now know they may be locked. I don’t know if mine are. Really pretty crummy if they are and can’t be unlocked. Cell phones can be locked and unlocked.
Found out my Jabra Pro aids are locked.
Jabra Enhanced Pro? Not locked. None of the Costco aids are locked. If someone told you that…you are being mislead.
Tried to have a REM with my local audiologist who informed me they were locked. Trust her and know she wouldn’t mislead me.
How do we know that the hearing aids I’m going to purchase is locked or not. Or, please give me a list of the international top brands that are not locked.
@@kensigmon6642 maybe she didn’t have the programming software. As they mentioned in the video, Costco hearing aids haven’t been locked for years.
@@dr.pankajverma3375 Stick with Phonak/Starkey/ReSound/Signia/Oticon/Widex labeled and branded devices. Any one of the major six and you should be fine.
Thank you for confirming the fact that the hearing aids being sold at Costco are NOT locked. As you know, this has been their policy for several years now. Unfortunately, by including a picture of a Costco store in a series of photos of other companies that do still lock their hearing aids, a lot of viewers will come away with a false impression that they are locked. From a journalistic point of view, this seems either unethical or, at the very least, deliberately misleading.
Honestly, if Costco wouldn't have locked their hearing aids in the past, they wouldn't have to worry about people thinking they were still locked.
@@DrCliffAuD What evidence is there that Costco was the co. that added locks to the hearing aids in the past? I was under the impression that the manufacturers built the locks into the software as a condition of supplying them to Costco and that software supplied by the manufacturers maintained that lock. Are you contending that each fitter at Costco would apply this lock after programming each hearing aid to the the individual customer? Please elaborate. Thank you.
PS - It is also my understanding that this was done by the manufacturers to accommodate the wishes of the traditional private clinic market, so as to distinguish the chain store sellers's hearing aids from those sold at a much higher price by the traditional sellers. Is that not true?
@@utuber1000 It doesn't matter WHO locked them, fact is Costco sold people locked aids and you are screwed. I am wearing a pair right now. Even if they posted a sign saying they are no longer locked I would not purchase there. Main reason is that most Costco hearing centers do not have good people to properly fit. Don't even get me started on real ear measure as you are only there for an hour or so .........
@@slyfox7429 It doesn't matter if those hearing aids were locked at the instance of the traditional high dollar sellers?
It doesn't matter that hearing aids sold by Costco are not locked? This is a total red herring! Fact is, the traditional sellers are in total panic mode this year! Costco Hearing Centers are swamped with eager buyers of name brand hearing aids being fitted and sold at Costco. Instead of customers walking in and getting tested and fitted without advance appointments as in past years, eager buyers are being offered appointments two and three months out!
And Consumer Reports still confirms that customers continue to rank the Costco experience as most satisfactory.
Of course, traditional dispensers could reduce their prices, but they don't want to.
In a few more years, self-fitting hearing aids are going to become more advanced and more sophisticated, as it becomes clear that there will be a market for them too. Artificial Intelligence will lead the way, but there always will be a place for traditional fitters for difficult cases. This has happened in other industries already.
Locked hearing aids should be illegal. This should be covered in right-to-repair legislation. I can also see a class action law suit coming
Some audiologists in Australia can be scammy.