Rather than quote an all in one fee, why not break it up: Hearing aids $2000 Exam, testing, fitting, programming, follow up care $6000. Patients google their hearing aid and think they overpaid with an all in one.
This speaks to the dilemma of the high cost of healthcare in general. The only way that many people can afford healthcare is via insurance. Seniors, in particular, rely on Medicare which doesn't cover hearing aids. The government needs to remedy this.
As a marketing and business development professional with over 40 years experience (and with a still active consulting business) I can point you to many independent studies that conclude that by far the single most important factor (multivariate analysis) in operating a retail business is customer service. Price is well down on the list. That said, buyer behavior is such that we all conduct an internal analysis to achieve what we consider to be "best value", or the most for the lowest cost. Also, most people don't understand the finance involved in determining pricing. Thanks for your honesty.
I appreciate your honesty Dr. Cliff, you have a business to operate, and you have to pay your bills like everyone else. I was a contractor until i retired, now my wife and I are drawing Social security. My wife saved as much as we could over the years and we paid cash for my one hearing aid for my right ear, about $1800. It's a Starkey cic and it's not almost invisible, but it is indivisible to the point where people are surprised when they see it. My audiologist did a wonderful job fitting my right ear. It is a custom mold fit, and will not fit anyone else's ear. I really enjoy your videos!
Thank you for this practice transparency. I popped my zip code into your best practices clinic finder, but there are none in my state......the closet being 1,448 miles, as I live outside of the continental US. Audiology clinics in my state are quite predatory and do not incorporate best practices protocols. Hopefully in time these attitudes will change.
I understand the challenge you have. I’m working with one of your recommended providers in North Carolina. 😅 After buying the best Resound I checked the online ZipHearing online with a local shop and a better warranty and service plan. Mine were about $5900. The ZiiHearing were $4000. That’s a huge difference. How small retail stores survive I don’t know. But if your clinic charges the same then as my local clinic your model is not sustainable.
I got my first set of hearing aids from a local clinic, and hoped to get them dialed in before I moved to a new area. When it became obvious that wasn’t going to happen, the local clinic went through the manufacturer to find a clinic in my new location to support them, and was told they would not provide a sufficient level of support because I didn’t purchase the hearing aids from the new clinic. I ended up returning that first set of hearing aids during the trial period and got a new (and different) set after my move was complete. I did not do business with that first hearing aid manufacturer or their recommended supplier in my new location.
Thank you for explaining this so well. I had a small craft store and we had a customer that would bring in a shopping bag full of rubber art stamps. She would spill them out on the counter and expect me to show her how to color them and use them to make cards. We also would have customers who would come in and ask us how to use a new tool. After a very involved explanation of how it worked, they would thank me and tell me that they had already purchased it from a new big box store in town but didn’t know how to use it.
Hey Cliff... Had I known about your clinic in Phoenix, AZ? I would have signed up for your service. I used to live in Phoenix, AZ til 2009. I loved it there and I missed living there. I was forced to leave AZ due to the economic crisis at the time. I had just got a divorce and was picking up the pieces to move on with my life. Then the crisis hits, lost my career job and eventually lost everything. I was working for Larry John Wright Advertising in Mesa, AZ. That's the best job that I ever had with an awesome group of people who treat one another like family. My profession is graphic design and I have been working toward going freelance for a while. I'm currently working for Amazon in the warehouse and been trying to break into the freelance world of graphic design. Anyways, I agree with everything you've pointed out on the business of hearing aide industry. I have no problems with at all. Nothing wrong with loving what you do but you got to make a living too. RIght? That's I feel as an artist. Even though I do graphic design from time to time. I consider myself a fine artist cause I like a paint and draw my own stuffs that I created and designed. Again, I salute you for all that you do and support all that you do. Awesome setting for the video. Love the new look. Outstanding.
I totally agree with you but I wish you had said what the cost is for device adoption. I would assume the cost for device adoption is slightly above the average profit you make on the sale of a device. I expect everyone who runs a business to make a profit and for services such as hearing aids that can often have a high level of customer care the amount of profit in the initial sale should be quite high. The only other way to address it is to have an hourly rate for all people who don't buy devices from you that would make it worth your while. So I think the device adoption option is very reasonable.
You sir are providing an excellent service with these informative videos. It's then up to the individual to make use of this knowledge to find an audiologist in the Hearing Up network and purchase the best hearing aids that they can afford rather than try to save money on the cheaper alternatives. Having worn hearing aids since the 1990s I'm on my 4th set and highly recommend the quality approach.
Once people find a good audiologist or provider of any kind, they see the value and willingly pay for those services. I feel that a lot of the criticism and hate you receive is misplaced anger towards the medical/insurance industry in general or the hearing instrument manufacturers for pricing their devices ‘too high’. I can honestly say the level of care and service provided at your clinic is unmatched! As a patient, I feel like I get way more than my money’s worth. The world needs more health providers like you.
Clinics should offer entry level products with a limited amount of service offered (one year repair warranty and two follow up visits included).Additional service calls could have a specific cost associated for them. Entry level technology could then be accessible to thousands of people on limited budgets.
I'm glade to see someone like you coming online about hearing aids, I didn't think about the benefits of being in the army till now I think I'm getting better care at the VA Hospital then some where else ins stinks when it comes to health needs, also can you compare audiologist at the VA clinic and other places as well thank you
You are correct Dr Cliff, I wish you were in the UK, I have paid quite a reasonable fee for my aids and if I can get an appointment of 30 minutes duration in 6 weeks I’m very lucky and I am at the best clinic in my area.
It’s reasonable to expect to be paid for your expertise and time. I know I do not have the skills to treat myself. I don’t think I would trust myself for that. I am willing to pay for the advice and services rendered. There are too many areas that I have no knowledge to make a decision. I have no idea how people stay in business based on the amount that insurance allows. No one can expect you to keep your clinic open. Every business has expenses, stock, rent, overhead and profit. It took me three tries to find a qualified and caring audiologist. It is money well spent to receive excellent care from Dr. Frink. I am not an easy person to deal with either and I appreciate everything he has done in my treatment.
I am more than happy to pay for high quality care. What aggravates me, is that I paid $$$$$$ for a set of Rx hearing aids and never got the "best practice" care from my provider. I am currently trying a set of OTC hearing aids that I paid $ for, and those are performing almost as well as my $$$$$$ Rx devices.
@@DrCliffAuD I guess it depends on what people want; I pretty much won't buy eye glasses where I got my eyes checked because buying glasses online feels like a "best practice" now; like, I can get two pairs of prescription sun glasses (online) for $70, and they rock! The last pair of glasses I bought at an eye clinic were $400+ and were inferior in every aspect; i.e. they were less durable; heavier, etc.... That said, there will always be a market for good information.
You have a business. It needs to be profitable for you to have a reason to continue. I paid top dollar for my Oticons to get the best possible product, have them fitted properly AND maintained, warrantied, readjusted, hearing tests, etc. It's worth it IF you want all that. The example I use with most people when they cry about price is they buy cars that are $30-80+K . It's a car. You just drive it. Your hearing is important, FAR more than a vehicle that sits in your driveway or at work the majority of the time. Hearing properly is paramount to quality life. Most people I know who got "discount" aids don't wear them because they don't work right, fit right, weren't programed correctly, etc. In the grand scheme of things, most retail products are marked up 100%, double the actual cost. Double cost for all the service you get, the practitioner to create other jobs and to make a living, seems totally fair. No one wants to work for free. Keep up the good work. Lighting looks good but your perfectly groomed hair gets a little lost in it on a phone screen😅
I live in Belgium. There is no real way to buy hearing aides cheaply. You have to buy them via an approved audiologist. My latest hearing aides were thus purchased that way. He obviously made a nice profit on the transaction. I have been back to him 4 or 5 times for little problems. He has never changed me anything. I am (was) a small businessman. I know all too well that the only way he can do that is because he made enough profit on the original sales to cover his costs on these follow up visits. I do not have a problem with that. There is no such thing as a free lunch!
I absolutely agree skilled profressionals should be compensated fairy given their experience, cost of training, etc. However, I do have an issue with the extremely high markup most audiologists apply to devices (nearly 100% in most cases that I researched). I would much prefer that additional revenue be shifted to the providers. And, of course, also need to eventually have Medicare cover hearing devices.
It's the old adage: You get what you pay for. If you want discounted cost you should accept that you can expect to get get discounted care. You can't have it both ways. At the end of the day you have to ask yourself what is it worth to have good quality hearing. The enormous advantages of that vs the possibility of isolation, depression and dementia with poor hearing.
I spent a significant length of time in a small business in another service industry. We had a few top skilled people, and several support people. In that industry (according to our professional association), the average successful company grossed about $500,000/year, and had about 15% net profit. I suspect this gross is typical of many service industry companies. If it was much less than the 12-15% profit, I suspect that the question that is raised, is, if I have money to invest in creating a company, and providing jobs, services, etc., but I can get about that in the stock market, without working, why start a company??? I have no problem with the notion that companies in your industry provide a quality professional service and make those kinds of gross and net.
Extremely well presented. In my opinion you would not make this presentation if you were making exorbitant profit. You should be compensated fairly for all the education and dedicated service. I am nowhere close to your business, by the way. The "adoption fee" is very much understandable. I hope you prosper!!!!
I already know they make half of the costs so you picked out ones that cost $6000 they make $3000 profit for them to program them for you and you might see them once or twice more that’s it!! Here is the real deal in today’s modern world or they are not even needed anymore. We all know an app can be created and you can program your hearing aids yourself and cut them out completely and cut the price down and half instantly think about that one spread the word.!!
These "app controlled" Hearing aids have been around for a long time. Not a single OTC company is profitable with their devices because return rates are astronomical. If self fitting was the answer to replace prescription care, it would have replaced it already.
@@DrCliffAuD yeah you’re probably talking cheap hearing aids I’m talking about the ones that I made from the top 3 to 5 major companies that cost anywhere from $4000-$10,000. Audiologist are not needed in this case because their hearing aids are made of quality and it would be just as easy to return those to the manufacturing company not the Audiologis and get another pair. If that’s what the person desires the real reality is when it comes to programming hearing aids, and Audiologis is it needed 99% of the time, what a competent person knows how to use an app - Will give you much appreciation and credit when it comes to tinnitus and hearing loss because you truly care but then again because you have tonight is because 99% of EMTs don’t care about people with tinnitus they give no hope they spend no time in trying to figure out a way to curate and/or push whoever are the companies and millionaires and billionaires into throwing money at Tinnitus cares and hearing loss cures
You asked about the lighting... not so great. Even with the captions, deaf people (or at least I) want to be able to see you clearly. I couldn't give you a thumbs down though, because your explanation makes total sense. My wife is an artist, and so many times people say "Why does this cost so much? The supplies aren't that expensive." Well yeah, you can get the supplies at a cheap cost, but what about the training, skill, knowledge, and experience?
I've been wearing aids for 30 years. Technology seems to keep adding more bells and whistle to drive up the current prices. Personally, I find a lot of this is unnecessary. All I really want is a good sounding hearing aids at a fair price. If you don't wear aids then you don't know what I am talking about. Analog was much better than digital.
Very whiny and unprofessional. I too was a professional in my own practice and I think saying that you only end up with a 12% profit is being disingenuous. I just paid $7,500 for a set of hearing aides and believe that the audiologist made a gross profit of at least half of that. Luckily I can afford that cost but I feel for those in need who cannot afford these hearing aides. In our capitalist society, which I have fully participated in, the moral is to make as much as you can, as quick as you can and get out of town before you are caught and sued!
I think the term AI is just a marketing buzz word. Code is code, garbage in gets garbage out. The important part of the phrase is "artificial". The important part is the application of real computation power to statistically valid extraction of information and the efficient presentation of that information. The mathematics tools of doing this exist and we can expect hearing aids to improve as more rigorous techniques are implemented.
Normally I like your videos, very informative for people with hearing loss. But when you try to justify the high prices of hearing aids, you start to lose me. When you compare apple to oranges, you lose me there as well. "Would you be able to buy food elsewhere and take it to a restaurant and have them cook it?" Really? What are you taking, maybe you should share it. The fact that hearing aids can cost upwards of 4 to 6 thousand, most cannot afford that. Hell, you can buy a good used vehicle for those prices. How about that for a comparison. Also, you claim to have several on staff, so that tells me you are already making well over 400,000 a year. Any place I have been they usually only have three on staff, some only have two and that is including the front desk person. We have insurance policies on almost everything, there is even insurance plans for pets, but yet, still none for hearing aids.
I think the point of this video was: by charging higher prices, his clinic becomes empowered to provide higher levels of service; that said, in the "lower end clinics," those companies want to commoditize care. What's great about Doctor Cliff is that he's hellbent on providing patients with exceptional experiences that justify the costs of those experiences; if that level of care can be commoditized, everyone eventually wins!
i pay my hearing specialist more then he ask for,,he bent over backward for me getting me analogs about 8 years ago when they were impossible to find he made calls and made it happen,,he fixes old aids for me other places would reject because he has connections to these small specialist places that work on hearing aids but not available to the public,,i give him sometimes hundreds in tips for his outstanding service and to show my appreciation,and if i ever retire to Arizona i would gladly pay more to visit Cliff's clinic to help keep these specialist places in business,,you dont wanna do business with those fly by night shady places in run down strip malls
My hearing aid is 7 years and i take care of it cleaning the aid i had an autogist try to sell me a 3000 aid because mine was 7 years old i walk out the place and told them off it my money
Yeah That’s why I quit being a middle school teacher. The $ cost of maintaining my credentials exceeded the step increase for each year of teaching. Professional people deserve to be paid professional pay. Right now, American oligarchs are putting rockets in space, super yachts on the water, and submersibles under the sea, owning several multi million dollar mansions in addition to their excessive luxury purchases while not paying either living wages or income taxes. This is the root of the problem. As for you, How many more people could you fit if you lowered your price to a point where an elderly person on a fixed income can afford to buy them. My ear canals are very small and OTC hearing aids will not fit. I studied economics in college, too. The fallacy of your argument is that you have neglected to consider expanding your number of clients by lowering your price. The clinics I have visited are not very busy but have lists of staff. It was like visiting a used car lot when they started their sales pitches. I want AND NEED hearing aids but a fixed income and inflated prices prevent me from getting them. That means that I am a lost customer, bud. How many more people who watch your channel are in the same boat? We are all potential customers for some audiology clinic. This is why we need the same kind of medical system found in other “first world” countries. You come across as part of the problem rather than part of the solution because of your narrow-minded thinking. All of your excuses are about protecting your own instead of finding win-win solutions. Bah humbug from a woman who is twice your age and experience. PS. I taught Science, Math, and Latin. So my education does not suck either.
To answer your question, I started my clinic with lower pricing and accepted insurance and 3rd parties. We were overbooked and profit margins were extremely thin. Quality of care was clearly starting to suffer. Now, we are booked ~80% and can afford to spend an adequate amount of time with patients to provide high quality care. Eventually we will hit capacity and be forced to increase prices again to stay profitable with inflation.
I’m a patient at your clinic and I’m more than happy to pay for your services.
Loved your honesty and transparency, Cliff.
We are really proud of the high level of care that you provide to your patients, Cliff. ❤
Rather than quote an all in one fee, why not break it up:
Hearing aids $2000
Exam, testing, fitting, programming, follow up care $6000.
Patients google their hearing aid and think they overpaid with an all in one.
Thanks for being candid. It definitely came out in the presentation. I learned a lot.
This speaks to the dilemma of the high cost of healthcare in general. The only way that many people can afford healthcare is via insurance. Seniors, in particular, rely on Medicare which doesn't cover hearing aids. The government needs to remedy this.
As a marketing and business development professional with over 40 years experience (and with a still active consulting business) I can point you to many independent studies that conclude that by far the single most important factor (multivariate analysis) in operating a retail business is customer service. Price is well down on the list. That said, buyer behavior is such that we all conduct an internal analysis to achieve what we consider to be "best value", or the most for the lowest cost. Also, most people don't understand the finance involved in determining pricing. Thanks for your honesty.
I appreciate your honesty Dr. Cliff, you have a business to operate, and you have to pay your bills like everyone else. I was a contractor until i retired, now my wife and I are drawing Social security. My wife saved as much as we could over the years and we paid cash for my one hearing aid for my right ear, about $1800. It's a Starkey cic and it's not almost invisible, but it is indivisible to the point where people are surprised when they see it. My audiologist did a wonderful job fitting my right ear. It is a custom mold fit, and will not fit anyone else's ear. I really enjoy your videos!
Thank you for this practice transparency. I popped my zip code into your best practices clinic finder, but there are none in my state......the closet being 1,448 miles, as I live outside of the continental US. Audiology clinics in my state are quite predatory and do not incorporate best practices protocols. Hopefully in time these attitudes will change.
I understand the challenge you have. I’m working with one of your recommended providers in North Carolina.
😅
After buying the best Resound I checked the online ZipHearing online with a local shop and a better warranty and service plan. Mine were about $5900. The ZiiHearing were $4000. That’s a huge difference.
How small retail stores survive I don’t know. But if your clinic charges the same then as my local clinic your model is not sustainable.
I got my first set of hearing aids from a local clinic, and hoped to get them dialed in before I moved to a new area. When it became obvious that wasn’t going to happen, the local clinic went through the manufacturer to find a clinic in my new location to support them, and was told they would not provide a sufficient level of support because I didn’t purchase the hearing aids from the new clinic.
I ended up returning that first set of hearing aids during the trial period and got a new (and different) set after my move was complete. I did not do business with that first hearing aid manufacturer or their recommended supplier in my new location.
Thank you for explaining this so well. I had a small craft store and we had a customer that would bring in a shopping bag full of rubber art stamps. She would spill them out on the counter and expect me to show her how to color them and use them to make cards. We also would have customers who would come in and ask us how to use a new tool. After a very involved explanation of how it worked, they would thank me and tell me that they had already purchased it from a new big box store in town but didn’t know how to use it.
Hey Cliff... Had I known about your clinic in Phoenix, AZ? I would have signed up for your service. I used to live in Phoenix, AZ til 2009. I loved it there and I missed living there. I was forced to leave AZ due to the economic crisis at the time. I had just got a divorce and was picking up the pieces to move on with my life. Then the crisis hits, lost my career job and eventually lost everything. I was working for Larry John Wright Advertising in Mesa, AZ. That's the best job that I ever had with an awesome group of people who treat one another like family. My profession is graphic design and I have been working toward going freelance for a while. I'm currently working for Amazon in the warehouse and been trying to break into the freelance world of graphic design. Anyways, I agree with everything you've pointed out on the business of hearing aide industry. I have no problems with at all. Nothing wrong with loving what you do but you got to make a living too. RIght? That's I feel as an artist. Even though I do graphic design from time to time. I consider myself a fine artist cause I like a paint and draw my own stuffs that I created and designed. Again, I salute you for all that you do and support all that you do. Awesome setting for the video. Love the new look. Outstanding.
I totally agree with you but I wish you had said what the cost is for device adoption. I would assume the cost for device adoption is slightly above the average profit you make on the sale of a device. I expect everyone who runs a business to make a profit and for services such as hearing aids that can often have a high level of customer care the amount of profit in the initial sale should be quite high. The only other way to address it is to have an hourly rate for all people who don't buy devices from you that would make it worth your while. So I think the device adoption option is very reasonable.
You sir are providing an excellent service with these informative videos. It's then up to the individual to make use of this knowledge to find an audiologist in the Hearing Up network and purchase the best hearing aids that they can afford rather than try to save money on the cheaper alternatives. Having worn hearing aids since the 1990s I'm on my 4th set and highly recommend the quality approach.
Once people find a good audiologist or provider of any kind, they see the value and willingly pay for those services. I feel that a lot of the criticism and hate you receive is misplaced anger towards the medical/insurance industry in general or the hearing instrument manufacturers for pricing their devices ‘too high’. I can honestly say the level of care and service provided at your clinic is unmatched! As a patient, I feel like I get way more than my money’s worth. The world needs more health providers like you.
Clinics should offer entry level products with a limited amount of service offered (one year repair warranty and two follow up visits included).Additional service calls could have a specific cost associated for them. Entry level technology could then be accessible to thousands of people on limited budgets.
I'm glade to see someone like you coming online about hearing aids, I didn't think about the benefits of being in the army till now I think I'm getting better care at the VA Hospital then some where else ins stinks when it comes to health needs, also can you compare audiologist at the VA clinic and other places as well thank you
Outstanding presentation!
You are correct Dr Cliff, I wish you were in the UK, I have paid quite a reasonable fee for my aids and if I can get an appointment of 30 minutes duration in 6 weeks I’m very lucky and I am at the best clinic in my area.
It’s reasonable to expect to be paid for your expertise and time. I know I do not have the skills to treat myself. I don’t think I would trust myself for that. I am willing to pay for the advice and services rendered. There are too many areas that I have no knowledge to make a decision. I have no idea how people stay in business based on the amount that insurance allows. No one can expect you to keep your clinic open. Every business has expenses, stock, rent, overhead and profit. It took me three tries to find a qualified and caring audiologist. It is money well spent to receive excellent care from Dr. Frink. I am not an easy person to deal with either and I appreciate everything he has done in my treatment.
I am more than happy to pay for high quality care. What aggravates me, is that I paid $$$$$$ for a set of Rx hearing aids and never got the "best practice" care from my provider. I am currently trying a set of OTC hearing aids that I paid $ for, and those are performing almost as well as my $$$$$$ Rx devices.
I've got a video coming out about this problem as well. Sometimes you pay $$$$$ but only get $. It's scary.
@@DrCliffAuD Well thanks to you, I am becoming a much more educated consumer! Thank you!
@@DrCliffAuD I guess it depends on what people want; I pretty much won't buy eye glasses where I got my eyes checked because buying glasses online feels like a "best practice" now; like, I can get two pairs of prescription sun glasses (online) for $70, and they rock! The last pair of glasses I bought at an eye clinic were $400+ and were inferior in every aspect; i.e. they were less durable; heavier, etc.... That said, there will always be a market for good information.
The restaurant analogy is PERFECT.
Might surprise you cliff but I've always wanted to know about this exact topic
You have a business. It needs to be profitable for you to have a reason to continue. I paid top dollar for my Oticons to get the best possible product, have them fitted properly AND maintained, warrantied, readjusted, hearing tests, etc. It's worth it IF you want all that. The example I use with most people when they cry about price is they buy cars that are $30-80+K . It's a car. You just drive it. Your hearing is important, FAR more than a vehicle that sits in your driveway or at work the majority of the time. Hearing properly is paramount to quality life. Most people I know who got "discount" aids don't wear them because they don't work right, fit right, weren't programed correctly, etc. In the grand scheme of things, most retail products are marked up 100%, double the actual cost. Double cost for all the service you get, the practitioner to create other jobs and to make a living, seems totally fair. No one wants to work for free. Keep up the good work. Lighting looks good but your perfectly groomed hair gets a little lost in it on a phone screen😅
I live in Belgium. There is no real way to buy hearing aides cheaply. You have to buy them via an approved audiologist. My latest hearing aides were thus purchased that way. He obviously made a nice profit on the transaction. I have been back to him 4 or 5 times for little problems. He has never changed me anything. I am (was) a small businessman. I know all too well that the only way he can do that is because he made enough profit on the original sales to cover his costs on these follow up visits. I do not have a problem with that. There is no such thing as a free lunch!
I absolutely agree skilled profressionals should be compensated fairy given their experience, cost of training, etc. However, I do have an issue with the extremely high markup most audiologists apply to devices (nearly 100% in most cases that I researched). I would much prefer that additional revenue be shifted to the providers. And, of course, also need to eventually have Medicare cover hearing devices.
It's the old adage: You get what you pay for. If you want discounted cost you should accept that you can expect to get get discounted care. You can't have it both ways. At the end of the day you have to ask yourself what is it worth to have good quality hearing. The enormous advantages of that vs the possibility of isolation, depression and dementia with poor hearing.
Lighting looks good.
Everything went way up. Those of us who are retired suffer.
I spent a significant length of time in a small business in another service industry. We had a few top skilled people, and several support people. In that industry (according to our professional association), the average successful company grossed about $500,000/year, and had about 15% net profit. I suspect this gross is typical of many service industry companies. If it was much less than the 12-15% profit, I suspect that the question that is raised, is, if I have money to invest in creating a company, and providing jobs, services, etc., but I can get about that in the stock market, without working, why start a company??? I have no problem with the notion that companies in your industry provide a quality professional service and make those kinds of gross and net.
Extremely well presented. In my opinion you would not make this presentation if you were making exorbitant profit. You should be compensated fairly for all the education and dedicated service. I am nowhere close to your business, by the way. The "adoption fee" is very much understandable. I hope you prosper!!!!
Great video and information. 👍👏
I already know they make half of the costs so you picked out ones that cost $6000 they make $3000 profit for them to program them for you and you might see them once or twice more that’s it!!
Here is the real deal in today’s modern world or they are not even needed anymore.
We all know an app can be created and you can program your hearing aids yourself and cut them out completely and cut the price down and half instantly think about that one spread the word.!!
These "app controlled" Hearing aids have been around for a long time. Not a single OTC company is profitable with their devices because return rates are astronomical. If self fitting was the answer to replace prescription care, it would have replaced it already.
@@DrCliffAuD no comment on you wanting music for nothing? Smh
@@DrCliffAuD yeah you’re probably talking cheap hearing aids I’m talking about the ones that I made from the top 3 to 5 major companies that cost anywhere from $4000-$10,000. Audiologist are not needed in this case because their hearing aids are made of quality and it would be just as easy to return those to the manufacturing company not the Audiologis and get another pair. If that’s what the person desires the real reality is when it comes to programming hearing aids, and Audiologis is it needed 99% of the time, what a competent person knows how to use an app -
Will give you much appreciation and credit when it comes to tinnitus and hearing loss because you truly care but then again because you have tonight is because 99% of EMTs don’t care about people with tinnitus they give no hope they spend no time in trying to figure out a way to curate and/or push whoever are the companies and millionaires and billionaires into throwing money at Tinnitus cares and hearing loss cures
@@donnas8408music?
You asked about the lighting... not so great. Even with the captions, deaf people (or at least I) want to be able to see you clearly. I couldn't give you a thumbs down though, because your explanation makes total sense. My wife is an artist, and so many times people say "Why does this cost so much? The supplies aren't that expensive." Well yeah, you can get the supplies at a cheap cost, but what about the training, skill, knowledge, and experience?
Thanks!
Do I want to spend a couple of $thousand right now to (perhaps) have availability of high-level care in 5-10 years? Of course not!
I've been wearing aids for 30 years. Technology seems to keep adding more bells and whistle to drive up the current prices. Personally, I find a lot of this is unnecessary. All I really want is a good sounding hearing aids at a fair price. If you don't wear aids then you don't know what I am talking about. Analog was much better than digital.
Very whiny and unprofessional. I too was a professional in my own practice and I think saying that you only end up with a 12% profit is being disingenuous. I just paid $7,500 for a set of hearing aides and believe that the audiologist made a gross profit of at least half of that. Luckily I can afford that cost but I feel for those in need who cannot afford these hearing aides. In our capitalist society, which I have fully participated in, the moral is to make as much as you can, as quick as you can and get out of town before you are caught and sued!
Love the moon lightning
Very interesting i wonder what effect A.I will have on hearing aid clinics/pricing in years to come?
Who knows. I'm looking forward to it though.
I think the term AI is just a marketing buzz word. Code is code, garbage in gets garbage out. The important part of the phrase is "artificial". The important part is the application of real computation power to statistically valid extraction of information and the efficient presentation of that information. The mathematics tools of doing this exist and we can expect hearing aids to improve as more rigorous techniques are implemented.
Audio AI R&D will be expensive and protected. Hearing aids will get better. Prices will stay high.
Normally I like your videos, very informative for people with hearing loss.
But when you try to justify the high prices of hearing aids, you start to lose me.
When you compare apple to oranges, you lose me there as well.
"Would you be able to buy food elsewhere and take it to a restaurant and have them cook it?"
Really? What are you taking, maybe you should share it.
The fact that hearing aids can cost upwards of 4 to 6 thousand, most cannot afford that.
Hell, you can buy a good used vehicle for those prices. How about that for a comparison.
Also, you claim to have several on staff, so that tells me you are already making well over 400,000 a year.
Any place I have been they usually only have three on staff, some only have two and that is including the front desk person.
We have insurance policies on almost everything, there is even insurance plans for pets, but yet, still none for
hearing aids.
I think the point of this video was: by charging higher prices, his clinic becomes empowered to provide higher levels of service; that said, in the "lower end clinics," those companies want to commoditize care. What's great about Doctor Cliff is that he's hellbent on providing patients with exceptional experiences that justify the costs of those experiences; if that level of care can be commoditized, everyone eventually wins!
The "dramatic" lighting is not as good for speech reading as your regular lighting. Too much shadow.
This is super random but can you link the circle led lamp in this video or tell us where to find it?
I think this is it: amzn.to/3XtJeLZ
I agree, if you think hiring a professional is expensive then wait until you hire an amateur. (Pay peanuts get monkeys).
i pay my hearing specialist more then he ask for,,he bent over backward for me getting me analogs about 8 years ago when they were impossible to find he made calls and made it happen,,he fixes old aids for me other places would reject because he has connections to these small specialist places that work on hearing aids but not available to the public,,i give him sometimes hundreds in tips for his outstanding service and to show my appreciation,and if i ever retire to Arizona i would gladly pay more to visit Cliff's clinic to help keep these specialist places in business,,you dont wanna do business with those fly by night shady places in run down strip malls
You do have another source of income: your TH-cam videos.
Revenue on top of high salaries.....
Do you know the average audiology salary is?
So the question was......
.answer
How much you make a year nets
My hearing aid is 7 years and i take care of it cleaning the aid i had an autogist try to sell me a 3000 aid because mine was 7 years old i walk out the place and told them off it my money
You get what you pay for....cheaper is not always better !!
I get billed to am wereing one hearing aid right now trying to save money to buy another am working 2 jobs
Do you give free pack a barries for every customers that buy 6000 hearing aids to show pop and mom thank you
Yeah That’s why I quit being a middle school teacher. The $ cost of maintaining my credentials exceeded the step increase for each year of teaching. Professional people deserve to be paid professional pay. Right now, American oligarchs are putting rockets in space, super yachts on the water, and submersibles under the sea, owning several multi million dollar mansions in addition to their excessive luxury purchases while not paying either living wages or income taxes. This is the root of the problem.
As for you, How many more people could you fit if you lowered your price to a point where an elderly person on a fixed income can afford to buy them. My ear canals are very small and OTC hearing aids will not fit.
I studied economics in college, too. The fallacy of your argument is that you have neglected to consider expanding your number of clients by lowering your price. The clinics I have visited are not very busy but have lists of staff. It was like visiting a used car lot when they started their sales pitches.
I want AND NEED hearing aids but a fixed income and inflated prices prevent me from getting them. That means that I am a lost customer, bud. How many more people who watch your channel are in the same boat? We are all potential customers for some audiology clinic. This is why we need the same kind of medical system found in other “first world” countries.
You come across as part of the problem rather than part of the solution because of your narrow-minded thinking. All of your excuses are about protecting your own instead of finding win-win solutions. Bah humbug from a woman who is twice your age and experience. PS. I taught Science, Math, and Latin. So my education does not suck either.
To answer your question, I started my clinic with lower pricing and accepted insurance and 3rd parties. We were overbooked and profit margins were extremely thin. Quality of care was clearly starting to suffer. Now, we are booked ~80% and can afford to spend an adequate amount of time with patients to provide high quality care. Eventually we will hit capacity and be forced to increase prices again to stay profitable with inflation.
There are lower cost options if you look hard enough. Fewer amazing features but still useful.
I need hearing aid for one of my student he is poor backward family so can u help me please for free providing hearing aid for him 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
It is what it is a rip off
1st person to give you a thumbs up
Dr. Cliff, I love your TH-cam Channel and the incredibly detailed and reliable content! Subscribed the first video I saw cira. 2020
Thanks!