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Surely a good set of wireless earbuds and a simple smartphone app could do this for less? According to google, I can get a good pair for $80, even if the app is $20, that's only 10% of the cost? If you require pencil-eraser sized in-ear units, perhaps $1000 is worth it.
You can buy hearing aids for a couple of dollar at Ali Express. However, something like these sony ones will provide a much better experience.
If the batteries aren't replaceable, I guess it's more like $500/year
There is a difference between a Personal Sound Amplifying Device (PSAP) and a hearing aid. The latter is an FDA approved medical device, the former is...what you're describing for $80. There is a big difference [forbes.com].
Depending on your level and type of hearing loss, the $80 option may work for you.
“PSAP manufacturers may be providing these claimed features, but based on the price and a PSAP not being classified as a hearing aid by the FDA, PSAPs will not provide the same benefit as a true hearing aid,” says DeMari.
“PSAP manufacturers may be providing these claimed features, but based on the price and a PSAP not being classified as a hearing aid by the FDA, PSAPs will not provide the same benefit as a true hearing aid,” says DeMari.
That smells like bullshit. The reasons a hearing aid will give better results are: price, and legal classification. If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you.
If hearing aids are made better than PSAPs and with more features, that's why they will work better. If a PSAP is well made and has the feature of being calibrated based on a audiologist's tests, wouldn't it work better than a low quality hearing aid?
The article you mentioned sounds like it was written 10 or more years ago with statements like "Hearing aids can be programmed to mute or amplify certain soundsâ"amplifying a speakerâ(TM)s voice over excessive background noise in a public place, for example. But a PSAP amplifies every sound. So even though a PSAP may amplify the speakerâ(TM)s voice, it will also amplify the whirring of a fan above your head or the sound of a door opening and closing, possibly creating more barriers to hearing
If you require pencil-eraser sized in-ear units, perhaps $1000 is worth it.
You gotta realize, $1k would still be way below rock-bottom dollar for what 'real' hearing aids have traditionally cost. Go get some real hearing aids fitted at Costco and you're at $2.5K. Go to an audiologist with their own office and the first thing they push at you will be over $5k.
I wear hearing aids and I do think they scramble to add expensive features with little added value. I don't think anything in any hearing ai
Hearing aids, in the end, are nothing but earbuds with an equalizer. The prices have been outrageous, only because of the entry barrier.
Allowing OTC sales will let all the earbuds manufacturers in on the game. Prices should now fall dramatically.
No, that's fundamentally wrong. Only the cheapest hearing aids are that simple. If you want that you can buy some $70 hunters' earbuds. Real hearing aids can do shifting of specific frequencies that you're missing to other frequencies.
It's been a while since I played in this area, but iirc that's not a substantial difference. A fourier transform identifies the content of various frequencies. Whether you then amplify them or shift them isn't a big difference. There are some fancier features - for example. coordinating the reception on both sides to determine which sounds are coming from the person you are facing, and emphasize those. Still, it's all "only" software, with costs that you can amortize over many thousands of sales.
No one is spending $10k for something an off the shelf unit can do. They are spending $10k for a highly personalised solution to their highly personalised hearing loss.
Not all hearing loss is the same. In fact it would be fair to say no two examples of hearing loss are the same. There's a difference between providing a generic solution that improves quality of life for people fitting into a broad category, and providing a personalised solution that solves quality of life issues for your specific condition.
Maybe so. But until now, no one could make the *choice* between highly-customized $10K hearing aids, and much cheaper "generic solutions." Many people don't need or can't afford the bells and whistles of the "highly-customized" version.
Let's back up and think about the real purpose of hearing aids: enabling people to hear speech and other common sounds. It is NOT to bring a person's hearing back as close to "normal" as is technologically possible. In software, that's what we call a "nice to have" feature. A
For the personallized solution I could see spending some money for the time spent with the audiologist to identify what the specific problems are and configure the earbuds based on the patient's needs, but $10K is a little expensive for something that will probably amount to a few hours worth of service.
You could probably automate a lot of it with software by playing sounds and asking the user if they can hear the sound and adjusting things as needed. There is no reason for the devices to cost so much othe
Maybe there are "fundamental" differences, as you say. But are those differences truly important to a typical person who needs hearing aids? If a cheaper OTC hearing aid makes a person able to understand conversation, that's good enough for most people. If it isn't, then they still have the option to spend $10K on an audiologist and get those bells and whistles. Until now, people didn't really have a choice to make, you could only get the super-premium, expensive version.
And echo cancelling. The speaker and the mic are right next to each other. And multi-channel compression. And noise reduction. And beam forming of multiple microphones. All on a DSP that is small enough to fit inside your ear and run off battery. And configurable and tunable to meet individual differences.
I'm pretty sure that AirPods and other premium level headphones have most of those options.
Hearing aids, in the end, are nothing but earbuds with an equalizer. The prices have been outrageous, only because of the entry barrier. Allowing OTC sales will let all the earbuds manufacturers in on the game. Prices should now fall dramatically.
Hearing aids, in the end, are nothing but earbuds with an equalizer. The prices have been outrageous, only because of the entry barrier.
Allowing OTC sales will let all the earbuds manufacturers in on the game. Prices should now fall dramatically.
Depends entirely on the type of hearing loss, and for that matter, the type of hearing aid.
Sure, but now people can choose. There certainly is a segment of the population that will do just fine with OTC hearing aids. Why not let them risk their $1,000 to find out? These things aren't going to preclude them from going to an audiologist to get $10,000 premium hearing aids. Choice is a good thing.
Something something free market lowers prices
And for many people, fix-specification supermarket glasses will work just fine. If they don't, people can still go see the optometrist.
For those who can't afford an optometrist or an audiologist, OTC versions are a godsend.
It's more like saying that basic lenses and frames from an online retailer that costs $30 can solve the same problem that glasses from your optometrists office will charge $200, or more if you want "designer frames".
Sure, the solution won't work for everyone, Some people need very specialized glasses because they have rare conditions. But the vast majority of people can get by just fine with a more basic solution.
The cost of hearing aids is ridiculous especially in light of the developments wrt earbuds, etc. The article also suggests that these are FDA approved so it will be interesting to see what kind of pivot existing hearing aid manufacturers are going to do. Will they keep prices jacked up while claiming a better experience than Sony hearing aids or drop prices to compete?
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The first sign of maturity is the discovery that the volume knob also turns to the left.