How much do private hearing aids cost?

The cost of your hearing aids will depend on your individual circumstances as this will dictate the type of device that will help you the most. There are a huge range of different hearing aids on the market and they all have different features and benefits so it’s important to get fitted with something that matches your requirements. 
Getting the most benefit from your hearing aids depends on correct fitting and fine tuning, occasional check ups to ensure they’re still working properly, fixing any technical problems as quickly as possible and replacing batteries when they run out. Some people may also benefit from regular wax removal to make sure they can hear through their devices properly.
For all of these reasons, Pindrop Hearing developed care plans which cover the cost of the hearing aids themselves as well as provide the necessary support to make sure patients continue to get maximum benefit from their devices. We want you to focus on living your life and doing the things you enjoy and not constantly worrying about whether your hearing aid is working properly.
Our Bronze Care Plan costs £1099 (monaural) or £2198 (binaural) and includes hearing aids, fitting and tuning, unlimited office visits, 2 years of check ups, wax removal, a 2 year warranty and 2 years of batteries.
Care plans increase in price to allow for a wider selection of hearing aids, longer warranties, more batteries and more assessments.
The Platinum Care Plan costs £2749 (monaural) and £5498 (binaural) and includes platinum range hearing aids, fitting and tuning, wax removal, unlimited office visits, 5 years of check ups, 5 year warranty and a 5 year supply of batteries.
Take a closer look at our care plans and the different options here.
We’ll help you choose the best care plan based on your individual needs and your budget. For example, you may find listening to people in noisy public places difficult so we’ll look at options that help with that. You might be more interested in ensuring the device is as discreet as possible or you might be sporty and need a sport specific device. 
All of this will be discussed with you at an initial hearing aid assessment, along with various tests to help us understand more about your hearing loss. 
The initial hearing aid assessment costs £149.
The assessment and the tests are very important and unlike high street chains offering free assessments, they are purposely comprehensive and designed to make sure you get a device suited to you. Free assessments are limited in what they test and the range of hearing aids offered can also be limited, meaning you may not get the best device for your needs.
Pindrop Hearing is not affiliated with any hearing aid manufacturer and has access to a full range of suppliers. This ensures that our recommendations are true to your requirements and not based on the most profitable or most convenient devices for us. 

Are private hearing aids worth the cost?

Some people are often surprised by the cost of buying hearing aids privately but very often, they don’t understand all of the benefits, such as

• Access to the best hearing aids on the market (in terms of quality, discreetness, style etc)
• Improved technology, such as connection to Android/Apple
• Thorough examinations to ensure the best recommendations
• Peace of mind aftercare should anything go wrong
• Faster supply of hearing aids and aftercare
• Longer warranty periods

Pindrop Hearing also has highly trained and extremely knowledgeable audiologists offering unrestricted recommendations based on years of experience. 
These are important points that make private hearing aids worth the additional investment. 

What is the average cost of hearing aids?

In 2018, the average cost of hearing aids was £2613 (Source). 

Why do hearing aids cost so much?

Hearing aid technology is continuously advancing and the very latest models are built to do more and more things. Features such as improved hearing in noisy environments and other specific programming to help you hear better all require a significant amount of research and development.
Advancements in other areas of technology also offer new opportunities to improve a hearing aids usability. Syncing with Android and Apple or your TV offers numerous benefits and will most likely be considered the norm in a few years (all using a hearing aids tiny batteries). This alone takes a lot of development and contributes to the overall cost.
Another point to consider is that hearing aids are not a mass market product. In 2018, 322,374 hearing aid units were sold privately (Source) compared to something like the Fitbit, which sold £4m+ units. More volume affords the opportunity to drive down production costs (manufacturing, r&d etc) but this isn’t possible for hearing aid manufacturers.
We’ve also mentioned the cost effective aftercare package that Pindrop Hearing offers to patients and this is also factored into the overall cost of hearing aids. 

What are the best hearing aids on the market in 2020?

Researching the best hearing aids and learning more about their different features and benefits is a good idea and will help you understand whether or not you’re getting the best device. It’s important to understand that the best hearing aid currently on the market is the one that suits your individual needs the most. As people’s individual needs are different, no one hearing aid will be best suited to everyone. 
It’s also just as important to find the right hearing aid provider as they will be able to recommend the best hearing aids and assess your requirements. After a consultation, it might be that we recommend a hearing aid that you haven’t heard of but again, that’s ok because you’ll be getting a product suited to you. It’s much better to have a product recommended by a specialist than to just have what’s considered the best hearing aid on the market for 2020.
Having said all of that, there are some popular hearing aid brands and brands that we’re frequently asked about by our patients and you can learn more about them here:
Widex | Phonak | Starkey