This is an email received from a consumer frustrated with the way the industry is structured. Hearo and its Founder, Dr. Markus Hilbert, Au.D., want to address these issues, create a transparent, open, accessible experience. There is no better way than to advocate with the voice of a consumer who is caught in the confusion created by this industry. Do you relate? If you do, reach out to us and let us know, ask a question and let us give you some straight talk about hearing care. Please see the response at the bottom of this blog post in response to this person’s take on things.
I want to start by thanking you, Dr. Markus Hilbert, Au.D., Doctor of Audiology, for your time the other day. I truly appreciated your honest approach and the helpful advice you provided.
That said, I feel the need to vent about my overall experience with the hearing aid buying process so far, as it has honestly been one of the most frustrating consumer experiences I’ve ever encountered. I want to emphasize that this isn’t directed at you personally (or any of the other audiologists I’ve spoken with), who have all been very professional. Rather, it’s about the broader industry, which, frankly, I would rank just behind used car sales when it comes to honesty and integrity .
There’s quite a bit to unpack here, so please bear with me.
Once I made the decision to purchase hearing aids, I did what I typically do when buying a big-ticket item—I researched it online. And here’s where the frustration began. Every audiologist’s website I visited had the same generic content—lots of blog posts about “how hearing aids work” or “how hearing loss affects you and your loved ones,” but absolutely no specifics about the products themselves. Compare this to other high-ticket items, like appliances, cars, or even vacations, where I can easily find detailed specs, reviews, and pricing. I was shocked to find that even the most detailed Canadian-based hearing website I came across merely listed a few brands they sold, with no model numbers, prices, or tech specs.
This lack of transparency is staggering. Can you think of any other industry where consumers are expected to make a purchase in the $5,000–$10,000 range without being given any meaningful information upfront? I certainly can’t.
On the pricing front, I noticed a lot of websites claiming things like “savings of up to $2,400”, but those claims feel hollow when you have no baseline to compare them to. It’s like being told “This pen is a great deal at $1,000 because it’s usually $2,000,” but you have no idea what the pen costs anywhere else, you’re just supposed to take them at their word. I found myself having to chase down pricing details, and even then, when I asked for a quote on a specific model like the Signia IX Active Pro, for example, I was met with stonewalling or vague responses. The only way to get any pricing information at all seemed to be booking an audiogram, which is typically offered “for free” in the hopes of gaining customer loyalty for a sale. To make matters worse, once I did convince someone to share a price, I found that many websites outside of Canada—particularly in the UK and US—offered the same hearing aids at significantly lower prices, even after factoring in currency exchange and shipping. For example, I was quoted around $5500 for the Signia IX Active Pros locally, but found them for $3600 in the UK and $3900 in the US, with similar after-purchase services and warranties. It certainly feels like the lack of transparent pricing here in Canada results in not only inflated prices, but collusion among the providers to maintain this veil of secrecy online.
This process is incredibly frustrating. Why is it that to price-shop, I have to spend hours running around town, undergoing hearing tests that feel like unnecessary hurdles just to get a straightforward price quote? It seems unreasonable, especially when you consider that the industry’s main demographic is senior citizens. While I’m able to deal with this hassle as a younger consumer, I have to cringe at the thought of someone like my 85-year-old father being subjected to this cumbersome process.
Another thing I’ve noticed is the lack of transparency around the corporate ownership of these larger hearing aid chains. I spoke to representatives at Hear Canada, Connect Hearing, and Hearing Life, and not once did any of them mention that they are owned by major manufacturers like Signia, Phonak, or Oticon. I had to uncover this on my own. This corporate ownership creates an inherent bias toward their own products, and while I understand businesses need to make a profit, audiologists market themselves as healthcare providers. The reality is, these are sales centres — salespeople dressed as healthcare professionals. A true healthcare provider should prioritize the best interests of the patient above all, regardless of the brand.
All of the audiologists I’ve interacted with have been friendly and professional, and I want to make it clear that I am not attributing my frustration to the front-line employees. If only a few clinics had been less than forthcoming about their affiliations and pricing, I might have thought it was an issue with individual staff members. However, based on my experiences, it appears that this is a systemic issue, likely originating at the corporate or governing-body level, rather than a problem at the clinic level.
That said, the most notable difference I observed between you and other clinics is the patient-first mentality that you demonstrated. For example, when I mentioned to a few clinics that I found hearing aids unnecessary and cumbersome for use at work, and that I would likely only wear them at home or on weekends, you were the only one who expressed concerns about the insufficient daily wear-time potentially leading to nerve damage. You also were the only one to mention that I could apply for hearing aid coverage through WCB that was not brought up by anyone else. Additionally, we discussed potential limitations with the ITE style aids that I initially felt were the best fit for my lifestyle—specifically, issues with moisture and the lack of local, in-house repair options. While I have no doubt that others were aware of these limitations, it seemed that sales priorities took precedence over patient care, and these important details were not mentioned. Having been in sales for two decades, I understand the pressure to promote certain products, but I always prioritize the best interests of my clients over corporate targets. Once again, thank you for your sound advice and your commitment to putting the patient’s needs first.
I’m unsure how the industry has been able to continue operating in this manner, but I suspect that as younger, more tech-savvy generations (Gen X and Millennials) become the primary market, these practices will be increasingly scrutinized and challenged.
Jason D., Kelowna BC
Jason is absolutely right. In my opinion, the lack of disclosure to the public, the wide range of pricing (Phonak Sphere 90s go between $10,950 to $5999 for the set before discount in Canada) and the sales focus that is pervasive in the industry across providers has changed the definition of hearing aids as medical devices (which they are in Canada, governed by the Federal Health Act) to hearing aids as consumer goods. Hearing aids should be recommended based on best technology for best price to match physiology of ear, hearing loss, nerve loss and hearing in noise loss. As such, clinicians should be medical staff not sales staff posing as medical staff as Jason said, and in that he’s absolutely right as well. The industry should do better to disclose, diagnose, recommend and have the patient’s best interest at heart not do free tests to identify candidates to sell hearing aids to.