What is the price of hearing aids in Australia?
In Australia, the average retail price for a single hearing aid, ranges from around $1000 for a basic model to $6000 for a premium model. As most people require two hearing aids, the cost for two hearing aids (binaural fitting) will be twice these amounts.
An individual’s out of pocket costs may be reduced if they have private health cover. In addition, if they are a pensioner or veteran they may be eligible for either fully-subsidised hearing aids or partially subsidised hearing aids through the Commonwealth Hearing Services Program. More information (including eligibility) about this program is available at www.hearingservices.gov.au/
The main difference between premium hearing aids and lower level “basic” hearing aids, is technology rather than size. Premium hearing aids feature more advanced sound processing technology to more effectively address challenging situations (e.g. restaurants with background noise) as well more advanced technology to improve convenience and ease of use (e.g. wireless streaming of audio from mobile phones).
There can be high variability in pricing between clinics with some hearing aid clinics selling the same hearing aid at prices almost double other clinics. It is therefore important to shop around.
What is the price of hearing aids from Sounds of Life? 
At Sounds of Life we are focused on providing our clients with the highest quality, personalised hearing care at an affordable price. We believe good hearing is a necessity and should not be a luxury only for the lucky few.
At Sounds of Life we aim to provide the most affordable brand-name hearing aids in Brisbane. It is not uncommon for our pricing to be 40% cheaper than our competitors. Sounds of Life’s pricing can be easily located on our website: https://www.soundsoflife.com.au/hearing-aid-pricing/
Being independent we provide all major brands of hearing aids, but as a guide our price range for the different levels of technology is summarised below:
Premium $3250 – $3990* (diamond level)
High-end $2400- $3190* (platinum level)
Mid-range $1650- $2390* (gold level)
Essential $from $990* (silver level)
In addition to offering affordable hearing aid pricing, Sounds of life prides itself on being independent and providing transparency for our clients.
Independent
As an independent hearing aid provider (not owned by a manufacturer), Sounds of Life supports all major hearing aid brands in Australia. These include Sonova (Phonak, Unitron), Widex, William Demant (Oticon, Bernafon), Sivantos (Signia, Siemens), Starkey and Resound. Being independent allows us to offer a wide range of product choices and styles to ensure we recommend the most appropriate hearing aids for our clients’ requirements and preferences, at an affordable price.
Transparency
Sounds of Life is owned and operated by audiologists and we believe in being transparent to our clients. Examples of the transparency is that we openly publish all our pricing on our website. In addition, we quote our pricing in an unbundled manner, so clients can see exactly what services they are paying for when purchasing a hearing aid. They can also use this to easily compare our value with other hearing aid providers. Finally, at Sounds of Life, our referral sources do not have any financial interest in our business, so they have no incentive to refer to us. They refer to us due to the high quality and value of our product and services.
Why are hearing aids so expensive?
It is true that hearing aids are expensive, but it is also true that many people unfortunately pay more than they need to for hearing aids.
In addressing the first point, it is important to consider that hearing aids are medical devices and are not consumer devices. In view of this, comparing the two is not a fair comparison for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the standards relating to product quality and manufacturing processes required to produce and sell medical products is much higher than consumer devices. Secondly, the sales volumes are generally much lower than for consumer products. The main costs relating to hearing aids are the following:
- Research and Development – the hearing aid industry is competitive with most manufacturers’ products having a product life-cycle of less than two years. The top six manufacturers globally each spend annually tens of millions of dollars on research and development.
- Manufacturing – as medical products hearing aids are manufactured to the highest standards. Product reliability is paramount given that hearing aids are intended to be used all day, every day in a very challenging environment – the human ear. Hearing aids are exposed to sweat, heat, wax and moisture but are still expected to perform reliably.
- Clinical Service – in most cases when purchasing hearing aids you are not just purchasing the hearing aids themselves but also the clinical fitting and ongoing support. Hearing aids need to be custom fitted to your ear and custom programmed to match your individual hearing loss and hearing needs.
In addressing the second point, most hearing aid manufacturers offer a range of performance (or technology levels) within their hearing aid range. In Australia you can get basic hearing aid technology from around $1000-$1500 each. Given that hearing aids are expected to last over 5 years, the daily cost of such a hearing aid is less than a dollar a day. Of course this is for entry-level technology and there are many more expensive models available ranging from $1500 to $6000. However, it is important when purchasing hearing aids, particularly higher performance models, to understand their benefits to ensure you are paying for features and functionality that really benefits you, rather than for extra features you don’t need or will never use. The other important thing is to shop around. You should not just accept the first quote for hearing aids from a clinic. You should get multiple quotes so you can compare pricing and the service included.
About Sounds of Life
Sounds of Life audiology is a member of Audiology Australia and Independent Audiologist Australia. We adhere strictly to Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics. We pride ourselves on:
- Being fully independent – We are not owned or operated by a hearing aid manufacturer or large chain.
- Ethical Practices – We are focused on providing the highest level of care and do not pay commissions.
We also follow the Australian Government Hearing Services’ protocol for hearing services.
If you feel hearing loss is impacting your life contact Sounds of Life.
Contact us today on 1300 744 432 or via our contact form below:
