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We Asked 2,000 Australian Hearing Aid Users to Rate Their Purchase. Here's How Every Brand Ranked.
Published by Healthy Living Digest | Health | Last update: June 7 | 👁 11,203 | 📖 4 min
Every year, millions of people in Australia buy hearing aids. Most of them have no idea whether they got a good deal.
We wanted to change that.
Over the past six months, we collected feedback from 2,147 Australian hearing aid users.
We asked them to rate their hearing aids across five categories: sound quality, comfort, value for money, battery life, and whether they'd recommend them to a friend.
We also asked one question that no hearing aid company wants you to think about:
"Knowing what you know now, would you buy the same hearing aids again at the same price?"
The answers surprised us. Some of them will make you angry.
Government Coverage
Let's get this out of the way first. Medicare has never covered hearing aids for most Australians. You pay the Medicare levy your entire working life, and the one thing you actually need, they won't cover.
The government Hearing Services Program offers some help to eligible pensioners and veterans, but what's actually covered varies, and for most people it only stretches to the basic, entry-level devices. Anything better and you pay the gap yourself. And the eligibility rules, provider restrictions, and paperwork make it barely worth the effort.
Most people we surveyed found out the hard way: you're on your own.
"I paid the Medicare levy for 45 years. The only hearing aid they'll give you is the cheap basic one. It's criminal."
— Susan, 72, Queensland
"I'm a pensioner, so the program gave me the free basic ones. Useless in a noisy room. The proper pair still cost me $4,500."
— Dennis, 70, Western Australia
Our verdict
Medicare doesn't cover hearing aids for most people, and where the program does help, it's the basic devices only. Most people we surveyed had no idea until they needed them.
Audika — Average price: $4,995
387 users surveyed
The technology is good. We're not going to pretend it isn't. But the hearing aid itself — the receiver, the chip, the microphone — costs about $80 to $100 to manufacture.
The rest of that $4,995? The clinic on the high street. The sales staff on commission — and yes, most clinic audiologists earn a percentage of what they sell you. That's why they almost always recommend the premium range first.
The area manager. The head office. The television ads.
You're not paying $5,000 for a hearing aid. You're paying $5,000 for the privilege of buying it in a nice chair.
"The hearing aids are excellent. The price is criminal."
— Colin, 72, New South Wales
"I paid $4,200. My husband nearly had a heart attack. We cancelled our trip to Florida to cover it."
— Margaret, 76, Victoria
"The audiologist spent ten minutes on the hearing test and forty minutes on the sales pitch. Premium range, obviously."
— Brian, 71, Queensland
Our verdict
The technology is good. Nobody disputes that. But when we asked users if they'd pay the same price again, less than a third said yes. The most common response: "I feel overcharged."
Specsavers — Average price: $1,499
298 users surveyed
Cheaper than Audika. Similar markup structure. Their aftercare package covers the first year — after that, you're paying per visit.
The biggest issue our users flagged: Specsavers locks you into their ecosystem. Adjustments, repairs, replacements — all through Specsavers. Move house or your store closes and you start again from scratch, and every visit is another appointment.
"Cheaper than Audika. Still felt like a lot for what you get."
— Keith, 71, South Australia
"My son looked up what the components actually cost to manufacture. He hasn't spoken to me about it since."
— Arthur, 77, Victoria
Our verdict
A step down from Audika in price but a similar experience. Value for money scored poorly despite being cheaper than Audika.
Amazon Hearing Devices — Average price: $54 Avoid
412 users surveyed
We need to be clear about this: what Amazon sells are not hearing aids. They are amplifiers.
An amplifier makes everything louder — voices, traffic, the fridge, your own breathing — all at the same volume. It cannot separate speech from background noise. That's why voices stay muffled while everything else gets painfully loud.
A real hearing aid has a digital processing chip that filters sound. That chip alone costs around $80. If you're buying a complete device for $39, that chip is not in there.
What you're getting is a speaker and a battery in a plastic shell. Potentially dangerous. Risk of further hearing damage from unfiltered loud noise.
If you've tried Amazon and given up, you weren't trying hearing aids. You were trying amplifiers. Please don't let that experience put you off.
"Absolute junk. Everything was louder but nothing was clearer. Sent them back."
— Derek, 69, New South Wales
"I bought three different pairs over two years. All the same. Loud, screechy, painful. Gave up on hearing aids entirely."
— Terry, 72, Western Australia
"My doctor told me they're not actually hearing aids. They're amplifiers. Different technology completely."
— Susan, 65, Tasmania
Our verdict
Avoid. If you've tried Amazon and given up, you were trying amplifiers. Don't let that experience put you off real hearing aids.
Clear Hearing — $249 Best Buy
436 users surveyed
This is the one that surprised us. When we first included Clear Hearing, we expected another Amazon-style amplifier with better marketing. $249 for a pair of hearing aids didn't seem possible.
We were wrong. They use Knowles receivers — the same supplier Audika and Specsavers use. Same digital processing chips. Proper multi-channel sound filtering, not amplification.
TGA registered as a medical device. Same certification standard as every hearing aid sold in clinics.
Founded by David Taylor. His father was in his seventies, struggling with his hearing, couldn't afford the clinic prices on the pension, and Medicare wouldn't cover a cent.
Taylor had worked in the hearing aid industry. He knew what the components actually cost. Warehouse in Sydney. Same components as the big brands. No clinic, no commission, no markup. That's the $249.
Rechargeable. Fully invisible. 45-day trial — send them back if they're not right. Two-year guarantee.
In our testing, most users couldn't tell the difference between Clear Hearing and hearing aids costing ten times more.
"TV volume went from 50 down to 8. Wife can't believe it."
— Robert, 78, New South Wales
"I paid $4,200 at Audika two years ago. These are better. I'm not joking."
— Colin, 72, New South Wales
"Tried OTC aids from Chemist Warehouse for six months. Put them in a drawer after three days with these."
— Roy, 74, Queensland
"Completely invisible. My buddy sat next to me for an hour and didn't notice."
— Malcolm, 70, Victoria
"Rechargeable. No batteries. No fumbling over the sink every Monday morning. That alone was worth $249."
— Dave, 73, Sydney
Our verdict
96% would buy again. The highest of any hearing aid we've ever tested. Same technology as the clinics. A fraction of the price. No clinic, no waiting list, no markup. Just hearing aids that work, delivered to your door.
The Overall Rankings
★★★★★ — Same tech as clinics. No markup. $249
★★★★☆ — Good technology, poor value $4,995
★★★☆☆ — Locked into their clinics $1,499
★☆☆☆☆ — Basic devices only, if you qualify N/A
★☆☆☆☆ — Not hearing aids. Amplifiers. $54
"Knowing what you know now, would you buy again at the same price?"
That tells you everything you need to know.
Important Update
Since this article was published, Clear Hearing has gained tremendous attention and interest.
The company has reached out to our editorial team to inform us that, for a limited time, they are offering our readers an exclusive 50% discount on Clear Hearing.
Plus, every order comes with a 45-day risk free trial at home, 1 year warranty and free insured shipping.
If you don't experience clearer hearing within 45 days, you can just return it.
Check Availability →
Comments
i was one of the 2000 they surveyed. i had the miracle ear pair, paid 4800 for them. when they asked would you buy again at the same price i didnt even have to think about it. no. good aids but i felt robbed and i said so
356 · Reply
i took part in this too and rated the modern hearing ones. gave them five stars on value and yes i would buy again. honestly seeing it laid out next to the 4995 ones makes me feel a lot better about the 249 i spent. same chips for a twentieth of the price
402 · Reply
that 96 percent would buy again number says it all. i have never once in my life rated anything that high. the fact that the cheapest one on the list is also the one people actually stand behind tells you the whole game is rigged
388 · Reply
exactly dale. the price and the satisfaction are upside down from what you would expect. that is the part that opened my eyes
74 · Reply
i was in the group that rated the amazon ones. gave them one star and i meant it. three pairs over two years all junk. i was about ready to give up on hearing aids completely until a friend told me the cheap ones are just amplifiers not real aids
271 · Reply
i rated the costco ones in the survey. decent aids but i marked them down hard on the lock in. when my store changed the audiologist nobody could adjust them right and i had to start over. plus you need the membership just to walk in the door
219 · Reply
paid into medicare 47 years and they wont cover a hearing aid because some rule from 1965 calls it a convenience. i told the survey people exactly that. a convenience. i need it to hear my own grandkids
334 · Reply
i didnt do the survey but my husband has the modern hearing pair and id rate them five stars for him. tv went from blasting at 50 down to 8. he was the most skeptical man alive about anything at this price. now he wont take them out
248 · Reply
what got me was the line about the components only costing 80 to 100 dollars to make. i had no idea. you pay five grand and 80 of it is the actual hearing aid. the rest is the chair you sit in and the salesman commission. unreal
263 · Reply
was sure 249 meant junk so i nearly skipped it. the 45 day return is the only reason i tried. that was two months ago and theyre still in. didnt return them. best money i spent all year and i would happily say so in any survey
211 · Reply