As a follow-up to last week’s post on buying hearing aids, I wanted to update folks on my experience with hear.com. I received my $4,250 credit from my return.
Background
Quick background: I wanted to try some alternative hearing aids and hear.com came up often in my research. I took on online hearing test, and clicked agree to free trial on the website and a week later, I had the clinic-in-a-box delivered to my door.
The clinic-in-a-box contains headphones, some other equipment, a windows tablet, as well as the hearing aids.
5 Star Customer Service
I scheduled an appointment online and the hear.com rep walked e through setting up the hearing aids and assessing and adjusting them. I was home, she was home, and everything was done remotely. We set up a follow-up appointment 2 weeks out.
I had several email follow-ups asking if I needed any help. I received a daily email with tips and instructions for how to easily adapt to the hearing aids.
The clinic-in-a-box is amazing. No technical skills required, it has tools to examine my ears remotely and the overall process is as comprehensive as what I’ve had visiting an audiologist in person.
Not for Me
After about a month and 2 separate appointments to make adjustments, I decided that the hear.com Horizon IX was not right for me. You can read more here.
Returning the Hearing Aids
I expected some pressure when I made the decision to return the hearing aids for a full refund. Years ago, I bought golf clubs online with a no-hassle return policy and I spent 30 minutes on the phone negotiating a return. It ended with me buying the clubs because I would have paid $50 to return them, but the customer service rep ultimately dropped the price from $900 to $150.
Anyway, this is what I expected from hear.com. I was pleasantly surprised. The clinic-in-a-box comes with a return shipping label. I got no pushback from my support rep. She told me about the label and offered to schedule UPS come to my house for pick-up.
Credit
UPS notified me that they delivered my return on Friday. hear.com emailed me on Tuesday saying my credit of $4,250 had been processed. I can see the credit in my statement today (Wednesday).
Conclusion
While the Horizon IX hearing aids were not for me, clearly from the many reviews online, they are right for many folks. Either way, the process of dealing with hear.com is a delight. The entire process can be done from home. No doctor’s visits, referrals, or other administration involved. Everyone I dealt with was pleasant and helpful. They welcomed the return with no hard-sell, and the whole process could not have been easier.
hear.com seems to offer a great balance of the benefits of audiologist assessment, adjustment and support, along with the lower pricing of OTC hearing aids. The price was lower than the $5,000 I paid 8 years ago. But there are many other options out there. Prices range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars.
I also want to put in a plug for soundly.com. I used their site frequently during this process for hearing tests, product and pricing info, and recommendations. I signed up for emails and I received a helpful and informative email each day. After 2 weeks, they notified me that they would be scaling back to periodic emails. Never did I feel like they were cluttering my inbox with junk or advertisements. Check them out.