Yes, we sell AI hearing aids at our clinic, available in both our technology levels of Excellence and Aristo. Our AI hearing aids are produced by Oticon and Phonak, including the Oticon Intent 2 and the Phonak Sphere.

Our hearing aids come with a 3–5-year warranty, depending on the specific device sold. 3 years is the minimum warranty period you will get on our hearing aids.

We work with the hearing aid brands Oticon, Phonak and GN ReSound (Belton).

As of April 2025, according to "HearAdvisor lab" (an independent hearing aid performance tester  free from affliation with hearing aid companies) the worlds best hearing aids for hearing speech in noise are rated as follows:

1. Phonak Infinio Sphere

2. Oticon Intent 1 

3. Starkey Evolv AI 2400 

4. Otion Real 1 

(www.hearingtracker.com/hearing-aids/best-hearing-aids-background-noise) (www.hearadvisor.com)

At Southern Hearing Excellence, we can provide most of these devices on this list.

If people look after hearing aids, they can expect to get 4-6 years of life from them.

The recent MarkeTrak 2023 consumer survey of 10,000 hearing aid users, suggests most people use their hearing aids on average for 4.75 years.

Yes you can bring exsisting hearing aids to our clinic. We work with the majority of hearing aids on the market and can program, service and look after your hearing aid needs. In majority of cases, regardless of where it's come from.

In relation to warranty coverage, if you are an eligible client under the Australian Government Hearing Services Program (eligible DVA/pension card holders), even if your devices were purchased elsewhere, they will remain under warranty for a period of 5 years since purchase if you are seen by us.

For private client's, if your hearing aids are still under the manufacturer warranty, we will do what we can get get them covered for you - in a majority of cases, we will be able to honour private client hearing aids if still under warranty. However please note, we are not ultimately liable for warranty coverage for private clients hearing aids when purchased elsewhere. 

When you attend your hearing assessment, your audiologist will discuss technology aspects in greater detail, enabling you to make a completely informed decision on your technology choice. We will connect your specific hearing needs and goals to the results of your tests, offering a more comprehensive and clear understanding of the hearing aids that will work best for you. That being said, there are some things you can start to think about prior to your assessment which will give you a bit of insight how hearing aid technology works.

The best way to think about the level of technology that you need is by thinking about the hearing situations that hearing better matters the most to you. And this is obviously influenced by the type of lifestyle you lead. Therefore, if you are a moderately social person, and find yourself in social gatherings or environments with background noise where you would like to hear better, it's important to consider investing in technology that ranges from mid to high levels. However, if you are mostly at home and your primary hearing objectives are simpler—such as engaging in one-on-one conversations with loved ones, clearly understanding TV dialogue, while having smoother phone conversations—then technology at a lower level will likely be all you need.

There is also a rationale that the worse a hearing loss is, the more someone may have to spend on hearing aids. While this degree, matching hearing aids that are able to perform to your hearing needs, is a more important factor.

Once your hearing assessment is finalised, we can fit you with hearing aids in just 8 working days. For your convenience, we also keep a selection of Excellent and Tribe technology devices on hand. If we have your preferred device in stock, we can fit these hearing aids within 1-5 working days following your assessment.

If you want external devices programmed and set up, we can do this, but it will require an up-to-date audiogram performed by us and the full standard programming procedures. For a single device programming we charge $295 or $395 for two devices. This includes 1 follow up appointment after the fitting for further fine adjustments, if required.

Please note, this procedure does not make us liable for your devices and the warranty would still reside with the company you purchased the devices from. 

We can also only perform this procedure for wireless hearing aids (most hearing aids less than 10 years old these days are wireless).

The advantages of rechargeable-hearing aids over battery-hearing aids is that they are easier to manage, because you don't have to insert small batteries into them weekly. For people with dexterity issues, this is a clear advantage. It's also just less fiddling around in general. Because of this reason, approximately 70% of hearing aids we sell are now rechargeable.  Furthermore, they are more environmentally friendly, with no constant e-waste being produced. We do not charge extra for rechargeable hearing aids at our clinic (excludes Standard range).

However, there are some advantages of battery-operated hearing aids over rechargeable. If you are someone always on the go, or travels often, battery operated hearing aids may be a better option for you, as you don't need to worry about wall-charging every 16-20 hours - i.e. grey nomads. Just throw a few packets of batteries in your bag and you're good to go for a month!

You'll spend around $60-100 a year on batteries (Private clients).

If you are are eligible for the HSP program, your batteries are always supplied free of charge.

Modern hearing aids are more water proof than most people think. For example, many hearing aids are now IP68 rated, meaning they can withstand being submerged in fresh water up to 1 metre deep for 60 minutes. However, this protection does not extend to chlorinated or salty water, which can damage them.

In essence, nearly all hearing aids are designed to withstand rain, brief dips in water, and unintentional splashes, without damage. Nevertheless, to ensure longevity (and just to be safe) we always advise to keep hearing aids as dry as possible.

This is a complex one, which gives hearing aids an unfair stigma. The primary reason many individuals fail to wear hearing aids lies with first-time users who prematurely discontinue hearing aid usage before allowing their brains to adapt fully. This poses a common problem, especially in those who have long-term untreated hearing loss. In these people, it’s most crucial for them to engage the brain in regular hearing aid use, for the adaptation process to complete its course. During the acclimisation period, the person may find certain sounds (particularly high-frequency sounds) overwhelmingly loud and intrusive, expressing "these hearing aids are just too tinny" or "they simply don't sound right, all I hear is noise". But here's the kicker - this will diminish over time, as long as the person wears their hearing aids daily for atleast 8 hours. Because of this, it's crucial that people uses their hearing aids consistently from the outset. Otherwise, they run the risk of forming a inaccurate perception of how hearing aids sound.

Alternatively, other common reasons for non-use is not matching chosen hearing aid technology to  match their hearing expectations. For example, if people expect to only hear better in one-on-one situations and follow dialogue on the TV more easily, they do not require high-end technology hearing aids. However, if people expect to hear well at restaurants, cafes, and business meetings, they will require higher technology levels. For this reason, it's important to ensure hearing expectations match chosen technology levels.

In summary, by selecting the appropriate hearing aids tailored to specific hearing needs and consistently using them for a minimum of 8 hours each day, along with consulting your audiologist for support when necessary, these challenges can almost always be prevented.

While there is certainly some validity to this, the roots of this widespread perception are mostly misinformed, as it wrongly attributes the issues at hand. In truth, it relates more to the intregity of the individual's auditory system, the technology level purchased, and the stage of life when the person first started using hearing aids.

Firstly, hearing aids do NOT amplify all sounds indiscriminately; instead, they enhance the necessary sounds through non-linear amplification. Thanks to directional microphones, noise reduction technology, beamforming, and target speech recognition, they constantly scan the sound scape to prioritise speech over background noise. 

One common reason individuals express frustration with hearing aids amplifying background noise is related to a condition known as hyperacusis along with people never overcoming the acclimisation period. Hyperacusis occurs when a person's tolerance to sound is diminished, causing their remaining healthy hair cells to become overstimulated. Not overcoming acclimisation is when the person simply hasn't worn their hearing for the correct length of time, resulting in on-going poor tolerance to noise sounds. It's easy for someone who has been largely deaf for 15 years to forget that normal-hearing people have to put up with annoying background noises too!

Your audiologist can always help to reduce unwanted noise if it disturbs you. But remember, a reduction in noise usually means a reduction in speech intelligibility, so keep this in mind. In simple terms, with appropriate hearing aid use and addressing hearing loss proactively before one becomes significantly older, most people can overcome this problem.

Some individuals with mild hearing loss may not need to wear hearing aids constantly, opting to use them primarily during social interactions or in environments where speech understanding is challanging, such as background noise environments. However, research shows that 90% of people who are prescribed hearing aids should wear them daily for at least 8-10 hours per day. Those with moderate to severe hearing losses should be wearing them even longer.

No they are not. We charge based on the technology level, not style of device sold.

If you want a descrete option - such as an completely-in-the-canal (CIC) or a in-the canal (ITC) hearing aid, over a slightly larger hearing aid, there will be no price change.

Yes - we always perform REM when prescribing hearing aids, at yearly review appointments, for new-incoming clients, or when we think you may need it. This is available at both our home-visits and in-clinic appointments using our state-of-the-art wireless REM equipment.

Why is REMS important? REM effectively measures a hearing aid's performance by evaluating the sound it's producing at the persons eardrum in real-time which also factors in the acoustic coupling and accounts for the persons ear canal's unique resonance - allowing audiologists to provide tailored frequency-specific amplification that directly targets the user's hearing loss at each frequency. This ensures sound is delivered where it's needed, and not, well, where it is not.  This results in a more natural sound and improved hearing. REM is the most vital procedure we perform as audiologists.

REM is the main reason why over-the-counter and on-line sold/self programmed hearing aids are inferior to prescription based hearing aids.

Using REM's (see above), along with the persons hearing test result, hearing aids are programmed using a scientific fitting prescription. Currently we use Australia Standards prescription Natioanal Acoustic Labratories (NAL-2), which aims to make speech intelligible and overall loudness comfortable for hearing aid users. Starting in January 2026, we will transition to the upcoming NAL-3. NAL is proudly Australian made and has gained widespread recognition. It is now routinely used around the world in the prescription of hearing aids.