Hearing advice
Independent, brand-owned or budget retail? How the hearing industry actually works
Retail budget providers
Main benefits
- Highly competitive prices on budget and low-end hearing aid brands
- Low-cost services and appointment fees
- Easy and wide network of clinics across Australia for serviceability
Main limitations
- Previous generations of hearing aids being sold without clients realising
- Only low quality hearing aid brands are sold at their claimed lower prices
- Clinical services are often delivered by non-audiologists to reduce costs. Note the language used for who you will see: a hearing care professional, but not an audiologist
Hearing aids sold by retail providers, in most cases, are not the same as others. They secure their devices in bulk through a process called volume purchasing agreements. Because of the significant buying power these providers hold, these agreements favour the retailers over the manufacturers. Due to the high leverage they exercise to secure favourable contracts, only the manufacturers who offer the lowest production costs become suppliers, and so subpar products are sold.
For the end consumer this ultimately means two things: more frequent repairs and breakages due to the lower quality on offer, and reduced performance, which means reduced hearing outcomes.
How do they get away with it? By leveraging the average consumer's lack of knowledge about hearing aids, using mass-marketing techniques to portray themselves as offering indistinguishable products at fair prices. Common tactics include white labelling, meaning re-branding the hearing aids with their own brand, which makes it hard to determine what product you are actually receiving. Another is value-added marketing, which draws your focus away from the product itself and onto the extra benefits you get with it.
Best for: Those who prioritise obtaining the lowest prices possible on services and products, and who require a network of clinics across Australia.
Brand-owned clinics
Main benefits
- Quality hearing aids on offer: reliable, well known brands you can trust
- Easy and wide network of clinics across Australia for serviceability
Main limitations
- Above market rates and inflated prices paid for hearing aids
- Limited range of hearing aid brands available, with preference given to their own company
Hearing aid clinics owned by brands come with far fewer issues than retail budget providers. You can trust them to provide quality hearing aids, free from reliability and transparency issues. However, you are often paying a premium price when compared with like-for-like products sold elsewhere.
While we cannot fault these companies on products or services, it is worth discussing the marketing tactics they employ to secure sales at higher prices. These include price anchoring, bait pricing and opaque pricing. In plain terms: falsely inflated pricing, late revealing of pricing, and varying pricing on a need-be basis.
An example is withholding prices until after the consultation and then offering a discount, which creates the opportunity to facilitate a sale with flexible pricing and enhances the perception of value, whether it is genuinely value or not. Just because something is on special does not mean it is a good price.
Best for: Those seeking greater attentiveness and who are quality-focused, while requiring a network of clinics across Australia. Just be aware you will likely spend significantly more for identical products sold elsewhere.
Independently owned clinics
Main benefits
- A wide variety of hearing aids on offer, enabling the ideal hearing aid per person
- Clarity and upfront transparency in business dealings and sales
- Generally lower prices on quality hearing aids compared to non-independents
- A de-corporatised model, with less upselling and fewer unethical selling practices
- Greater attention on the needs of clients
Main limitations
- Usually no network of clinics across Australia for serviceability needs
- Independents cannot compete with the low service and appointment fees offered at budget retailers
- While most independents offer fair pricing, not all of them do
When exploring independent hearing clinics it is important to recognise that while you can expect a superior level of service and care, associated prices can differ between providers. At our clinic we prioritise more competitive prices on our hearing aids.
Independent providers are not just running the same marketing pitches the corporations do. They are genuinely different because of how they are fundamentally structured. With no preferred suppliers or ownership ties, more appropriate clinical recommendations and products are on offer. With no corporate model in place, the focus is not on pleasing shareholders quarterly, it is on providing good products at fair prices. And with fewer overheads, such as marketing teams, call centres and shopping centre locations, it frees us up to pass savings on to our clients.
Best for: Those seeking greater attentiveness and who are real-value and quality-focused. In simple terms, those who recognise that quality and affordability are both important factors.
Our honest position
As an ethically focused clinic, we try to be as transparent as possible about the benefits of the various types of hearing clinic on offer. While an independent will be the best choice for most people, there are still circumstances where another provider may suit you better. If you need a nationwide service network because you travel constantly, for instance, a chain genuinely serves you better than we can.
How to check whether a clinic is really independent
See what independent actually looks like in practice
Every price published before you walk in, the same audiologist at every appointment, and no supplier quota deciding what you get recommended.