What would you do if faced with the choice of using up your life savings or living with isolating hearing loss? For many Australians this dilemma is all too real.  Despite the existence of an audiologist’s code of conduct, if you have your hearing tested at an audiology clinic there’s a high chance the clinician will receive a bonus from the manufacturer if you buy a certain hearing aid. And, of course, they won’t disclose this to you. Reportedly, this is even occurring at the government run Australian Hearing Service#.

You may have seen the article by Newscorp’s Sue Dunlevy or heard last year’s ABC Background Briefing Have I got a hearing aid for you by Hagar Cohen (the latter prompted an ACCC  investigation into whether there are any practices or conduct of some audiology clinics that may raise consumer protection issues).  But more noise must still be made, because the sad fact remains: promises of commissions per device sold can cause people to remain in a muted world.  People are walking away from some hearing aid clinics feeling dejected and/or severely out of pocket.

Few people with healthy hearing would name hearing as the most precious of the five senses, but how precious it becomes when it is lacking and remedy is out of reach. This was evident to me from a young age, when I saw my father struggling with hearing loss, and is what prompted me to start a company that enables more people, world-wide, to access superior quality hearing aids. 

The ACCC is currently launching an investigation into audiology practices. If you have any concerns or first hand experiences, .

# People with hearing problems upsold hearing aids they don’t need so that audiologists can profit by Sue Dunlevy.  news.com.au 14.09.15