For hearing tests, we are in network with many insurances including Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, BCBS, Humana, and UHC

We also participate in 3rd party hearing aid benefits from TruHearing, UHC Hearing and Amplifon

Appalachian Audiology accepts multiple forms of payment including cash, check, and credit card (American Express, Visa, Discover, and MasterCard).

We also offer a 12-month, interest-free financing plan through CareCredit.

Health Insurance: More and more health insurance companies are beginning to pay a portion of hearing aid costs. Patients are encouraged to check with their insurance company. Often to access benefits you may need to order your devices through a third-party hearing aid distribution program. At this time, traditional Medicare does not cover hearing aids.

A complete hearing evaluation includes: Case History, Otoscopy (looking in your ears), Threshold (beep) tests, Speech Understanding in quiet and in noise, and Loudness Tolerance Measures.

We will review the results afterwards and make treatment recommendations.

Yes, we encourage you to bring someone along to your appointment.

Appalachian Audiology offers hearing aids at fair prices. All manufacturers of hearing aids make three levels of technology: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Hearing aids are placed in a level based on the sophistication of the microphones and the number of channels. Entry level essential technology is also available in our need based program.

Hearing aids are too expensive! Yet, according to Dr. Harvey Abrams, the Director of Audiology Research at Starkey Laboratories, the price of hearing aids, once adjusted for inflation, has remained stable since 1975.

As technology has progressed, it seems reasonable to assume that the cost to manufacturer hearing aids would decrease as well. This would seemingly pave the way for lower pricing. So, why are hearing aids so expensive?

A blog by Dr. Bettie Borton, a Clinical Audiologist in Alabama and former president of the American Academy of Audiology, points to multiple expense indicators:

Research and Development: Consider that the "Big Six" (or the top 6 hearing aid manufacturers in the United States today) spend roughly $500,000,000 annually on R & D, which is quite a lot. To be precise, that figure is 14% of their combined budgets. To put this into perspective... Apple® expends only 2% of its total budget for R & D. This directly impacts the amount hearing aid manufacturers charge for their products. It also helps us understand why the technology in modern hearing aids is second only to the technology behind space travel.

Federal Regulations: Since 1998, growth in the cost of major regulations (defined as those costing more than $100 million) has far exceeded manufacturing sector growth and overall economic growth. In that span, the cumulative inflation-adjusted cost of compliance for major manufacturing-related regulations grew by an annualized rate of 7.6%. Over this same period, annual growth in the physical volume of manufacturing sector output averaged a mere 0.4% while U.S. inflation-adjusted GDP growth averaged 2.2% a year.

Bundled Pricing: “Bundled pricing" refers to the services and accessories an audiologist provides as part of the overall hearing aid purchase. Throughout the fitting process, an audiologist must take into account the frequencies where the hearing loss occurs, the individual's level of perception (people with the same hearing loss can "perceive and process" sound very differently), the presence of other symptoms (such as tinnitus or hyperacusis), and the technological capabilities of the particular hearing instruments.

Also, because hearing loss can worsen over time, the audiologist must re-evaluate the individual every 1-2 years and adjust the hearing aids to compensate for any change in hearing. For these reasons, some audiologists include the cost of these services in the price of the hearing instruments. They feel that not including these services would lead to several costly office visits, particularly for those who require multiple adjustments or frequent cleanings to remove excessive wax build up.

Market Penetration: Hearing aids still have a fairly low market penetration. Of the 37 million Americans who might benefit from amplification, only about 1 in 5 actually utilize the available hearing technology. We have not seen the same price reductions that are inherent to widely used electronic devices like TV's, computers, cell phones, etc., found in virtually every household. So, what's the result? Without sufficient market penetration, the product pricing remains higher for everyone.

If you are a candidate for a trial with hearing aids, you will hear about the consumer protection laws that permit you to try aids for a month or so to ensure they meet your needs and to return them if they don't - for a refund, less a restocking fee, of what you paid for them.

Your trial includes visits to adjust sound quality. A conformity visit is scheduled after about two weeks to measure brain changes, improvements in perception, reduction of tinnitus, comfort, etc.

Wearing two hearing aids offers several advantages for those who have hearing loss in both ears:

Improved speech understanding, especially in noise: The brain receives auditory input from both ears. As the brain interprets sound, it uses information from both ears to distinguish between noises such as background noise and speech. If the brain receives data from one side and not from another, it can misinterpret what is heard.

Improved sound localization : Sound localization refers to the ability to determine where a sound originates. Two hearing aids receive sound from both sides of the head and transmit the information to the brain. If the sound signals are always louder through one ear, the brain has more difficulty identifying the source. However, if the brain is able to compare the relative loudness of what is heard, it can more easily and accurately determine the location of the sound.

Improved sound quality: Two hearing aids allow the audiologist to lower the volume for both aids. This promotes the audibility of soft sounds while limiting the distortion of louder sounds. It also promotes a sense of auditory balance, fullness, and clarity.

Reduction in the annoyance of tinnitus: When tinnitus is caused by hearing loss, hearing aids can be used to manage its symptoms

Cochlear implants are intended for those with more significant hearing loss. Typically, a good implant candidate will have worn hearing aids for awhile and found they do not perform well with them. Your audiologist will look at both your hearing levels & history when determining which option to recommend.