by Hope
I’ve had my hearing aids for 3 years this month. And I just received notice that my full coverage warranty will expire at the end of the month along with an offer to renew the warranty.
In the past, I’ve always declined extended warranty offers. And I don’t know how much it would cost to extend this one. But I’m going to find out.
I’ve had to use the warranty twice now. Once because my hearing aids would just randomly shut off, so I essentially got a new pair. And then a couple of weeks ago, they sent my left ear hearing aid out for repair because the battery dies before the end of a day a several hours before the right.
Do you know how awkward it feels to just have hearing in one ear? I was a mess all week because of it. (Another reason, I don’t leave my house to often and rarely if I’m going to have to interact with anyone.)
Anyways, I’ve set up an appointment for mid-July to get my hearing checked again. It’s gotten significantly worse, I and my kids can definitely tell that. Even with my hearing aids, I struggle to hear people in person. Yes, even when we are the only people in the room and no background noise. It’s pretty bad.
The good thing about my hearing aids is that they are bluetooth, so work well with my phone and work gear. And the kids and I are exploring other aids we can add to the house to help. We are looking at things like doorbells that flash lights (although my dogs work pretty well as a door bell and alarm system). And also exploring all the accessibility options on my iPhone. We are considering water sensors in the bathrooms since I can’t hear water running and dripping.
Not rushing into anything, but we are preparing for the time I am truly living alone. (Beauty still being here has really been a blessing.)
Short story long, on July 12th I will find out the cost of extending my warranty and an update on my hearing. I will keep you posted. And would love your thoughts on warranty extension for something critical for not only my quality of life and my ability to succeed at work…my hearing aids.
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 3 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.
How much is the warranty and what does it cover? How much would repairs cost if they weren’t covered by the warranty? Without knowing these things, it’s impossible to be able to give advice on whether or not the extended warranty is worth it.
Nobody can answer this without knowing the cost of the hearing aids and the cost of the warranty. However, it sounds like you may need new hearing aids anyway. Good luck with your appointment.
I don’t know anything about hearing aids but it sounds like an extended warranty is a good idea in your case. Wondering also if there are hearing aids on the market that would be better for you.
I’ve been wondering that myself. But I would like to get a few more years out of these seeing as I paid quite a bit of money for them.
But I have seen some at Sams Club for significantly less. I will do more research when it is time to invest in new ones.
Do you know that undertreated diabetes leads to hearing loss? See https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/diabetes-complications/diabetes-and-hearing-loss.html
Perhaps that is what is going on with you?
I’m sure it can. My diabetes has been under-control for 6ish year now. While I no longer have to take meds, I do monitor my blood sugar, walk alot and take supplements as well.
There are more questions before anyone can assist.
1. If you are getting new hearing aids, why get a warranty extension on the old ones? You’d wind up throwing that money away.
2. How much does the warranty costs vs the price of hearing aids?
No one can really figure out if the numbers make sense until there are numbers.
I am hoping and praying I do not need new hearing aids…these were almost $7,000. If they only last 3 years, that was a terrible choice on my part!
And yes, I will find out the cost of the warranty in a couple of weeks when I go in to have my hearing re-checked.
I would not wait until you are in the office to find out the cost of the warranty. Call them ahead and get all the info on it before you go in.
If not, you are setting yourself up for a quick decision while in the office and that’s always, always always a bad move. If you need new hearing aids, then the warranty won’t matter. But if you can get by for a while with the current ones, you need to have that warranty decision made BEFORE you are in the office.
Impulsivity is never a good idea.
Check out hearing aids from Costco and as mentioned above Sam’s. Costco hearing aids have worked for me for years and offer the same advantages as the $7k I was quoted. It the Costco ones were under $2k. It was worth our Costco membership $60 alone. They also do free adjustments etc.
“Not rushing into anything, but we are preparing for the time I am truly living alone. (Beauty still being here has really been a blessing.)”
Maybe I’m the bad guy here, but since the kids are all really young, and you aren’t even in your fifties, this feels like a lot of pressure on them to be responsible for you. My parents had serious helath issues starting when I was a teenager, but I can’t imagine them ever saying “we all need to prepare us for you being gone.” That’s a lot of pressure.
You are young enough to prepare yourself to live alone, no? And if not, I’ve worked with many many disability organizations who can help you figure out what you need and how to get them without relying on your very young adult kids to help you figure it out. They are better resources and much more appropriate to help you as the kids can’t possibly be experts on this. As a mom, isn’t it a better gift to make sure you are taking care of yourself and not making them feel like it’s their problem? It feels like there is some…. passive guilt pressure there.
When kida are young adults, they should be somewhat able to stretch their wings, no? I remember that the parent’s being in the fifties was a rare time when I didn’t have to worry about them; they had figured it all out and let me be young.
I actually don’t ask them to help prepare. That’s all them, especially when I don’t answer the phone (because I don’t hear it.) Or they get frustrated that I have to have them repeat things so many times.
And it’s just how our family works, always has. When they were all younger, we lived in the same town as my parents and they participated in us helping them or them helping us. Same with my siblings, etc.
It’s not a pressure thing, it’s a care thing. And my kids think the tech that is around is so cool, so they are the ones bringing it to me.
I am satisfied with my loud DOG alarm since I can’t hear my door bell. And I do not mind ignoring my phone for hours or even days on end. 🙂