In a few days, the 26th national day of ears will be celebrated and hearing health will again be the focus of social attention. For many hearing impaired people, hearing aids are the best helpers for hearing improvement, and at present there are a number of hearing aids in the market that claim to be “free from debugging, wearing” directly, because of the high human quality of the people at a price and the ease of operation. Can such products, which appear to be easy and affordable, really meet the needs of the deaf
In some of the live feed booths, “no matching, no debugging” can be used as the main point for anchors to sell hearing aids. This product of more than $150 has attracted a number of consumer consultations with its price advantages, and the promotional page shows that it “does not need to be debugged and wears smart noise and high-resolution sound”。
On the internet buying platform, journalists found that the debugged hearing aid was not very expensive, that some products were sold for as low as a few dozen dollars, and that publicity was dedicated to hearing aids for older persons。
The 79-dollar hearing aid was sold, and the product page showed that the sales had exceeded 10,000, with a 94 per cent rating。
In further investigations, journalists have learned that there are currently two types of hearing aids on the market: a digital machine and an analogue machine, which is called a simulator for products that do not require matching or debugging. A salesman at an entity store revealed that the product was cheap but had many shortcomings。
Salesman: now that the simulator on the market does not need to be debugged, it buys it directly, it only controls the sound size, but it makes more noise。
Journalists have learned that digital hearing aids, using chips to calculate the input of sound signals and then output them, can be treated according to individualized circumstances such as the type of hearing loss and the degree of hearing loss of the wearer. The analogian hearing aid, which can only be easily adjusted in volume and does not have noise reduction functions, only solves the problem of sound amplification, but does not solve the problem of sound clarity and comfort, which many in the industry refer to as a "sound amplifier"。
Zhang zhiyong, standing committee of the committee of experts on the health of the elderly of the china foundation for the development of hearing medicine: the simulator, which is uncalculated, is directly amplified, has been virtually out of production in the formal sector for more than 20 years and does not use analogue technology, which can be described as a backward technology。
Experts noted that analogue hearing aid techniques, which were still being marketed, were lagging behind and that most formal enterprises were no longer producing. Many consumers, however, are unaware of this and are still buying it in large quantities, while traders, when they sell analogue hearing aids, never say that their products use backward technologies。
Medical personnel told journalists that the analogue hearing aid simply magnifies the sound, because the device does not reduce the noise, or even “micro-enrich the noise”, may cause irreversible damage to the user's residual hearing, or even deafness, and the deaf need to be careful to purchase it。
The chief of the orthopaedic cervical surgery at beijing hospital, affiliated with the capital medical university, is a technician: there are a number of hearing aids, which are not subject to a professional hearing test, and if they are not subject to a formal professional precision test, all of the frequencies are likely to be magnified considerably, and some of them are likely to gain too much, for so long, and the residual hearing of the user is likely to decrease, so it is a potential hazard。
Medical experts have also indicated that this propaganda is somewhat misleading in response to the claims of some vendors that the products sold were “hearing aids, regardless of the right or right ear”。
The chief of surgery in the neck and ear throat of the beijing physician hospital at the university of medical sciences in capital city: the normal hearing of both ears is not exactly the same, and the hearing of a patient with a hearing loss is not the same at every frequency point in his two ears. The left ear is sound, and i put it in the right ear, and it may sound uncomfortable。
It is true that the promotion of analogue hearing aids, “without debugging, decorating”, has attracted the interest of a number of hearing impaired people, but medical workers have described it as being limited to congenital technical malfeasance, a product that is used for a long time and that may cause further hearing impairment. One consumer in jiangxi has experienced such distress。
Mr. King, a consumer of jiangxi, lost his hearing as a result of his youth, and in recent years, the situation has increased with age. A few years ago, mr. King selected a model hearing aid recommended by a salesman at a hearing aid store near his home。
Consumers, mr. King: businesses have virtually no detection equipment, hearing aid sounds are heard, usually not, but just a little。
Mr. King recalled the process of wearing the hearing aid at the time, the fact that the shopkeeper did not conduct a hearing-related examination, much less a professional matching procedure, and that the hearing aid was mainly based on the sound hearing. Shortly after the purchase and use, the only “hearing sound” function of the hearing aid was gradually “failed”, and mr. King, who was trying to reassign the shop, found that it had already closed。
Consumers, mr. Kim: we can't find anyone when we've gone a few times。
Mr. King told journalists that a number of hearing aids had been supplied over the years and that the products appeared to be well publicized, but their use had not been as effective as expected. Despite the increasing use of hearing aids, mr. King's hearing is getting worse. Subsequently, there was an implicit pain in the ears and a “suppression” began to occur。
Doctor zhang zhiyuan, head of the orthopusal and cervical surgery section at the first hospital of nanchang university: this patient has blooded ears, broken ear membranes, and the mucous membranes in his mid-heart, and i suggest that the patient not use hearing aids for the time being and then treat him for inflammation, after inflammation control, surgery。
According to medical personnel, the degree of hearing decline can be divided into five levels: light, medium, medium, heavy and extreme. According to the tests, mr. King's hearing loss at the time of medical treatment was above moderate。
Mr. King told journalists that hearing aids had become essential to his life and that without them it was difficult to engage in normal social communication. However, his repeated experience with hearing aids made him feel helpless and helpless。
There are digital hearing aids with smart noise-mitigating capabilities on the market for tens of dollars and hundreds of dollars for non-symmetrical products at thousands of dollars and tens of thousands of dollars. But journalists find that high prices do not necessarily have the perfect effect of matching them。
In late june 2024, mr. Lee of shenyang discovered that his old father's hearing had declined and that he had been diagnosed with mild and moderate “age deafness” at the hospital, and that doctors had recommended wearing hearing aids. Mr. Lee visited 10 or so hearing aid stores with his father in shenyang to compare them, where he eventually purchased more than $10,000 of hearing aid after an examination at a brand store。
However, during his use, mr. Li's father discovered serious noise problems with hearing aids. Whether in the home or out, hearing aids make the noise of “facilitation”, especially in noisy environments, where noise becomes more pronounced。
Consumer mr. Lee's father: i thought it was still loud. Outside, for example on a bus, i can't hear if someone talks there. And i'm talking to the store, and he says that you're just starting to wear it, and it's a little bit uncomfortable, and he says you're just gonna get used to it. It's tougher. It's just a little upset。
Mr. Lee has repeatedly communicated with commercial operators to debug the equipment, but the problem of hearing aids remains unresolved after several debuggings by three testors。
Consumer mr. Lee's father: i just heard a lot more voices, and this was a lot of noise, and i said to the staff at the store, "can you give me a little noise, and then i'll get it." a few times, i said no. I can't hear you。
Mr. Lee subsequently coordinated the return of the goods with the merchant, who refused on the grounds that “the medical equipment was unconstructed”。
Consumer lee: how do you know if hearing aids, as a medical device, will help my side of hearing。
Journalists have learned that, like mr. Lee, many consumers are willing to buy brand products at higher prices to improve hearing, but the services that follow are not satisfactory。
The consumer described his experience in a black cat complaint:
A hearing aid was purchased in june 2022
Returned to the factory in august 2023 with a failure at a telephone maintenance cost of $800
Returned to the factory on 19 october 2024 for repairs at a cost of $249
A few days later it was discovered that there was a disturbance, that it was sent back for inspection and that a further $249 was required。
The hearing aids have not been repaired so far。
The experts noted that the high price of digital hearing aids included, in addition to product performance, late-scheduled follow-up and product debugging services. Thus, when purchasing hearing aids, consumers must not focus solely on prices, but rather on whether follow-up services are effectively guaranteed。
The secretary-general of the steering committee of experts of the china foundation for the development of hearing medicine 郗昕: a good quality hearing aid store, which is required to follow up patients every six months, is free of charge in the current environment. Except for hearing aid components that need to be updated or some maintenance costs. Thus, its price actually includes follow-up services in addition to the hearing aid itself. There are small shops, which, despite the fact that the discounts were very hard, are in fact quick to leave with no follow-up services。
Is the matchmaker's qualification good
In the course of the survey, journalists found that the current certification of a matchmaker held by vendors, which was issued by the relevant state departments, by the relevant professional skills department of the provincial health and welfare commission, and even after training in the branding of hearing aids, rendered consumers inoperable。
Many consumers struggle to buy suitable hearing aids, but when they do, they find it difficult to meet a professionally reliable matchmaker。
In a brand sales shop for hearing aids, staff members introduced the products to a national qualification. The journalist noted that the certification of a matchmaker provided by the salesman was issued by the ministry of human resources and social security and was issued in 2015. In another sales store, the certification of a matchmaker by a salesman was issued by the chongqing city health board national vocational skills assessment。
Compared to the first two, there is a different qualification for a hearing aider in the market, and some salesmen have told journalists that their own qualification for a matchmaker is issued by the company after training。
