Where Do I Get a Hearing Aid? | Advice from Injoy

2022 turned out to be a stellar year for hearing. Not for music, mind you; at the risk of being rude, we kind of think EDM sounds like grandma’s dryer went disco dancing. Must be audio karma for our parents wincing at our music when we were that age. So now is definitely the time to ask, “Where do I get a hearing aid?”

No, 2022 saw the FDA, by government fiat, allowing hearing aids to be made available to the public without a prescription. Yes, hearing aids—not hearing amplifiers, not super cool earbuds, not somebody shouting whatever was just said. This move by the government has allowed companies to save people with hearing loss thousands of dollars per pair of hearing aids.

Injoy has been ahead of that curve, selling our hearing aids for half the price of brick-and-mortar stores since well before the approval of OTC devices..

The increased availability of hearing aids leaves many people wondering “where do I get a hearing aid?” Oh, do we know a place INSERT WINKY FACE HERE. Contact us and we’ll tell you all about it!

However, for this blog let’s talk about where hearing aids are available—and how that affects your purchase.

Buying Hearing Aids at Brick and Mortar Stores

The Injoy Hearing Aids crew has years and years of experience from working at—and running—brick and mortar locations. We have a respect and admiration for ethical audiologists who can diagnose hearing issues and medical recommend treatments.

However, you’ll be hard pressed to find a brick and mortar store that can provide you with licensed audiologists AND our premium, yet affordable selection of hearing aids. #JustSaying

It’s similar to how you can go to your favorite optometrist, get a vision test, and receive a prescription. Ever noticed the price difference between the glasses available at the vision clinic and online stores? Often hundreds or even thousands of dollars can be saved by taking your prescription elsewhere.

It’s a matter of scale.

A brick and mortar must pay for the location (rent), the lights/heat/a.c. (utilities), basic business operation licenses and other city/state licenses (permits), many taxes (state/county/city/zones and more), and then the payroll.

We love small businesses! But the fact is, selling at the scale that Injoy does, using the telehearing model Injoy has pioneered, has allowed us to save thousands of dollars for every one of our clients.

Quality hearing aids, for people who need them, for thousands less than they’ve been forced to pay until now. So where do you get a hearing aid? Right here.

Brick and Mortar’s Hidden Fees

We’re not going to spend much time here, because we don’t like to talk smack about other businesses. But for educational purposes, let’s look at this.

When you go to a brick and mortar store, the shopping experience may feel more familiar. The sales person is right there, in front of you, and there may be a sense of security as they usher you through the process.

There’s a price for that. Not only are you paying for all the necessary elements to keep the lights on, you’re paying extra for them to supply you with the same quality of hearing aids as a streamlined online hearing aid provider like Injoy.

And what about these extras often added to the bill—but not in the listed hearing aid price:

• Fitting Charges. The cost for helping you put on your hearing aids.
• Dispensing Fees. An extra charge for internal shipping.
• Adjustment costs. Charges to help you adjust your hearing aids.
• Warranty costs. You might have to pay more for a 3 year warranty.
• Future appointment costs. You may have to pay to check in on how the aids are working.
• Your costs. Seen the price of gas lately?? It costs to drive to their location and back.

Why Brick and Mortar Hates Us

Look, we don’t blame them. There was a time they were the only game in town, and it’s hard to let go of that kind of monopoly.

The public absolutely needs qualified, certified audiologists. If you’ve had sudden hearing loss, or loss in only one ear, you need to go see a doctor who can peek right in there. Your safety is #1 here.

But when you’ve been noticing hearing loss growing over time, we can be your first stop. Our staff is full of licensed audiologists, spearheaded by Dr. Jaime Parks, AuD, Doctor of Audiology. She engages with Injoy clients via our telehealth access, providing medical expertise up front.

Through our online testing and more, we can help you discover if you have hearing loss. Then we can show you the path to better hearing for half the price—or less!—of brick and mortar, delivered to your door within 2 to 3 days. With no financial risk to you, because you pay quite literally nothing unless you’re satisfied with the hearing aids.

A doctor on staff, super-easy access right from your home, zero financial risk on your part. Yeah, no wonder they hate us.

Over the Counter Hearing Aids

As part of the ruling in 2022, every Tom, Dick, and Walmart can sell hearing aids. That’s a good thing—and not such a good thing.

For your hearing test, a number of these big box stores have small box health care services inside the store. Thos small boxes charge extra.

No, you don’t have to have a prescription. But purchasing hearing aids from someone who’s also selling you underwear and gummy bears doesn’t give you the guidance you need. Buying from Injoy does.

We’ll help you figure out the right choices through our telehealth connection. You’ll talk with a licensed audiologist. Ask your questions, get honest answers, and click to purchase the perfect tier of functionality in your new hearing aids.

We will fully admit that we can’t sell you motor oil and potato chips at the same time. That’s just a retail shortcoming we’ll have to live with. #SorryNotSorry

Where Do You Get a Hearing Aid Online?

Many types of hearing aids exist. At Injoy Hearing Aids, we took our years of experience in helping people enjoy better hearing, and picked the receiver in canal (RIC) style of hearing aid as our premiere product.

RIC hearing aids provide the maximum benefit to hearing aid users. They aren’t invisible like “invisible in the canal” (IIC) hearing aids, but they’re super-comfortable, discreet, and much easier to manipulate than IIC hearing aids.

RIC hearing aids also provide enough space within them to house some major tech advances. For what they do, how they work, their comfort—and their price—we think they’re the best.

The RIC Hearing Aid Design

RIC hearing aids start with a small base unit of controls. This sits very comfortably and discreetly behind the ear.

To deliver the audio to your ear canal, a tiny tube—almost like a wire—loops over the ear. It leads down to a receiver (speaker) that rests in the ear or in the ear canal (your choice).

The small base also contains microphones that face in multiple directions. Using the smartphone controls, you can customize settings for different listening environments.

It’s pretty sweet. And this is just the beginning.

Rechargeable Batteries

Injoy’s 3 tiers of hearing aids all come with rechargeable batteries. No more dropping a tiny battery and trying to find it on the floor. And no more feeling like a watchmaker delicately handling teeny-tiny parts. Also, no trips to the store to buy more batteries.

Injoy Hearing Aids can charge while you sleep, so that when you get up—they’re ready to face the day with you.

Bluetooth

All tiers of Injoy Hearing Aids are bluetooth compatible with most Apple IOS and Android devices, and most bluetooth streaming devices. Their two-way bluetooth ability helps you listen to:

• Music
• Podcasts
• Audiobooks
• Phone calls

All right in your headphones. There’s nothing like clear, hands-free conversations using your hearing aids. #SecretAgentStuff

Change Settings With Your Smartphone

You can adjust your Injoy hearing aids via the Injoy app on your smartphone. Plus, you can always give us a call. One of our licensed audiologists can do the adjustments for you, right then and there as you talk.

More Microphones

Injoy hearing aids sit outside the ear, which means there’s more tech that can be fit into the main body of the device. Part of this tech includes multiple microphones pointing in front of and behind the user. The Injoy app can adjust the mic settings, including which ones are active, to create custom settings for specific hearing environments.

RIC Hearing Aids Means Hearing More

A RIC device’s receiver—the part that sits in your ear canal—amplifies the sounds you need to hear more clearly. But because it doesn’t try to fit the entire hearing aid deeply into your ear, it lets natural audio fill in the background sound so that you don’t have an isolated listening experience.

The receiver also lets the ear canal breathe to a much greater degree. You’ll experience  less moisture build up that increases the likelihood of developing an ear infection. The receivers in Injoy hearing aids are also less prone to wax build up like those in IIC devices. You won’t have to clean it, or get it serviced for cleaning nearly as often.

RIC Hearing Aids Feel Better

The receiver on RIC hearing aids are more flexible than invisible in the canal hearing aids. It doesn’t require your ear canal to stretch to allow its insertion. RIC hearing aids are less intrusive than a hard, molded piece of resin that’s pushed into your ear. This intrusive element can result in irritation, inflammation, and pain.

Where Do You Get a Hearing Aid: The Quick List

Let’s boil all that info down to the basics.

RETAILER	PROS	CONS
Brick and Mortar	Familiar purchasing experience “Nearby”-ish A physical place for returns/repairs Often requires the purchase of an exam	Much more expensive Hidden fees Have to make appointments for help
Over the Counter	Less expensive than B&M Can have easy access Can buy snacks and other things along with hearing aids during purchase Don’t need prescription	May only sell online Seller not a licensed audiologist Settings assistance from 3rd party vendor Only treats mild to moderate hearing loss
Injoy Hearing Aids	Licensed audiologists helping throughout process Free hearing test available online Super-fast shipping Adjustment help is free (and done by us!) Real No-Risk Trial Period Multiple tiers to match your needs Waaay lower cost than B&M Don’t need a prescription Can treat mild to severe hearing loss	We’re energetically friendly! Hard to take on a Monday morning… It’s super-easy to work with us, which surprises some people. Uhhhhhh…that’s about it, really.

 

Truth: Nobody Wants Hearing Aids

We’re the first to admit it, and understand this truth upfront: nobody wants to buy hearing aids. The thing is, sometimes we need to.

According the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders:

15% of adults older than 18 report hearing issues

18% of adults 20 to 69 years old have speech-frequency hearing loss

Disabling hearing loss occurs in 8.5% of adults 55 to 64, 25% for ages 65 to 74, and 50% for ages 75 and older.

At least 28.8 million adults in the U.S. could benefit from hearing aids.

If you’re suffering hearing loss, you’re not alone. Young, old, and in between, people could use Injoy hearing aids to improve their hearing and recapture a part of their life they thought was lost.

Are Hearing Aids Right for You?

First, grab some headphones and take our free online hearing test. If headphones aren’t available, take our hearing loss questionnaire. Both of these tools are doctor-guided, and can help you discover if you’ve got hearing loss.

And they’re 100% free. No cost, no obligation, no time in a sitting room waiting for the doc. Take the test or answer the questionnaire whenever you want.

Ask Us All Your Hearing Aid Questions

Where do you get a hearing aid? Do it at the place that’s willing to help you understand how the hearing aid works, and what can be done with it to make your hearing experience better! Talk to licensed audiologists.

If they’re not licensed, then the person is most likely trained to sell you the hearing aid, not help you get better hearing with it.

We expect the hard questions, too. Don’t hold back. Maybe you’ve thought about hearing aids but thought, is this going to be an eyesore? Will it even help? What if I don’t like how they work—am I stuck with them?

Injoy doesn’t sell you a hearing aid and then throw you to third-party vendors to assist you. We’re there for you, from the free hearing test to the decision-making to receiving the hearing aids to adjusting them.

Then we’re here for you when you want to customize settings, or get reminded how to control volume. And we’re here for you to help with any warranty issues. Our 3 year warranty is a marvel of protection for you.

With Injoy, what you buy is an honest 3+ years of better hearing. We guarantee that!

FAQs

How do I get used to a hearing aid?

We’re encountered this question many times. Truth is, hearing aids can’t restore normal hearing. What they can do is improve your hearing. Our hearing aids can amplify general or specific sounds, in front of or behind you (or both).

And they can focus on the audio wavelengths you’re missing. This way they amplify just the parts of sound you have the worst problems with. If you amplify everything, you run the risk of damaging the parts of your hearing that weren’t an issue.

How do hearing aids work?

Basically, every hearing aid uses the same basic parts to carry sound from the environment and amplify it into your ear.

Small microphones collect audio, and a computer chip converts those signals into digital code. It analyzes and adjusts the sound based on your settings for hearing loss, listening needs, and the level of the sounds around you.

Then the hearing aid amplifies the proper wavelengths, converts that back into sound, and delivers it to your ears through tiny speakers, sometimes called receivers.

Why are they more expensive than headphones?

We know that real hearing aids are a big ticket item for most of us. Because of the amazing tech packed into such a small device, they cost more than your grand-daughter’s best earbuds.

Plus there are the licensed audiologists helping make sure you’re ready for the purchase. These necessary elements add to the price.

So what do you do? You purchase from a company you trust. At Injoy, our products were vetted by industry pros to supply the best “bang for the buck.” We did the hard part, comparing many, many devices before choosing The Workhorse, The Choice, and The Security tiers of RIC hearing aids.

What’s the “Real Risk Free Trial?”

We use the word “real” when we talk about our risk-free hearing aid trial. That’s because too many hearing aid companies offer “risk-free” trial offers that aren’t risk-free. What’s their risk? They charge you up-front for the hearing aids. 

This puts your money, and your ability to enjoy better hearing, at risk. If you do decide to return the hearing aids, you’ll have to wait weeks for the refund to arrive. In the meantime? You’re out of luck, and out of a lot of bucks.

Can you afford to spend the same amount of money twice for hearing aids? We’re betting no, because we wouldn’t do it either.

The Injoy trial period is the only “real” risk free hearing aid trial, because your credit card doesn’t get charged. 

We don’t accept your money for the 30 days of your trial period. Now, if you love them from the get-go and let us know, we’ll finalize the transaction as per your satisfaction. Nothing would make us happier!

Otherwise, you’ve got 30 days to run your new Injoy hearing aids through the paces. Once your hearing aids are in your hands, one of our licensed audiologists will join you remotely face-to-face via our Injoy smartphone app. They’ll help set up your features and make sure you’re ready to see how good improved hearing can be.

Injoy: Built to Last

Injoy provides 3 years of repair and loss/damage coverage for all hearing aid purchases. And we’ll accept Injoy hearing aids for repairs and/or services for up to 5 years after your purchase.

Our founders are industry veterans, and our pioneering telehearing/telehealth business model is well-funded and built to last. We get it: spending money on a big ticket item like hearing devices with a “virtual” company may be unsettling for some.

Where do you get hearing aids? We think when you get to know us, and try out our hearing aids with no risk to you whatsoever, you’ll realize Injoy is the right choice for you.

Contact us today to learn more. We’re with you for the long haul.

Listen. Hear. Live! Injoy.