Information Technology and Hearing Aids

Over the weekend we have had some problems with the website and its performance – the primary cause of this is being hotly debated by our IT team as I write this; needless to say, it is complicated. We know this problem was only present from Monday afternoon but this didn’t helped those of our customers trying to place an order that day – for this I can only apologise; we are now running a normal service and we are contacting those, where we can, that experienced difficulties over the weekend. On a personal level, I find it frustrating that I do not know enough about this area to fully understand the issue we experienced. We have plenty of far brighter people than me that do but it lead me to start thinking about the frustrations that we all experience when we don’t understand things that we come to rely on. Whether this is a mechanical device such as a car (which are nearly all more computer than mechanics now) or a winter mandatory like a central heating boiler. All the while they function as they should we carry on utilising them without really understanding how they perform their required function. When they cease to do so, we are often entirely reliant on someone else to help deliver their essential performance back to us (normally at disappointingly higher costs than we would imagine). The same is absolutely true for many customers we talk to regarding their hearing aid – something they have become quite reliant upon but know little about in terms of how it provides the hearing help required. If it stops working, investigations into whether it is still covered by warranty or likely repair costs begin. If the hearing aid is not covered under warranty (typically up to 12 months from purchase, although this does vary) then repair bills can be expensive, with costs of a few hundred pounds not unusual. Unfortunately many customers (reliant on advice from those that better understand their function) then feel obliged to part with both their hearing aid and this sum of money to return that which they already had – hearing help. Thankfully, at HearingDirect, we offer digital hearing aids at highly affordable prices and they all come with a full 12 month warranty and repair prices thereafter at significantly less than that. So if you are facing a hearing aid repair bill, why not try a brand new hearing aid, with a 30 day money back guarantee if not entirely satisfied, before committing to an expensive repair. Furthermore, it may be worth considering a back-up to your existing hearing aid to avoid extended periods without hearing help during a repair cycle; we can deliver the next day if desired. In doing so, you may well find it performs better than a hearing aid that cost significantly more, as have many of our customers. In any event, if you would like to discuss any aspect regarding hearing aids or their repair then we would be delighted to help; you can call free on 0800 032 1301 and speak to a qualified audiologist for some free independent advice.

• Hearing aids