@willows It's a shame that there is so much secrecy in the hearing aid market. It should be criminal. It would nice if we could go to a hearing aid manufacturers website and find a MSRP, Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price. At least we could compare the markup by audiologists. However, it's not the only criteria to judge an audiologist by cost alone. We have to consider the service that we'll get for that money. Will we get free cleanings? If so, for how long? Will we get Real Ear Measurement when we are fitted? Will we get free batteries? I'm sure we could think of other 'perks'. @julieo4 mentioned the name brands, Phonak, Starkey, Widex, Resound, and Oticon. The hearing aid market has seen acquisitions. Signia is now owned by the same company as Widex. They also sell the Rexton brand. Also, most of the big manufacturers put other names on their products. For instance, under the Phonak brand, you'll find Hansaton and Unitron. Costco sells name brand products under the Kirkland name. Beltone is a brand under the Resound umbrella. Under Oticon, there's Philips and Bernafon. The best place that I've found to research hearing aids is http://www.hearingtracker.com.
Tony in Michigan