If you’ve been considering getting your hearing checked, or perhaps think you may need hearing aids, you might have come across the term “independent audiologist”. This term gets thrown around quite a bit these days, so it is worth understanding what this means, and what the pros and cons of seeing an independent audiologist may be.
Defining the Term
At its core, an independent audiologist is an audiologist, or more broadly an audiology practice (which may consist of multiple audiologists) that is not part of a larger corporate chain of audiology practices. The term “independent” is used across many different businesses as a way of differentiating and distinguishing themselves from larger chains. For example, you may have a small, independent bookshop in your town that is not part of one of the large, recognisable national bookseller chains. Your local independent bookshop may have a more limited selection, and the prices may be a little higher than what may be available elsewhere. Yet, you may still prefer to patronise the small shop. The staff in the shop may have a certain passion for books that you may not see in a larger chain retailer. They may be able to provide more personalised recommendations for you and provide an overall level of service that outshines other brands. And you may simply just find the experience of supporting a small, local business, that has a strong sense of community, to be more enjoyable than shopping in a big, generic, chain store.
Audiology practices aren’t much different. There are many instantly recognisable national retailers based on the high street that offer audiology services. These retailers sometimes double up as opticians or pharmacies. An independent audiology practice will operate independent of these retailers. In many instances, an independent audiology practice may consist of just one location, with just one audiologist employed. Larger independent practices may have multiple locations with many audiologists employed, but still operate independent of any national chain or brand. So then, what are some more practical differences you can expect between an independent audiologist and a high-street chain?
Pricing
In audiology, when we talk about pricing, in most cases, we’re referring to the cost of hearing aids. It isn’t really a secret that many independent audiologists will likely be more expensive than a chain. This isn’t always the case, however, as I’ve encountered some surprisingly expensive pricing from large, national chains—pricing that is probably much higher than the average independent audiologist! Generally, though, pricing will likely be lower in many chain practices. This is primarily because these practices are very large entities, and therefore the volume of hearing aid orders that they place with the hearing aid manufacturers will be very high. This means that the manufacturers will offer their hearing aids at significantly lower prices than what they may be willing to offer to an independent audiologist. However, it would never be a good idea to focus exclusively on price when considering hearing aids. I would recommend checking out our article, “How to Choose a Hearing Aid Audiologist” for more on what you may wish to consider when looking for an audiologist.
Hearing Aid Manufacturer
Those really good prices that the large chains can negotiate with the hearing aid manufacturers are also usually because most chain practices will have an official agreement with a specific manufacturer to almost exclusively sell their products. The agreement may be something along the lines of requiring 90% or 95% of all that practice’s hearing aid sales to be with that one manufacturer. This means that just about everyone who walks into that practice’s doors will be recommended the same manufacturer, and if there was a different hearing aid manufacturer that may work better for your needs, then this likely will not be able to be recommended for you.
Now, I do believe that most people who use hearing aids can probably do well with just about any hearing aid manufacturer—provided the hearing aids have been fitted and verified appropriately. However, there are many instances where an audiologist may choose a specific manufacturer over another, and an audiologist working in a national chain will likely be limited in their freedom to do this. Realistically speaking, independent audiologists will also have their preferred manufacturers to provide hearing aids from to their patients. This will be based on several factors, such as how familiar they are with that company’s products, customer service, and, of course, pricing. But a good independent audiologist, can and will fit a hearing aid from whichever manufacturer they deem will suit a specific patient best.
Consistency of Care
You will likely find excellent audiologists both in the independent sector, as well as in the national chain retailer sector. You will also likely find less than excellent audiologists in both sectors. However, due to the size and scope of national chains, it might be difficult to know in advance the kind of service and care you may be receiving. There can be quite a lot of variation in the standards and consistency of service that you would receive between different locations of the same clinic brand, or even amongst different audiologists within the same location. In an independent audiology clinic, there can be greater “control” over the quality of care that you may receive. The smaller nature of independent clinics can allow for a more reliable and predictable standard of service, that you can expect each time you attend the audiologist for an appointment.
Overall Approach: Hearing Aid ‘Shop’ or Audiology Clinic?
It is worthwhile to consider the overall approach of the audiology clinic that you’ll be visiting. Does this clinic even brand itself as a “clinic” as such—or perhaps is it referred to as a “shop” instead? While it may seem to just be semantics, the way an audiology practice identifies itself does matter, at least to a degree. Many of the larger chain audiology practices will refer to their premises as a “hearing aid shop” rather than a clinic or practice. At the end of the day, most private audiologists are in the business of selling hearing aids. But the approach on how and why these hearing aids are sold matters. Is the primary focus of your visit to solely push the sale of a product onto you or is it to focus on the diagnostic assessment of your hearing health, followed by making appropriate recommendations for treatment and management of any possible hearing related concerns? This may or may not include the recommendation of hearing aids—but you will want to consider if the experience of your visit feels like you’re seeing a healthcare professional—or does it feel like you’re seeing an electronics salesperson?
Some Final Thoughts
If you’re considering hearing aids for yourself or a loved one, it may be tempting to visit one of the large, instantly recognisable chain retailers of hearing aids. After all, their presence on the high street tends to be quite ubiquitous. There can be some advantages to seeing one of these larger audiology practice chains. They may be able to offer significantly lower prices than what a smaller, independent audiology practice can. However, I would urge anyone who visits one of the larger chains to also consider booking an appointment with an independent audiologist for an assessment. You owe it to yourself to make an informed decision on who will be providing your hearing healthcare, and it can only always be worth getting a second opinion when it comes to a big decision like getting hearing aids.
If you'd like to learn more about the kind of hearing care we provide for our patients at Finchley Hearing, please explore our website and feel free to get in touch with any questions.
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