A study carried out with our readership shows that class 1 hearing aids, fully covered subject to having “responsible” complementary health insurance, are as much appreciated as class 2 hearing aids.
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It’s undeniable: the hearing aids offered for sale as part of the 100% health reform are enjoying great commercial success. Fully reimbursed since 1is January 2021, provided they are covered by so-called “responsible” complementary health insurance, they also benefit from a price capped at €950 per device, well below the prices charged until then… A real revolution for the hearing impaired!
But once the purchase step has been taken, it is still necessary that beyond the financial interest, class 1 hearing aids (reimbursed), like class 2 (covered within the limits of the guarantees of the complementary) moreover, bring a real improvement on a daily basis. Otherwise, their usefulness ends there! And the soufflé will fall as quickly as it rose. Hearing aids have a reputation for being difficult to live with.
This is why, to ensure the interest of class 1 prostheses compared to those of class 2, we solicited our readership, and established data from 4,320 responses (1). First element, 30% of respondents chose a class 1 device. And regardless of the type of device, 80% of people who wear them use them at least 6 hours a day, or even from sunrise to sunset. No more hearing aids sleeping at the bottom of a drawer!
Same inconveniences between class 1 and class 2
However, difficult listening situations persist: for more than half of the respondents, it is at least once a day. And, interestingly, there is no difference between 100% health and the others. The frequency of annoyances is the same: noisy environments and, to a lesser extent, conversations in low voices or high-pitched voices, are the most problematic.
The overall degree of satisfaction, established according to several criteria (ease of use, comfort, improvement of hearing, etc.) is comparable: class 1 and class 2 are more or less equal, with always a slight advantage to class 2 , except on the quality / price ratio.
Improving hearing is where they score the closest. The difference is played out elsewhere: class 2 are appreciated for their rechargeable battery and their autonomy; class 1 for their good quality/price ratio.
Let’s hope that the health authorities, responsible for reviewing the specifications of class 1 devices, will be able to hear the need to integrate rechargeable prostheses into the category. This is one of the major determinants of choice: more than half of the devices purchased recently are equipped with a rechargeable battery.
(1) Online survey conducted from February 4 to 17, 2022 among a sample of 4,320 people who have changed their hearing aid since 2019.
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