The main reason why people buy a hearing aid online is because they believe it costs less than a hearing aid bought from a hearing center.

Yes, hearing aids bought online are cheaper, but the long-term cost could be much higher because the costs of ongoing hearing care and hearing aid maintenance are not included.

Online hearing aids provide an amplifying device without the much-needed assistance of your audiologist.

People are not cookie-cutter and understandably have different expectations and preferences.

Using an online service reduces the chance of the patient getting the optimal fit and sound quality because it doesn’t consider the patient’s needs.

Physicians Hearing Care is East Tennessee’s top hearing provider because our hearing aid fittings are NOT about the hearing aids or technology.

Our hearing aid fittings are about the patient.

The major difference is PHC is a resource. We can use our combined experience to find the best solution for the patient – whether that means fitting the patient in the office or doing a remote adjustment.

We are there to guide our patients through this journey.

What’s Our ‘Physicians Hearing Care Difference?’

  Online Hearing Aids Physicians Hearing Care
1.     Model options 2 – 5

Might work for mild to moderate hearing loss

Too many to count, often with newer technology

Customized for every degree of hearing loss and its cause

2.     In-person care Never Always available
3.     Hearing evaluation Online and not comprehensive In person and covers every aspect of your hearing health
4.     Fitting None Four-stage fitting process to exact ear shape
5.     Maintenance No scheduled maintenance Scheduled maintenance every 6 months
6.     Repairs Not included and must be mailed in 3 – 4 years of in-office repairs included

Loaned hearing devices if we have to send yours out for repair

7.     Loss and damage warranty 3 – 4 years 3 –­ 4 years
8.     Education Through videos and video chats In person
9.     Insurance You deal with your insurance company We partner with most insurance companies
10.  Business goals To sell you hearing aids To optimize your hearing health for life

 

  1. We offer a wide choice of hearing aids from multiple manufacturers of the world’s leading hearing aids such as ReSound, Phonak, Oticon, Widex, Siemens, Unitron, and Signia. We include their newest models with the most up-to-date technology available.
  2. We have 24-7 hearing care. Weekend or late at night, you have access to either our walk-in clinic, a home visit, virtual appointments, or our drop-off service for continuous express care.
  3. We do a comprehensive hearing evaluation led by an audiologist. No online hearing test will evaluate your hearing health and diagnose the cause of your hearing loss, which might be as simple as a buildup of earwax. If it’s caused by a medical issue, we can refer you immediately to the right specialist.
  4. Four-stage fitting process to make sure your new hearing aids perform in every environment you’ll be in at their optimal capacity. There is no fitting process with an online company, so your hearing aids might be uncomfortable forever.
  5. We include a multi-point inspection of your hearing aids every six months and replace everything required, including domes, batteries, filters, and retention lines. We’ll adjust your device any time you find it’s not performing as well as you’d like it to.

Our all-inclusive package includes unlimited remote assist too.

  1. Fast and affordable repairs, cleanings, and checks onsite, which we really enjoy doing. Last year, we repaired over 1,400 devices, mostly in-house. Simply drop them off and we’ll return them to you within 24 hours.

If we need to send your hearing aids away for repair, we’ll lend you a temporary replacement device until they come back.

Repairs by the online company you bought from can take weeks of your life away from you because you have no backup pair and no loaned pair from them.

  1. A minimum 3-year loss, damage, and repair warranty, with a 4-year warranty on our all-inclusive hearing package. Every package includes a scheduled service plan plus a care kit with a battery tester.
  2. We sit with you and teach you everything there is to know about how your hearing aid works and how to clean it. We also program it to match your hearing test results and check back with you regularly to make sure it’s optimized.
  3. We work with most insurance plans.
  4. We’re not here to sell you hearing aids; we’re here as your local, full-service hearing care partners for life with the goal of maximizing your hearing health. Thanks to our 45 years of serving East Tennessee and our ongoing awareness of the latest advances in audiology, we can provide you with the best hearing solution for you and make it as cost-effective as possible.

We always look forward to helping with your hearing aid repairs, cleanings, maintenance checks, or programing adjustments, mostly because we get to see you again.

You’re like family to us.

Contact us with any questions about our current hearing aids or about helping a loved one with a hearing loss. We’re here to help you.

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Sarah Post, Au.D., CCC-A

As a child of deaf adults (CODA) in the Knoxville Deaf Community, she understands the struggles like no other. This sparked her passion for audiology as a career and led her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in audiology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. After completing her degree, she continued her education at Auburn University, where she completed her doctorate of audiology (Au.D.) before returning to Knoxville to serve the local community. As a clinical audiologist at Physicians Hearing Care, Sarah provides comprehensive diagnostic services to assess patients’ hearing needs. Often requiring the assistance of amplification devices, Sarah helps patients select and tailor instruments to their specific hearing loss and needs that can improve their quality of life. With each patient, she listens and discusses their needs to develop a plan to improve their communication and quality of life. So far, there have been many life-changing moments during her time at PHC. Most of all, Sarah loves working with people to form a partnership to understand their needs, build trust, and craft customized plans to improve their hearing health.