Beltone Hearing Aid Centers

Never given correct hearing test. Test done in home. Also, never checked ear wax, before testing, so never received accurate test!7/7/2010 Purchased Hearing aid price $4.290.00One hearing aid fell out and was lost due to poor fitting. Company put plastic pieces in both hearing aids due to the poor fit!For two years I went back to Beltone for help due the hearings aids not working correctly. A friend always accompanied me. Each time they never tested my hearing. And was left with the same problem. Recently they told me I needed a better hearing aid for $5000. They tested me this time in a booth, but never checked my ears once again for ear wax before they gave the test...I truly believe Beltone should not be allowed to give tests without having a medical Dr. remove any ear wax..I recently have gone to another Hearing Aid Company, and this is the first thing they do is make one go to their Dr. to have any wax removed from ears so they can give an accurate test.I am [redacted] and on a small income, I feel I gave Beltone $4.290.00 for hearing aids not fitte4d correctly, and making my life truly sad, unable to hear even my children if they sit in the same room.Trusting you will help me, and I am sure many other Beltone customers have also been cheated!Truly, [redacted]Desired SettlementA reasonable refund especially, for the product not working , but for also for all the time I have taken travelling to Pittsfield for help, and leaving all the time with the same old proplem.Seems to me Beltone doesn't try to help customerwith their present hearing aids, but wants to force customer to purchase new ones, despite, mine are only two years old, and I paid $4.290.00for hearing aids I had trouble with right from the start!Business' Initial Response Contact Name and Title: [redacted]Contact Phone: XXXXXXXXXXContact Email: [redacted]@beltonene.com[redacted] purchased hearing aids in 2010 when this office was under different ownership.Since we took over the business we have seen her on several occasions to work with her and adjust the programming of her aids to her satisfaction at no cost to her. This past year she has not been satisfied with her current aids due to a couple different reasons. First, her hearing has gotten worse to the point that she is at the limit of what her aids can do for her. Second, her aids have not been cleaned and maintained by her as she was instructed to do, which causes wear and tear breakdown of the electronics. Our Practitioner there recently re-tested her and did a demonstration for her as to what some new hearing aids could do for her, and she got upset as to why those were not offered to her before because it sounded so good. The simple answer is that they did not exist. This is new technology that came out in May of this year, and was programmed to reach the level of her new hearing loss so of course it sounded good. The average life expectancy for a set of hearing aids is anywhere from 3-6 years depending on a lot of variables. We would be glad to give her an additional discount on the new technology if she wants to consider purchasing a new set, otherwise we will continue to help her with her old ones, but she will continue to struggle. Thank you.Business' Final Response Contact Name and Title: [redacted]Contact Phone: [redacted]Contact Email: [redacted]@beltonene.comMs. [redacted] was seen on several visits for a clean and check on her aids. She was also instructed on how to care for them on her own, and if that was not kept up, we cleaned them on each visit. We also ALWAYS check for wax in the ears prior to testing, and only if ear is completely occluded would the test be inaccurate, at which point we would certainly refer her out to a physician for wax removal. We would not proceed with testing at that point. The facts are that the aids are 3 years old and cannot be returned for a refund. We would be more than happy to discuss the cost of getting new aids with updated technology for her loss if she is interested in that. We are confident with the level of care given and will continue to see Ms. [redacted] as we have done in the past. I know that she would do much better with the latest technology if she would only consider upgrading. Thank you.