Songbird is looking to make some noise in the hearing aid world with its disposable, cheap and discrete Flexfit. The $80 unit is drastically less expensive than your average aid, which costs upwards of a few thousand dollars (not to mention all of the battery replacement and maintenance fees later). The Songbird is rated for 400 hours of use, so it should be perfect for casual users of hearing aids who need a situational auditory boost — say, at church or during a musical performance. Employed in short spurts, the apparatus would last someone many months. It's like the reading glasses of the hearing aid world.
What about with heavy use, for people who need an aid 10 hours a day? Forty functional days may not sound like a lot, but even if you bought a Songbird almost every month, you'd be spending less than $500 $1,000 a year. Consider that some hearing aids are $2000-$4000 or more, and you've got several years' worth of Songbirds to catch up, and the Flexfit doesn't need any maintenance or a new battery. Keep an eye out for the Songbird Flexfit in about two months, when the company plans to roll out its product.
Check out the gallery below for more views of the Songbird Flexfit. Can you spot it in the first picture?
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Via Songbird
CORRECTION: Sorry guys, my math was indeed off. Thanks.
editor@dvice.com
By aileen at 2:47 AM ON 06/22/08
$80 x 12 = $960
By DeMO at 10:25 AM ON 06/22/08
$960, simple as...
By jr at 10:43 AM ON 07/04/08
The original Songbird was a very good hearing aid, even though it did not fit as many people as they had hoped. The circuit and performance were as good as other premium-priced hearing aids on the market at the time, and better than many, according to research studies. The primary reasons it did not sell were (1) audiologists and dispensers were not able to make $2000 per sale because it sold to the consuming public at about $40, (2) Songbird made an error and attempted to sell it professionally through audiologists - a major marketing error, (3) most audiologists who complained about the instrument never fit the aid, but were "experts" at telling others about how bad it was, and (4) don't believe that all expensive hearing aids are finely adjusted by the audiologist. Most simply insert the poor results of pure-tone audiometry, and let a computer select the settings. Also, if you hear individuals saying that the Songbird was useless, chances are that they speak from ignorance, concern about what it might do to their income levels and are attempting to protect their "turf," or perhaps, are dishonest and misleading individuals. I speak from having fit many of these instruments successfully, and still have individuals asking for them. Like every hearing aid on the market, one has to learn how, when, and where to fit such instruments. To compare them to those items from toy stores shows one's ignorance about the product.
By sylvia at 1:44 AM ON 08/17/08
Ihave small ear openings. Would the Songbird work for me?
By CAK at 12:47 AM ON 08/26/08
$960 X 2 ears = $1920. Hearing aids last 5 years so $1920 X 5 = $9400. Traditional high end hearing aids, custom fitted, $5000 to $6000. The math here doesn't seem to support these Songbirds.
By marilyn at 4:58 PM ON 09/09/08
I have small ear openings. How is your ear bud able to fit everyone?
By junebug at 9:49 AM ON 10/02/08
I have small ear openings. Will the the songbird flesfit stay in place? Should you where one on both ears. I have a slight hearing loss on both ears.
By robino0821 at 5:59 PM ON 10/09/08
I didn't know there was such a thing as "casual" hearing. Or "situational" hearing. Sick.
By charlesanna at 6:24 PM ON 10/09/08
Does the songbird help for diminished hearing in one ear that affects hearing when in large groups or crowds or when attempting to determine from what side a loud noise occurs?