HEARING AID BRANDS AND PRODUCTS Hometown Hearing & Audiology Carries Most Leading Non-Proprietary Brands A NON-PROPRIETARY BRAND is any brand where the manufacturer does not grant exclusive territory. In many instances, there is a non-proprietary brand similar or identical to the each proprietary product line. For example, Hometown Hearing dispenses hearing aids from Qualitone, a division of Starkey Laboratories. While the Qualitone products are similar or identical to the Nu-Ear and Audibel product lines, Qualitone is not exclusive to HHA, providing you more flexibility and choice. At Hometown Hearing, we are proud to dispense a wide range of non-proprietary brands: Siemens** Unitron Phonak Micro Tech* Rexton Electone   * comparable to Starkey, Omni, Audibel and Nu-Ear ** very similar to Miracle-Ear product line A word about Widex: occasionally, we get questions about Widex products. We experienced a situation in 2002 where Widex refused to support a significant number of our customers with Widex products. As such, we do not dispense Widex hearing aids. Most other independent hearing care companies primarily carry one brand. For example, the following companies dispense predominantly one brand: Company Brand Miracle-Ear Miracle-Ear (Siemens technology) Beltone Beltone (GN ReSound technology) Southwestern Hearing Aid Centers (STL) Nu-Ear (a Starkey product) Zounds (KC) Zounds Echo Hearing Systems (KC) Audibel (a Starkey product) HearUSA (STL) Siemens Advanced Hearing Solutions (KC) Sonic Innovations Similar to General Motors and its Chevrolet, Pontiac, Saturn and Buick divisions, most of the major hearing aid manufacturers have a common technology platform that is sold through different divisions or brands. The following brands are under common ownership and/or are on a common technology platform: Parent Company Subsidiaries or Technology Partners GN ReSound Beltone, Interton Siemens Miracle-Ear*, Rexton, Electone Starkey Nu-Ear, Audibel, Qualitone, Omni, Micro-Tech** Phonak Unitron William Demant Oticon, Bernafon Sonic Innovations Sonic Innovations * Miracle-Ear hearing aids are manufactured by Siemens under a multi-year supply agreement. ** similar or identical products and technology across divisions. HOMETOWN HEARING & AUDIOLOGY: Multiple Product Lines = Better Products AND Better Prices for You With the technology revolution now taking place in the hearing care industry we believe that carrying multiple brands provides better products and pricing for you, the consumer. WHY? Each manufacturer is racing to beat its competitors with better products and better value. Over the past 2-3 years, Hometown Hearing & Audiology has found that no manufacturer has a clear “technology lead” at all product levels. Typically, one or two manufacturers have leading products (best features combined with best price) in one category while another has leading products in another category. Also, most truly innovative products come from one manufacturer first, with the others introducing similar technology up to two years later. By working with 4 of the 6 largest manufacturers, Hometown Hearing is able to consistently offer the latest innovations in the industry and is able to offer the lowest possible prices at each technology level. Single Brand hearing companies are often stuck with older technology as competing manufacturers leapfrog their products. Proprietary Brands = Potentially Higher Cost of Ownership for You PROPRIETARY BRANDS SUCH AS MIRACLE-EAR, BELTONE, NU-EAR and AUDIBEL cannot be programmed by anyone except the authorized dealer of those products. Because these manufacturers provide exclusive territory to dealers, you must return to the original dealer for repairs and routine matters such as programming adjustments. This is similar to buying a car and being stuck with the dealer’s $40 oil change, when your local mechanic is running a $14.99 special. Because the dealer specializes in that brand (and is exclusively able to make adjustments with his proprietary/licensed software), the original dealer can charge more for auto repairs compared to other shops that work on various makes and models. Even if you become dissatisfied with the service of that dealer, you’re stuck with them for maintenance and repairs. BACK TO ABOUT HEARING AIDS