I purchased a pair of hearing aids here over a year ago, for an elderly relative. They cost less than half the price I was offered by a local audiologist and competed only with used aids on Ebay, not the best of choices if one can avoid it.

For those unfamiliar with digital hearing aids, they are programmed extensively to provide an exact match for an individual's hearing and can be reprogrammed at any time. Modern digital aids sometimes also allow for a number of different programs too, usually about five, which compensate for noisy environments, open environments and so on. It isn't really necessary to have all the options programmed as the aids will work well in most situations as they are, but clearly it's useful to be able to have them drop the volume in, say, a party or other noisy crowd situation. Aids that can do this are generally at the top end of the market.

Other differences between types of aids include choosing between a speaker-in-ear / receiver-in-the-ear (SIE or RITE) type, in which as you may guess, the speaker itself is on the end of a tiny wire which is inserted into the ear; or the type in which the speaker is internal to the aid, and sound is pumped down a tiny tube into the ear. Some models have an internal coil for use with telephony. Also, top models often have a setting which allows them to be used as Bluetooth receivers, a boon if you have a bluetooth phone or audio devices. The AH range of options doesn't include every type of aid, so check it out at http://www.americahears.com/Products/HIMain.shtml and see if it's likely to meet your needs.

Lastly and most importantly, good quality modern hearing aids know how to program themselves to adapt to the situations you find yourself in most often. If you spend most of the time in a quiet room, the aids are claimed to recognize this after a while and adjust themselves accordingly. All very clever stuff, given that the entire devices are less than thumbnail sized including the batteries.

The model I chose was an SIE aid, which has five programs and a specification equal to many of the top aids I'd read about elsewhere for $2500 or more. At the time, America Hears was offering it for a whisper below $1000, or $2000 a pair. That represented an immediate saving of maybe $3000 over the big-brand models.

So the first thing I can report is that the equipment worked fine, and continued to work fine up until very recently, when the aids needed cleaning and some parts renewal, which was done free under warranty.

But for me the best part of the deal was that AH supplies customers with the software and hardware to reprogram the aids at home, using a standard Windows XP or Vista PC (not sure if Windows7 is catered for yet). If my relative finds that his hearing is deteriorating a bit or certain frequencies are going fuzzy, I can plug his aids into the PC interface while he's wearing them and run through a whole gamut of tests, without having to pay an audiologist to do it. And that's generally worked out fine. AH will also help you program them over the internet, or of course you can send them back for programming if you can spare them for a week or so. One way or another, it couldn't be easier.

Bottom line - a bargain, no quality issues to date, no unexpected expenses, and one very happy senior who can now hear his TV without broadcasting to the entire street. Highly recommended.

Plus, at the time of writing (end of September 2009) AH are introducing a new model and clearing stock of the one we bought for only $700. I'd definitely grab a pair if you're in the market and don't have the resources for a top-brand model. If your experience is anything like mine, you won't be disappointed.

Finally, phone communications are good (remember this company is on EST, though) and you'll generally always get the same person at the other end of the line. Repairs, when they were needed, were prompt and we had the aids back in a week, as predicted by the company. A very good result all round.

[Edit]

I forgot to mention they have an unconditional free trial period during which you can return the product if you're unhappy with it.