A1 Hearing Aid

Dedicated to better hearing at affordable prices!

Dear Friends,

In the past few years I came up with the concept of providing major brand hearing aids and quality service provided by Audiologists and Dispensers throughout the United States.

This is a brief explanation on how Hearing Aid came to be.

In 1983, I joined a company in southern California called OTO Products. OTO Products was at that time, the largest hearing aid and accessory business on the West Coast. OTO Products was a wholesaler and had hundreds of Audiologists and Dispensers that would buy various items, such as hearing aids, batteries and impression material each month. In 1985 I was promoted to sales manager of the hearing aid division at OTO Products. One of my job responsibilities was to know the various hearing aids from over 22 different hearing aid manufacturers and to represent OTO Products at the Trade Shows and Conventions.

In 1987 I left OTO Products and I accepted a position with Phonic Ear as Territory Manager for Northern California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. Phonic Ear was at that time and still is the leader in FM Systems (Auditory Trainers) used in classrooms, courtrooms, theaters, etc. Phonic Ear also manufactured augmentative communication devices that are used by individuals who can not speak and Phonic Ear was also the U.S. distributor of Phonak hearing aids at that time.

Through my work at Phonic Ear I met many families that were struggling to save enough money to buy their child a hearing aid or a FM System. I remember thinking to myself that if I ever got the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people, who struggle to make ends meet, by making hearing aids, FM Systems or anything else less expensive, that I would gladly accept that responsibility. It would be several years later before I was to have that opportunity.

In 1987, while working for Phonic Ear I read an article in one of the trade journals. The article featured several Hearing Aid Manufacturer Presidents answering various questions. One of the questions posed to each of the Presidents was "If you could change anything about the hearing aid industry what would you change." Each of the Presidents answered this question without knowing what the others had said. Almost every one of the Presidents said they would change the delivery system and sell directly to the consumer. These answers were of interest to me. At that time most Hearing Aid Manufacturers advertised their products to and through the hearing professionals. For the manufacturers to sell directly to the consumer would require a change in the entire hearing aid industry and more importantly, to start advertising directly to the consumer. In 1987, the only hearing aid manufacturers that advertised directly to the consumer that I was aware of, was Miracle Ear and Beltone.

Then in 1996, while attending a seminar, about business being conducted on the Internet, given by AT&T, I heard several people get up and tell us how they were able to take their businesses to a brand new arena, the Internet. I listened to speaker after speaker, tell how they were able to market their service or products directly to the end user. It was then that I remembered the article that I had read in 1987. I was consumed with the thought that here was my chance to make good on a promise that I had made to myself almost ten years before.

I searched the Internet to see if anyone had already thought of my idea. There were none and there would not be any others for the next three years. There were a few companies that were advertising services and hearing aids in their local area but there were no companies that could provide services and/or hearing aids nationwide. And none of the companies advertising locally were giving any kind of significant price breaks. It was advertising as usual.

The next five months were spent putting together a concept and a Website, where people who needed information, services and/or hearing aids, could receive such help from licensed Audiologists and Dispensers at a real savings. Next, I talked to Audiologists and Dispensers Nationwide and invited them to join our newly formed organization. I found that most of the Audiologists and Dispensers that I talked to liked the idea of my company sending them referrals. After all we did not charge the hearing professionals to join our network and we did not charge them for the referrals. If they were in business to make money we were helping them do that. If they were in the business to help others we were helping them to do that too.

At the end of our first year on the Internet we had about sixty-eight hearing professional offices. At the end of our second year on the Internet we had about three hundred and fifty hearing professional offices. Now, after almost four years of being on the Internet, we have over 1200 Audiologists and Dispensers in A1 Hearing Aid 's National Network. With the commercialization of the Internet our referral and customer base is nationwide. This allows for the sale of hearing aids to be less expensive to you, the consumer, and at the same time you receive services and counseling from licensed Audiologists and Dispensers in your local area.

We have been truly blessed. The innocent hope that I had so many years before, to be able to bring more affordable services and product to the hearing impaired and deaf community is being realized everyday.

A1 Hearing Aid and our over 1200 Audiologists and Dispensers are committed to make hearing solutions more affordable by bringing together manufacturers of quality name brand hearing aids, licensed Audiologists, Dispensers the hearing impaired and the deaf community.

We at A1 Hearing Aid look forward to serving you and your needs.

Sincerely,
A1 Hearing Aid