Income from Hearing Aid sales

[Temonio]

Audiologists out there...
As I am finishing up my COMD undergrad, I have done research on median/average salaries for Audiologists for nearly the past year. This combined with the postings from this site, I have gathered that in my area (Knoxville, TN) I can expect to bring home just under $60K in salary. What I have also gathered, is that a great deal of the AuD's business is to sell Hearing Aids. However, I cannot find anywhere that discusses the average commission of these sales.

So, I have to ask. What is the average/median earnings from these device sales? I mean, $60K is on the lower end of the spectrum for earning potential while holding a Doctorate level degree, but if this supplemented with $20K-40K in commissions, it looks more attractive (yes, I shot way high on that). We are not talking "lake front home money," but what could an audiologist expect to make on top of their base salary?

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[zebra78244]

95% of the profit in any setting is from hearing aids sales.

Pay structure will vary greatly

Typically you get a 15-20% cut of the sale price on the purchase agreement of a pair of aids, in a straight commision retail environment (beltone, miracle ear, audibel).

Some places will give you a salary of 40-50k, but you will get 5-10% of aid sales (connect hearing,Hearusa, hearex, some ENTs, BJS)

Somes places will give you a bonus if you meet quota, or sell a certain tier of aids (Some ENT's, and Sams club does this)

Some places will give you a decent to nice salary regardless of what you sell, but if you cannot produce frequently you will be let go (Costco, Sams)

Places may have a combination of all 4. Again salary and commission varies GREATLY depending on setting, state, city, cost of living, local population. ETC.

I recommend you email [email protected], he is probably the most well known headhunter in the industry for AUD and HAS. Shoot him an email asking about specifics.

 

[Temonio]

Thank you Zebra. I'm just trying to ensure that I am as informed as humanly possible before applying to any programs next year. Salary seems to be a taboo. However, it is a major factor in deciding a career. Not just for the bells and whistles (cars, boats etc.), but for the necessities of adult life (mortgage, kids etc.).

 

[TheEarDoc]

I think it all depends on what you want to do. If you're comfortable selling hearing aids you can make a lot of money in private practice/ENT/Retail settings with commission and base salaries.

Personally I was not a good hearing aids salesman because I listened to the patient and sold to the patients needs not to the quota. I chose a job that had no hearing aid sales commission and a decent salary because I wanted to be clinician not a salesman. I also get bored very easily and did not want to just do audios and hearing aid fittings all day. I needed variety where I would be doing vestibular, electrophys testing, audios, hearing aid fittings, tinnitus management, etc. all in the same week. Ultimately I ended up in the VA system because I don't have to worry about selling anything. I get to be a clinician and examine the patient, discuss their needs/wants, and then order what they want/need and fit it. I can concentrate on patient care rather than sales. The pay is still great compared to the private sector too.

Everyone is different. You need to sit down and decide what is more important, the salary with all the perks or what you'll be doing on a daily basis.