Each year, the state provides means for getting hearing aids for people who have hearing problems. “Before, we used to have thousands of devices and there were always lines; now there are no lines which means that everyone is provided with the devices,” says K. Petrosyan. With the help of the state, 500 devices have been bought and another 500 are expected next year. The ministry gives the hearing aid devices to those people with hearing defects who are handicapped and/or pensioners. These hearing aid devices are imported from Russia and cost 28,000 drams. Until 2003, the state has cheated the people with Chinese products which, according to the ones who gained profit, have not been useful after two-three weeks. According to Karmen Petrosyan, the Chinese hearing devices were low-quality. “Now, when someone comes and asks us to give him another device due to the fact that the previous one was a Chinese product, we provide that person with another device because the Chinese devices don’t help at all.” Although the Chinese devices have been substituted with the high-quality Russian ones in 2003, however, the Russian ones still don’t help that much. “People are satisfied with the Russian devices and there have not been any complaints yet,” says K. Petrosyan. The students of the “Oasis” pantomime theatre/studio who use the Russian hearing aids don’t even want to talk about them. Head of the Hearing Aid department of the State Hospital Garegin Mirakyan says: “I am familiar with those hearing aids. We always come to the conclusion that they are hearing aids but something is missing in them. They don’t correspond to modern day norms.” According to G. Mirakyan, 80% of the people who buy the Russian hearing aids do not use them after a short while.
The “Havat” NGO founded by mothers of children with hearing defects takes care of the issues concerning children with hearing problems up to the age of 14. According to president of the NGO Susanna Zhamkochyan, the NGO has provided 121 children with hearing aids this year. They are the Danish “Oticon” brand name hearing aids. “Havat” has tried to get the best equipment. When it comes to quality, specialists point fingers at the German “Siemens” hearing aids. The company’s cheapest hearing aid costs 112,000 drams. “Havat” has bought 17 more hearing aids from “Siemens” with the help of sponsors. However, neither “Havat” nor the state have the right to have full access to the products of “Siemens”. Since the expiration date for the hearing aids is estimated to be 3-4 years, the children of the “Havat” NGO have problems later on. After turning 14 years old, the children must wear the hearing aids given by the state-in this case the Russian ones. However, it is pretty hard to wear the Russian hearing aids after using the high-quality Danish ones. What’s more, the children prefer not to use the Russian hearing aids at all after using the ones produced by “Siemens”. Specialists recommend and claim that using a low-quality hearing aid after the high-quality one deteriorates the already defected hearing. Some people suggest the state not to search hearing aids at low prices and get a minimum amount of high-quality hearing aids. But in that case, as stated by the head of the Handicapped department, who will receive them first? “Do you think that the elderly will agree giving those hearing aids to the youth? After all, each person thinks about his health. The elder will simply say that the young person still has time to get another hearing aid with quality. I don’t have enough time to live…”
The analogical hearing aids will soon be out of use in the world. The daily digital technological advances provide deaf people with opportunities and it will take years before we provide that for our country. As for our patients today, the right diagnosis scares them and they have problems getting the hearing aid when the diagnosis turns out to be right. The state does not have a variety of hearing aids to offer. Very often, patients with bad, worse and worst hearing problems use devices similar to one another, which obviously has its negative effects. “Normal brand name companies attach corresponding technical booklets along with the hearing aid which let the person know all about the nuances and secrets, however that is done through the company’s legitimate representatives,” says one of the legal representatives of “Siemens” in Armenia. “Siemens” is the only company that legally sells hearing aids in Armenia. The company not only sells the hearing aids, but also conducts a diagnosis. This is the only legal company not only in Armenia, but also in the entire Southern Caucasus. If we go along with what the Armenian branch representatives of the “Siemens” company say, then we have a reason to ask ourselves the origin of the Danish and Russian products and whether or not they have a guarantee. So, are we actually curing people or making them worse by the many charities?