• by joseph , September 27, 2011

Interesting dilemma I had today. I needed new hearing aid molds that go from the unit to your ear canal. Depending on where you live, you can walk into a drug store and just buy them but oh no... I am in the middle of a corn field... a lovely corn field but still a corn field. I went to an audiologist (not my audiologist) and he would not sell me a temporary mold without testing, diagnosis, transfer of charts, blah, blah, blah. That is so ridiculous. They are temporary for a reason. I already have an audiologist 2 hours away but I did not have the time to drive there and back and I can survive without my hearing aids... I rarely even wear them. So I go to another audiologist down the street and she is too busy and would prefer to do a test on me first. Why? I don't get it. Who walks into a doctor's office asking for temporary molds for $4000 hearing aids without actually needing them?

Frustrated, I got online and went to Amazon and looked for them but didn't see anything pop up. I then went to Google and typed in "hearing aid temporary ear mold" and presto - a company popped up #1 and I purchased a pack of 10... hopefully those will last awhile. They were also 24% of the price of what the audiologist wanted.

I guess the point is, "Does the internet prevent finding products in stores because of limited demand knowing they can be simply purchased online?" or "Would I have been able to get the temporary molds had it not been for the internet without driving for two hours?" I recall getting my first computer, a Commodore Vic-20, way back in 1984 I think it was. I recall setting a phone on the 300 baud modem to connect in to Ball State University. Those were the days. Since then, I have seen the internet develop and create entire new industries and watching other industries crumble because they became obsolete. I love internet shopping but when you need a medical device as simple as a temporary ear mold for a hearing aid, you shouldn't need to wait 2-3 business days for regular shipping or pay an extra $20 to have them shipped overnight.

What else is missing from store shelves today that you can only find online?