Shop 7/104 Northbourne Ave
Braddon ACT 2612
Braddon ACT 2612
Weekdays 9 to 5, Saturday 10 to 2.
Independent fitting
Every major brand. No commission from any of them.
Candid Hearing is independent, which means Pooja is not paid more for putting one manufacturer's device in your ear than another's. Every fitting is verified with Real Ear Measurement and followed by ninety days of structured tuning, because a hearing aid that is not adjusted to your life ends up in a drawer.
$0
Commission taken from any manufacturer, ever
Every brand
Phonak, Oticon, Widex, Signia, ReSound, Starkey and more
90 days
Structured follow-up at weeks 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12
From $2,800
A pair, or fully covered for most pensioners
Almost every hearing clinic in Australia is owned by, or contracted to, a hearing aid manufacturer. That is not a scandal, it is just how the industry is structured. But it does mean the person testing your hearing often has a commercial reason to reach for a particular brand.
Pooja spent more than a decade working inside that model before opening Candid Hearing. Here there are no manufacturer targets, no quarterly incentives and no commission. The practical effect is that "you would do fine on the entry-level device" is a sentence she is free to say, and does.
"As an independent Audiologist she is not out to sell you the most expensive items. In fact she talked me down to the base model Hearing aids (Govt supported) and as a pensioner this is very important to me."
— Robert James, Google review, August 2026
When a hearing aid is programmed, software takes your audiogram and calculates a target: how much amplification you need at each frequency. The question is whether the device actually hits that target once it is in your particular ear.
Ear canals differ enormously in length, width and shape. The same aid on the same prescription can be several decibels out in one ear and correct in another. Real Ear Measurement settles it: a probe microphone sits in the canal beside the aid and measures the real sound pressure at your eardrum while speech is played, and the aid is adjusted until the measured response matches the prescription.
Every fitting at Candid Hearing is verified this way. It takes an extra twenty minutes and it is the difference between an aid that is roughly right and one that is right.
There are hundreds of models. You do not need to understand them. What actually decides the recommendation is a short list:
Pooja narrows it to two or three, explains the trade-off between them in plain terms, and tells you which one she would choose and why.
Almost nobody loves their hearing aids in week one. Sound that your brain has not processed properly in years comes back all at once, and it is initially exhausting. People who give up usually give up in this window, which is exactly why the follow-up is scheduled in advance rather than left to you to chase.
Roughly half the people Pooja sees are funded under the Australian Government Hearing Services Program. If that is you, a range of well-made devices costs you nothing, and you should not let a price list put you off calling.
If you are paying privately, the three tiers of The Clear Life Program run from $2,800 to $5,500 a pair, and each one carries the same guarantee: thirty days to change your mind for any reason, then thirty more days of the Partner Test.
Common questions
At Candid Hearing a pair starts at $2,800 and the middle tier is $4,000. If you are eligible under the Hearing Services Program, which covers most pensioners and DVA card holders, a range of good devices is fully subsidised and you pay nothing. Roughly half the people who walk in here are in that category, so ask before you assume you are looking at four thousand dollars.
Because they are a different proposition. The chains buy in volume and sell a narrower range, and the fitting is usually to a manufacturer preset. What you are paying the extra for here is Real Ear Measurement on every fitting, ninety days of structured follow-up with the same audiologist, and a recommendation from someone who takes no commission. If the cheaper option is genuinely right for you, Pooja will say so.
Much less than you expect. Most people are fitted with receiver-in-canal devices, where a thin wire runs from a small unit behind the ear into the canal. At arm’s length across a table, most people will not notice. Completely-in-canal options exist too, though they suit some hearing losses and ear shapes better than others.
A very thin probe microphone is placed in your ear canal alongside the hearing aid, and it measures what the device is actually delivering to your eardrum while you listen to speech. Everyone’s ear canal is a different shape and volume, so the same aid on the same prescription performs differently in different ears. Without this step the fitting is an estimate. It is the single biggest predictor of whether you will still be wearing the aids in a year.
Expect weeks, not days. Your own voice will sound strange at first and you will suddenly hear the fridge, the indicator and your own footsteps. The brain recalibrates, but it needs consistent daily wear to do it. That is the entire reason for the ninety-day program rather than a fitting and a handshake.
For the first 30 days you can return them for a full refund, no reason needed. Between day 31 and 60 the Partner Test applies: wear them daily, and if the people closest to you cannot notice a clear improvement, you get a full refund.
Usually, if both ears have loss. You need both to tell where sound is coming from and to separate a voice from background noise, and an unaided ear tends to get worse at understanding speech over time. That said, one aid is better than none, and if budget is the constraint, say so and it will be worked around.
Ask when you come in. Price should not be the reason somebody spends another three years not hearing their grandchildren, and there is usually a way through it, whether that is a payment arrangement or starting at the Clear Start tier.
Also at Candid Hearing
Have the assessment, hear what Pooja would fit and why, and take the quote home. Nobody here works on commission, so nobody here needs you to decide today.
