The AudioNotch Tinnitus Treatment Blog

Here’s an e-mail we received from a user who was upset about what we charge for our tinnitus treatment service:

Hello,

I want to know and understand why you charge so much for this treatment?
I understand that developing etc. has cost you time and probably some money, but nowhere even close to what you are charging.

250$ / year is rather insane and most of the people in dire need of treatment can’t even hold down a job due to their endless suffering.
Obviously if you were guaranteed to have your tinnitus reduces to a loudness that doesn’t bother you, then a one time payment of 250$ would be no problem, but that isn’t the case here.

I feel like it is perverse to charge this much money for something that virtually cost you nothing anymore.
I am grateful that the option exists, but alas I cannot afford it I am a bit provoked by the fact that you, a claimed ex-sufferer of tinnitus, is now trying to milk it and make money of others suffering.

 

This particular customer granted us permission to publish his e-mail on our blog and respond to his points. Like many people who suffer from tinnitus, he shares that tinnitus has caused him a great deal of distress and suffering. I think it’s fair to characterize his points as follows:

1. It costs very little money to electronically deliver the AudioNotch software, therefore we should not charge significantly more than this delivery cost.
2. It is unrealistic to expect a person with tinnitus to invest money in AudioNotch’s treatment program if they do not have a guarantee of success.
3. It is unethical for someone to earn a living from charging more money than necessary for alleviating the suffering of others.

Respectfully, I’d have to disagree with each of the aforementioned points, and respond to them in kind. That said, I completely understand where this customer is coming from. There are a plethora of “treatments” available for tinnitus that have no scientific evidence behind them. There are many tinnitus treatments that cost thousands of dollars. 

Argument: It costs very little money to electronically deliver the AudioNotch software, therefore we should not charge significantly more than this delivery cost.

This argument stems from a common misconception: conflating the cost of labour with the cost of product delivery. Consider the following: it costs musicians thousands of man hours and production resources to record a professional-quality album, but it costs them virtually nothing to have a customer download the MP3 files. The same goes for software development of any kind. It costs millions of dollars to develop current generation video games – but people can download them from legal sales services over the internet at a near zero delivery cost. By the logic of this argument, bestselling albums and multi-million dollar video games should cost a couple cents each!

There are, of course, businesses that artificially inflate their profit margins through questionable means. For example, they might charge about $4,000.00 for a device that is apparently “not” an MP3 player, but looks exactly like one (and performs the same function).

AudioNotch’s software took hundreds of man hours to develop and a series of highly specialized, technical skills. Development work on the software is ongoing and we are constantly updating it with new features. Moreover, running this service carries many hidden costs, such as marketing and outreach. We’ve paid thousands in internet advertising to get the word out, submitting press releases, and designing the fancy infographics and promotional videos that give the site such a slick design and feel.

Argument: It is unrealistic to expect a person with tinnitus to invest money in AudioNotch’s treatment program if they do not have a guarantee of success.

This is why we have a 30 day refund policy – we want to offer our service at no risk  to the user. We have granted refunds to every individual who has requested one because we don’t want money from people we haven’t helped. AudioNotch is a risk free service if your fear is that your money will be wasted.

Argument: It is unethical for someone to earn a living from charging more money than necessary for alleviating the suffering of others.

I find this argument the most interesting, because it’s a perfect summary of what a physician is: someone who earns a living from alleviating the suffering of others. In order to earn a living, you need to charge more than it costs to provide a service. I am proud of the service that we provide to people who suffer from tinnitus. However, like everyone else, myself and my employees have to earn a living. I suspect that this user was really claiming that we are “milking” the situation by charging an unreasonably high cost to provide our service – but we already addressed that issue in Argument 1. Physicians are compensated for their services because when they help patients they provide a service of value.

AudioNotch is committed to providing tinnitus treatment at a cost that is affordable to the average person. We appreciate and value the feedback we get from our users. That’s why it’s so important for us to have this blog as a platform to communicate openly with them, and engage in a dialogue that can build trust and credibility. Thank you, anonymous user, for giving us a chance to do just that.

Best,

AudioNotch