Suburban man owed close to $7K for hearing aid he said didn't work properly

HUNTLEY, Ill. (WLS) -- A local man owed close to $7,000 for a hearing aid that he says didn't work properly.

The ABC7 Chicago I-Team is getting results after investigating disputes with people who are not happy with a special brand of hearing aid.

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The northwest suburban man says he was willing to spend that large sum of money so he could hear better.

"When they first gave them to me, they said, 'it'll take a week or two, but you're going to hear things you haven't heard in years', and I noticed no difference at all," Jerry Frank said.

Huntley resident Frank spent $6,700 on hearing aids from Miracle-Ear in late 2025. But he says, instead of hearing better, they've only caused frustration.

"I tried everything that they suggested," Frank said.

Frank says he was complaining to the local store within the 30-day return policy. But he says he was being strung along, and then the 30 days passed.

"Every time I went in to meet with them, which was every week to 10 days, they made some adjustments," Frank said.

His complaint was similar to Walter Fuja's in Carol Stream.

"And they play with them a little bit and they bring them back now. And they'll say, 'how does that sound?' And it does usually sound a little better," Fuja said.

After repeated visits, Fuja said the hearing aids would work briefly but then stop working again. After the I-Team's involvement, he got a refund for $1,200. And their financing through a third-party company for almost $7,000 was forgiven.

Now Frank is seeing those same results.

"But then you called them and I got a call from them, and they said if I returned the hearing aid that they would fully refund my $6,700 payments. So I am here today to do that," Frank said.

Miracle-Ear said patient privacy regulations prevent them from commenting on individual cases.

"At Miracle-Ear, we greatly value customer feedback and remain steadfastly committed to delivering exceptional service and satisfaction. We are always pleased when customers share their appreciation for the support they've received at Miracle-Ear locations," the company said in a statement.

After Frank took the hearing aids back, he was fully refunded. The local store has not commented.

"Oh Jason, that's your involvement got me what, I really never expected to see that money again," Frank said.

Miracle-Ear is currently "not rated" by the Better Business Bureau. The company has more than 100 national complaints to its headquarters in the last three years.

Miracle-Ear says that represents only 0.3% of its 350,000 customers.

Always read return policies when making large purchases and make sure to speak up before that policy expires.