Generally I associate subscription pricing models with services, software, or periodicals. Occasionally, you see hardware associated with a subscription service if the hardware is needed to consume the service - such as with cable or satellite TV. Its fascinating to see it being used with a medical device such as a hearing aid. According to a NYTimes article though The Lyric, a new hearing aid, does just that. I'm guessing the subscription model was used to over come the fact that the device needs to be completely replaced every 1-3 months (a rather uncertain and short time period) when its batteries run out. It could also be a clever way of engaging in price discrimination. Also - people are used to paying large sums of money in the health care industry for a service, but possibly less so for consume electronics. By treating the hear aid as a service the company might also be successfully extracting more money than they would otherwise be able just because of expectations surrounding the category of the product.
quick update: Just found this article on the economics of hearing aides. I have no idea idea how good the source is though.
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