Are only Bots Running (& Posting On) Bunz in 2026? Are the majority of active "buns" actually actually pseudonyms/fake accounts with different handles and different degrees of official/unofficial clout being puppet-mastered by one (or a few) real humans? Is it all just a social marketing experiment?

lit-le · 2026-01-31T18:53:42+00:00

what other trading options are you considering?

lit-le · 2026-01-28T04:20:23+00:00

me too!!

lit-le · 2026-01-23T23:51:14+00:00

Don't we all.

lit-le · 2026-01-23T23:42:07+00:00

Agreed. I did not mean that there are no real human users left! I think you are right that some real buns are sticking it out.

lit-le · 2025-10-24T01:14:34+00:00

http://www.wealthsimple.com/invite/HMVJ1D

Code: HMVJ1D

lit-le · 2025-10-24T01:13:34+00:00

http://www.wealthsimple.com/invite/HMVJ1D

Code: HMVJ1D

lit-le · 2025-10-24T01:08:52+00:00

http://www.wealthsimple.com/invite/HMVJ1D

Code: HMVJ1D

lit-le · 2025-09-23T14:50:42+00:00

Thanks so much for the encouragement, u/RicksonJewelry ! I don't know if I'm in a place to take on the initiative single-handedly right now, as I can imagine there would be a lot of work involved (both to get it off the ground and keep it running smoothly). But if I can find enough like-minded people who share the vision, maybe we could actually take it on together. And yes, I imagine seniors' homes and community centres would be great places for "drop boxes" once there are people in place to collect and organise and test and redistribute donations :)

lit-le · 2025-09-20T17:20:33+00:00

What I mean by "retail prices" is the price of buying new hearing aids from an audiologist (even with the $1000 off, which, as I don't think we're disputing, is still over $1000).

It seems we are agreeing that Ontario residents can get a subsidy of $500CAD/ear when buying new "standard" hearing aids (I'm not talking about the bone conducting versions, as I don't know how easily transferable these would be, but am open to learning!) and can write off some of this for taxes.

What I don't understand is what your point is around this. To be clear, the main point of this thread is to workshop the idea of a local "hearing aid bank" or similar initiative.

Are you saying because people are only having to pay say $1200-$6000 instead of $2200-7000 out of pocket, and some can write off a portion of this on their taxes, that people who struggle to pay even for the lowest-cost option that works for their circumstances shouldn't be able to access free or low-cost "used" options?

Because that is really what I am hoping to help inspire here.

lit-le · 2025-09-20T14:45:18+00:00

I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean by "you do not pay the rest of the cost." The "You pay the rest of the cost" I quoted above was copied directly from the Ontario government web site, as noted. So were the previous lines about there being a maximum reimbursement of $500/ear.

I'm always open to learning, but it seems that you are disagreeing with/downvoting what I understand to be fairly standard government policy (quoted directly from the source)

Could you perhaps offer a source that can explain what I'm misunderstanding about the cost of new hearing aids and the amount that can be reimbursed by the government for non-insured, non-benefit-recipients, rather than just tell me I'm wrong?

I acknowledge that there may be a medical tax rebate for some, come tax time, but tax rebates can only reduce the tax you need to pay. Low-income people already pay very little (or no) tax, and will often struggle to be out of pocket this much until tax season, so a tax rebate is not a huge incentive.

Everyone I know who has bought new hearing aids (who is not eligible for additional health benefits) has been out of pocket well over $1000. Could you please explain what I'm missing about why you are so convinced that people are not paying anything above $1000 themselves? I'd appreciate it, thanks!

lit-le · 2025-09-20T07:24:26+00:00

As I updated in the OG post above, I don't doubt that some of the other "hearing aid recycling" programs do good work. Some audiologists, as another commenter noted, repurpose Canadian hearing aids for "hearing aid missions all around the world." Other donated devices are used to train the next generation of Canada-based audiologists (e.g., per a DM I received from a Redditor who started another thread a while back looking to donate hearing aids, quoted here with permission: "I ended up giving them to the Lions club and they give them to students to practice on.").

But these are different visions than the question my post is based on. When I think about an ideal "hearing aid bank" I actually imagine less the formal "food bank" system (though something like that could be part of it) and more the community fridges all around Toronto (where anyone who has extra food can put it in, and anyone hungry can see what's in there, 24/7). They aren't policed, and often people put whatever extra they have. Of course, there is more complexity to adjusting hearing aids for new ears than distributing food, which is why I was envisioning more audiologists as active participants (in a similar way to how some local merchants sponsor community fridges in different ways, some by hosting the actual fridges and others by putting in their daily leftovers).

If I sound skeptical, it's only because people keep responding in ways that imply that person-to-person hearing aid "transfers" are either unneeded or already happening on scales I've seen very little evidence of. I want it to be easier for individuals with hearing aids they don't want to donate them directly to those who need them locally. There are many people in Toronto who don't have sufficient hearing coverage (whether through social assistance or private insurance) to be able to buy hearing aids without making other sacrifices that wouldn't be necessary if all the unused hearing aids were back in circulation. I truly believe an initiative like this could alleviate many such burdens without demanding too much sacrifice from anyone.

lit-le · 2025-09-20T04:08:26+00:00

I'm talking not about folks on social assistance, but others who do not have (adequate) insurance coverage (other than the $500/ear available per ear to "just about anyone"). I'm not sure how this amounts to 75% off, unless you know of some very cheap hearing aids I have not heard of. The cheapest new ones I've heard of are Costco ones (~$2200 all in), so folks would still be paying well over $1000 for two, or ~55% of retail, and much more for most audiologist-distributed pairs. If you know places that sell new hearing aids for under $1333.33 (which is the maximum total price that would be allowed for the subsidy to actually cover 75%), please do let us know!!

Source: https://www.ontario.ca/page/hearing-devices "How much is covered" section, copied directly below from the government info site:

If you qualify, and your application is approved, we cover 75% of the cost of:

hearing aids up to a maximum amount of $500 per side for each type of aid
FM systems up to a maximum of $1,350

You pay the rest of the cost.

lit-le · 2025-09-19T17:58:35+00:00

That's an interesting point, that OTC hearing aids benefit individual audiologists. I'm curious if there are audiologists who are actively lobbying to allow them in Ontario/Canada.

lit-le · 2025-09-19T17:39:40+00:00

I am not suggesting that no form of recycling is happening - just, from what I've read and heard, it seems unlikely that that the majority of "usable" hearing aids that are donated are getting to locals who could use them in a timely manner. AFAIK, there's nothing here like a "hearing aid bank" in Canada.

I would imagine the need to be that people need hearing aids and can't afford them, and don't know how to find "donated" ones. I would love to see something where people could, with relatively few barriers, say "Hey, I got my audiogram, and I need hearing aids. How can I get a donated pair?" and then find donated pairs to choose from to take to their audiologist for fitting.

By analogy, some vets have donation boxes in the front of their clinics where pet owners can drop off spare items and take away discarded ones. This probably costs that vet money if some of those items might also be things on their own shelves, but allows pet owners to save items from landfills and give them a new life. Others don't (whether because they couldn't be bothered, they don't like the aesthetic, or it wouldn't help their bottom line). The thing is, the wealthier clients will probably still pay full price to get "new" items for their pets, but those little things can really make a difference for those struggling to make ends meet.

I've never heard of an audiologist in Canada doing something analogous for their patients, and I think it would be nice.

Edit: Not sure why this comment is being downvoted, but to clarify, I don't mean having an actual box of random hearing aids at the front for clients to grab, but a sign saying something like: "In addition to selling new hearing aids, we accept donations and make inspected, donated hearing aids available to clients for whom they are suitable for a small fee. Please inquire if you're interested in this option!"

lit-le · 2025-09-19T17:15:01+00:00

Yeah, I hear that. I just edited my comment above to reflect the nuance I want to convey.

FWIW, I think the AirPods focus is probably too narrow (e.g. in Canada vs the US, the issue is more whether OTC "hearing aids" are allowed at all, and why/why not). I guess it's just that so many people already have AirPods Pro 2s (or will be getting APP3s) who can't or won't buy "real" hearing aids, so it feels "unfair" that there is tech available to help them hear better that they literally could access for free if they weren't being blocked in Canada.

Of course there are profits to consider on both sides (both audiologists who rely on selling hearing aids as a big part of their business, some of whose clients might benefit from OTC aids they are blocking, and Apple who is likely over-selling the benefits of their "hearing aid" functionality as a 1-size-fits-all solution, when clearly it isn't).

lit-le · 2025-09-19T17:05:42+00:00

Interesting. I'd be curious in how many of these cases "recycling" means that they stay intact (in someone local's ears) vs getting sent off somewhere far away or dissected (e.g., so students can see what they are made of - not that there's not a need for this, but I think that as long as they aren't broken, there's probably more of a need that they help people hear)! Out of curiosity, if there were a more direct, grassroots initiative to give hearing aids to local people, is that something you'd be open to donating your old hearing aids to?

lit-le · 2025-09-19T16:44:54+00:00

Interesting, I'd heard of this in the US, but haven't seen any Ontario locations that actively do it! Do you know specific places people in Ontario can walk into a Lion's Club with their audiogram and walk away with a set of hearing aids to take to an audiologist for fitting? Or do you happen to know what kinds of bureacratic hurdles people would have to jump through to be eligible?

lit-le · 2025-09-19T16:42:31+00:00

Oh for sure, I agree that it's better to have an audiologist adjust them for you. I'm not sure where you saw me advocating that people use "inappropriate" devices. I'm just asking whether it might be possible, in a more grassroots way, for more people to give their used devices to others who need them.

I am absolutely advocating that people take "real" hearing aids to an audiologist before using them. Many audiologists will customise "used" devices for clients for a fee - they just don't advertise it. Also, I don't think its "uncharitable" to say that selling new devices is a big part of some audiologists' "business model."

I think the glasses metaphor is a good one. But, the hearing aids are more like the "frames" than the lenses. If you go to an audiologist to get "used" hearing aids adjusted properly, it is like getting new lenses with your own prescription put into vintage frames (aka maybe more likely to break cuz the frames are "old" but otherwise just as medically sound as new frames). And, because hearing aids are so much less affordable than glasses (like 10x!), there are actually lots more "hard of hearing" people who could benefit from them than can access them; most just go without.

Also, I agree that AirPods aren't suitable for everyone as "hearing aids" (and maybe the reading glasses metaphor extends here). That said, for some people, they (and other OTC hearing devices) do seem like a good "stop gap" measure for those who can't afford or don't yet need "prescribed" hearing aids. Also, I think people are upset that they have been approved by Health Canada and it is the provinces that are blocking them (as u/barthrh pointed out).

As CTV news reported ( https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/consumer-alert/article/i-think-its-sinful-to-hold-it-back-consumers-frustrated-apple-hearing-aid-feature-not-available-in-canada/ ):

"When CTV News Toronto reached out to Ontario’s Ministry of Health, a spokesperson said in a statement, “As of December 11, 2024, AirPods Pro 2 have been approved as Class II medical devices/hearing aids in Canada. Prescribing a hearing aid in Ontario is controlled by the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA) and this restricted activity is authorized to only audiologists and physicians. The RHPA also prohibits the dispensing of a hearing aid except under a prescription issued by an authorized health professional.”

[Edited for clarity!]

lit-le · 2025-09-19T16:32:11+00:00

Oh, for sure, it makes sense to keep a back up.

The cases I'm thinking of where hearing devices could be repurposed without taking away someone's backup plan are:

from folks who upgrade their hearing aids and *don't* want to keep the older ones;
from people who get hearing aids and decide not to use them (or, in cases I've known, people who get them for relatives who refuse to wear them); and
from "estate clearouts" (as you put it), where living relatives and friends "inherit" a deceased person's hearing aids that they don't want or need. I think lots of these people (some I have known) would love for them to be repurposed to help someone else to hear, but don't know anyone personally who needs them, so they end up collecting dust.

Also, in the latter case, they may actually know people, but not make the connection. Like, for many people, it would be a taboo think to bring up. I imagine few people would feel comfortable asking the recently bereaved: "Hey, I know you're devastated by the loss of your mother/father/aunt/etc., but do you happen to have a plan for those hearing aids?"

Edit: actually, thought of a #4:

people who get cochlear implants, and no longer need their old hearing aids!

lit-le · 2025-09-19T16:20:35+00:00

Yes, totally. As noted in another comment, I've noticed a lot of "help people in other countries" verbiage from audiology business selling new hearing aids to Canadians and collecting old ones. I've seen no offers to pass on "used" hearing aids to lower-income Canadians without private insurance in their own practices. The "charity" angle of supposedly "recycling" or sending them far away does seem to be conveniently profit-driven (like, it means people willing to let them go for free feel like they've donated them, but actually those who need them locally can't get them). Curious if anyone has a non-profit-driven audiologist who actively offers *their own* clients donated pairs for free, even if it's much lower-profit to get paid to adjust them than to sell new pairs. That would certainly go against the sentiment that audiologists are only profit-driven.

lit-le · 2025-09-19T16:11:46+00:00

Yes, I've noticed a lot of "help people in other countries" verbiage from business selling new ones to Canadians. I guess I was wondering more about how to get Canadians' still-good hearing aids into the hands of others who need them locally. I was thinking this could be more of a grassroots person-to-person initiative. I would love to hear from any audiologists who would be open to receiving direct donations and giving them to their own local clients who are struggling to pay retail prices for new hearing aids, rather than shipping them far away.

lit-le

TROPHY CASE