PaySec + CounselEAR: Zero Processing Fees for Audiology Practice Management
How audiology practices using CounselEAR are eliminating credit card processing fees on hearing device sales and services.
Audiology is a high-value-transaction business. A single pair of premium hearing aids can cost $4,000 to $7,000, and the credit card processing fee on a transaction that size is $100 to $210. Multiply that across every hearing aid fitting, every follow-up service, every earmold purchase, and every diagnostic evaluation your practice performs, and the annual cost of credit card processing becomes one of your largest overhead expenses — often exceeding $15,000 to $50,000 per year depending on practice volume.
CounselEAR provides practice management software specifically designed for audiology — combining patient records, hearing aid management, NOAH integration, and billing into a specialty-focused platform. It handles the unique workflows of audiology practice: audiograms, hearing aid programming records, manufacturer orders, and device tracking. But it cannot solve the processing fee problem on its own.
PaySec eliminates those fees entirely with Network Offset Pricing.
What Is the PaySec + CounselEAR Integration?
PaySec connects with CounselEAR's billing and checkout workflow. When a patient is ready to pay for hearing aids, services, or accessories, the PaySec terminal receives the transaction amount and displays dual pricing: the base price for cash, check, or ACH, and an adjusted price for credit card payment. The patient sees both options, selects how they want to pay, and the payment posts to their account in CounselEAR.
This is Network Offset Pricing (NOP) — a fully legal, card-network-compliant approach to payment processing that works in all 50 states. The practice receives the full billed amount regardless of which payment method the patient selects. Both prices are displayed transparently before the patient decides.
The Real Cost of Processing Fees in Audiology
Because audiology involves high-value transactions, processing fees are disproportionately large:
| Monthly Revenue | Hearing Aids + Services | Annual Fees (2.5%) | With PaySec |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | ~12 devices + services | $15,000 | $0 |
| $100,000 | ~25 devices + services | $30,000 | $0 |
| $175,000 | ~40 devices + services | $52,500 | $0 |
A mid-volume audiology practice fitting 25 devices per month is paying $30,000 per year in processing fees. That is the cost of a part-time audiologist, a comprehensive marketing campaign, or a significant equipment upgrade — sent to the payment processor instead.
How Network Offset Pricing Works for Hearing Device Sales
Here is a typical high-value audiology transaction. A patient is being fitted for premium hearing aids with custom earmolds:
| Item | Cash/Check Price | Card Price |
|---|---|---|
| Premium hearing aids (pair) | $5,500.00 | $5,720.00 |
| Custom earmolds | $250.00 | $260.00 |
| Total | $5,750.00 | $5,980.00 |
Processing fee saved on this single transaction: $143.75
That is one patient, one transaction, nearly $144 in savings. Over a month of hearing aid fittings, the savings are transformative.
Follow-Up Services and Accessories
Audiology practices also process many smaller transactions for follow-up care, batteries, accessories, and maintenance:
| Service | Cash/Check Price | Card Price | Fee Saved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Follow-up adjustment | $75.00 | $78.00 | $1.88 |
| Battery pack (6-month) | $45.00 | $46.80 | $1.13 |
| Assistive listening device | $350.00 | $364.00 | $8.75 |
| Hearing aid repair | $200.00 | $208.00 | $5.00 |
Every transaction, large or small, processes at zero cost to the practice.
Integration Features
NOAH Compatibility: CounselEAR's NOAH integration for audiometric data works alongside PaySec's payment processing. Your clinical workflow stays intact while payment processing is optimized.
Payment Plans: For patients financing hearing devices over multiple payments, each installment processes through PaySec with dual pricing. A six-month payment plan on a $5,500 device pair generates approximately $138 in processing fee savings over the life of the plan.
Patient Portal Payments: Patients with outstanding balances can pay online through a PaySec-hosted payment page with the same dual pricing options, reducing AR while costing the practice nothing.
PCI Level 1 Compliance: PaySec handles all card data through PCI Level 1 certified infrastructure. Your practice never stores sensitive payment information.
No Contracts, No Minimums: No long-term agreements, no minimum processing volumes. PaySec works for solo audiologists and multi-location practices alike.
Who Is This For?
The PaySec + CounselEAR integration is built for audiology practices that recognize processing fees as a significant and unnecessary expense. Because audiology has among the highest average transaction values in healthcare — driven by hearing device sales — the per-transaction savings are substantial. A practice that saves $100-$200 on every hearing aid fitting sees a dramatic impact on annual profitability.
Solo audiologists, group audiology practices, and ENT practices with audiology departments all benefit. If you sell hearing aids and accept credit cards, PaySec saves you money on every sale.
Getting Started
- Contact PaySec for an audiology merchant account — approval typically takes 3-5 business days
- Deploy the NOP terminal in your practice — a countertop device at your consultation checkout area
- Connect to your CounselEAR workflow — PaySec's integration team handles the configuration
- Brief your front desk and audiology staff — a 10-minute walkthrough covers everything
- First hearing aid sale at zero processing cost — most practices are live within two weeks
The setup is straightforward and does not disrupt your clinical workflow or patient scheduling. Your team continues using CounselEAR exactly as they do today, with the only change being dual pricing on the payment terminal.
PaySec + CounselEAR: audiology-specific practice management with zero-fee payment processing on every device sale, every service, every transaction.