Posted on 06/16/2016 8:44:46 PM PDT by pfflier
I have reached the point where it is time to get a hearing aid. I assume that many Freepers have been through the experience that I am only entering and I value your experience and advice.
I already have had physiological testing and there is no obstruction or other problem associated with the ear canal, eardrum and other physical structures.
My hearing loss is classic "bi-nodal". I am losing it in two different hearing ranges but primarily in the very high range (soft sounds like "S" and "T" are simply gone) with only moderate mid range loss. There the sounds are just muffled. I find it very difficult to single out a conversation through the background noise.
Researching hearing aids online, I recognize there is a wide range of hardware capability at an equally wide range of prices. Some of the less expensive aids online are available through chain stores like Wal Mart and some are available only through big brand name vendors but at big brand name prices.
This is where I need the help. Is it wise to test the lower end aids to see what I like best then move up? Are the low end ones comparable in any way to the big name ones? Conversely, are the big name ones over priced or over rated?
Such bad news.
So not even hearing aids can help you?
As for drummers, nowadays I see them and their drumsets walled off behind glass or transparent plastic panels. I’m guessing this is to protect the ears of nearby bandmates.
Is the stapes surgery still being done anywhere? My grandfather, a former miner, had the operation in the Sixties. His hearing went from almost none before the operation to painfully acute at times in a crowded room.
I have a pair of ReSound HA’s. they have Bluetooth and a sound generator for the tinnitus, and I can control the programs and volume from my cell phone.
I also have 3 programs in them. 1) All Around, it picks up sound from multiple directions and it also has the tinnitus generator with it. The tinnitus generator makes a white noise that helps muffle the loud ringing. 2) Restaurant, this one dims the noise around you and focuses on the sound coming from directly in front of you, it works really well, I can talk to my wife w/o saying WHAT, or having to lean across the table to hear her. 3) Outdoor, this one has Omni direction sound pick up but I can also cut down on the wind noise by decreasing the sensitivity of the hearing aide.
The batteries last about 7-10 days, depending on how long I wear them. most times I forget that I have them in my ears.
I am hearing things I have not heard in years, I love them. they are small and behind the ear HA’s and are not noticeable unless you are looking for them.
Get a pair, you won’t be sorry.
(P.S. I got mind from the VA, really good folks there too.)
I know because I'm having that same problem. :-)
I have middle ear damage from Meneer’s Disease in one ear. They wanted $1900 for a hearing aid. Wife and I looked at each other and shook our heads. Tech/owner said ‘Cost too much?” “Yes, budget is $1000.” He left, came back, and the hearing aid was miraculously reduce to $1000.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate the price with these independent companies. The profit margin is as bad as pharmaceutical companies.
I may need to check these out while we still have good insurance.
Thanks!
“Over the ear with a tube with an ear mold going in the ear canal, in the ear, and in the canal hearing aids.”
I guess I have the first type. Maybe that’s what we need to ask. Whose happy and what type do they have?
I have a siemens brand.
They tune it specific to your hearing test.
It hangs over the ear, with tiny plastic tube going in the ear.
It has noise cancellation.
It’s comfortable.
I got a black one. People probably think it’s a part of my blue tooth ear bud.
“Is the stapes surgery still being done anywhere?”
What is this? Would like to know more about it.
My wife has some fancy digital ones that are constantly giving her trouble. When they stop working she goes back to her analog ones until they are fixed (again). Don’t be fooled into the most expensive are the best. IMHO (In My Humble Opinion).
I have the Siemens too. I don’t think the audiologist knew what she was doing.
At one time she asked if I was lip reading and to turn my head so I couldn’t. I could hear her fine. It’s only certain frequencies I can’t hear. I think I’ve always been deaf in that range, just got a little worse.
I’m not very good with music. Can’t tell a C from an F. Never could. I enjoy songs, but don’t know if someone is singing off key or not unless it’s really bad.
Also how many allow you to recharge rather than buy batteries which are constantly needing to be changes?
Phone call get to be a pain.
For phone calls, I got the plantronics Voyager edge.
Fits real nice and soft over the hearing aid pipe. Clarity is perfect.
Many people on the phone use the speaker phones, and the speaker phones stink. Way too much noise. I tell them right away that the conversation has to end. They have to use blue tooth or regular phone or we are done talking. There’s no point continuing.
Modern blue tooth 4, with noise cancellation, really good.
So be assertive on the phone, Tell people that the speaker phone mode ain’t cutting it.
I lost about 30% of my hearing in one ear about 10 years ago.
I got by by cheating. Learned to read lips. Kind of fun at large gatherings. Last year I was nearly run over by a truck because I could not hear what direction sounds were coming from. It was time.
I am using the ReSound brand, the type that you can control from an app on a smartphone. They are expensive, but it is worth it. Had to borrow from a buddy and paid him back over a couple of months.
Results have been awesome!!. I am hearing things I haven’t heard in many years. I like to listen to the classic rock stations now because I am now hearing instruments I didn’t know where in the songs and can now understand the words.
The first few weeks are difficult in that your brain is having to adjust to sounds it doesn’t recognize. Over time your brain adjusts and then you can hear like a teenager.
Then you aren’t the only one. Mine come out when we go out to eat, any where the sound is overwhelming or I am forced to go to the Mall. Mall is the worst. A music concrete would force me into my gun range ear plugs.
That OVERWHELMING over head noise is enough to blow an eardrum.
I wear the twin over the ear type with a cone shaped ear piece works better than the regular type, Low end Freq loss due partially to age and an FAILED inner ear perfusion for Meniere’s lost half my hearing. Stark is the brand we use. Hubby’s is same brand, in the ear, better volume control. Jet Engine High Freq hearing loss after 20 yrs career Navy working the Flight Deck back before all the ear protection was used. VA disability provided. His are a higher grade than mine. Needless to say we are having a bit of a sound level adjustment and reorientation of how loud we speak, as we’d gotten use to talking louder. Cost factor was a major issue as they were $3400 for the pair. His would have been over $5K if VA Disability hadn’t taken care of it.
Still can’t hear over running water. Have to have the car radio off, to much sound input, can’t hear external sounds. But you sure do hear the air leakage from the windows, the AC, the turn signal is now to loud. And have to be in the same room or I don’t hear well. Phone use is still speaker phone for clarity. Plus you have to take them off if it’s raining, same as you do glasses as the are external. And carry batteries.
Big draw back is the ear wax build up both in the ear and in the aide. The more adjustable they are the better. The in the ear is preferable to the over the ear as it offers better volume control. Hubby takes his out to mow/trim and uses his phone music ear buds so he can hear the phone ring.
BTW DOGS LOVE TO CHEW THEM UP! Be sure they have a warranty of at least 2 years or more. Most minor adjustments are free if you get them from your ENT.
Did you apply under disability, that is the VA way to go. Regular VA won’t be of help. Contact your local reps that deal with VA issues you can find that info from most VFW’s or AM Legion.
Same here. They told me I made too much money.
Yes, we need to pay Jihadist breeders air fare, welfare payments and free housing in order to slaughter our kids.
A veterans health care , not important. No money for that.
If you don’t mind looking like a teenager listening to music, I suggest you try an iPod touch (the cheapest model) with the free Ear Machine software. This has worked well for my dad for the last two years, better than the sequence of hearing aids that he spent $8,000 on.
For less than $200, you have something that you can compare the more expensive solutions to.
For about $50K, you can get ONE cochlear implant. I think you can get the same thing in India for about $10K.
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