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?
Check out Costco.
I guess you don’t have insurance to cover? I just got new hearing aids this month from the VA. I really like them because of the remote control for the volume. I can adjust them for any situation quickly.
Huh? Speak up!
grandfather was hard of hearing.
grandmother took him for his physical.
doctor said he needed a semen sample a stool ample and a urine sample.
grandfather asks grandmother “What’d he say”?
grandmother: “Doctor says he wants to see your shorts”.
ba-dum-dump.
I found decent hearing aids from here:
https://www.mdhearingaid.com
good luck.
My sympathies on your hearing loss. I got a hearing aid from the VA. It’s a phonak brand. Works good. I could not tell you the price.
In the meantime here’s a joke to lighten the situation. Share it your wife.
*********************************************
A man goes to the doctor and complains that his wife can’t hear him.
“How bad is it?” the doctor asks.
“I have no idea”, says the husband.
“Well, please test her. Stand 20 feet away from her and say something. If she doesn’t hear you, get closer and say the same thing. Keep moving closer and repeating the comment until she does hear you. That way we’ll have an idea of her range of hearing loss.”
So the man goes home and sees his wife in the kitchen chopping up vegetables for dinner.
From 20 feet: “What are we having for dinner?” No answer.
From 10 feet, same thing.
From 5 feet, same thing.
Finally he’s standing right behind her ... “What’s for dinner?”
She turns around, looks at him and says “For the FOURTH time ... BEEF STEW!!!”
Not far behind you ... lately been putting the phone on speaker and turning it around backwards (backside towards my ear)
Looking forward to the info
My wife says I just do not use mine often enough. They make my ears sweat internally, and I have to consciously remember not to shower or swim with them.
FWIW, they do amplify sounds, but for me, it comes with crashing amounts of background clatter. In a noisy restauant, my companions voices are plenty lud and clear, but the background is also often so loud it does me not good.
Wife says it is because I have lost the brain’s ability to filter. I dunno....................
Like you....I had one particular range that had issues. In a pub or large room with people talking....if people were within four feet of me....I barely got 60-percent of the conversation. In a room or car....with no background noise, no problem.
I made three exams. Two with private doctors, and their ‘salesman’ would lead me to a $4,000 or higher hearing aid. One even wanted to demonstrate a $6,000 device. I admit....sound was crisp. But I just couldn’t go with this amount of money (my health insurance would cover up to $1,500).
So, I took advice from a guy who’d gone to Costco. I did the test with them. Their primary model which did everything I needed and offered several ‘channels’ was great. Price? Around $1,900. The exam was free. They did a fair deal with me, and this model works with the limited loss that I have. If you have significant loss....then these higher-end choices are probably the only way to go.
The VA has denied my claim even though my separation physical showed loss in the same ranges. So yes, for now, it’s out of pocket.
If you are a vet you should apply for help. I was approved last week, shooting those quad 50s when I was 16 did me in.
What??
Exactly! :)
I am losing the high end, mainly the speaking range. I use the Kirkland brand from Costco. It was less than 2 grand for both and they are supposed to last for at least 5 years. You can go in anytime for adjustments/tweaks. The newer ones can be controlled via smartphone; I use the small remote.
A relative of mine has both Medicare and Tricare. Neither of ‘em cover hearing aids. If these two don’t, I’m guessing very few medical insurance companies cover hearing aids.
My M.I.L. wasted $6000 on a pair that never worked properly and paid $5000 for another pair. And they aren't covered by her insurance or S.S.
I bought them because the insurance would pay for them, but I rarely use them. She didn’t get the adjustments right. I think it’s hard to get the adjustments right, but I don’t think she knew what she was doing.
If I’m watching a movie on television, I will sometimes try them. Usually I can’t hear any better with them on. I can hear the news just fine. No music playing in the background like they do in the movies.
See if you can get some sort of guarantee that you will be happy with them. I may try again in a few years I can hear most people fine, but can’t hear those with soft voices.
The hearing aids are Siemens.
I never heard of the mold for the ear. My doctor never did that. They don’t fit that well either. My insurance company paid, and they had a list to choose from. These were expensive hearing aids, so it wasn’t cost that limited the list. I’m hoping they add more providers.
Somewhere in my 50's I started noticing the tinnitus (self-generated noise in the inner ears) was louder, constant, never going away. Made it hard to sleep. Also drowned out most soft sounds. And the high frequencies were gone -- cymbals were muffled, horns sounded like they were under a blanket. And I could no longer could hear birds or crickets chirping.
By the time I turned 60 I knew I would have to do something because I could no longer understand words in business meetings, and my daughter's lovely voice was disappearing under the barrage of tinnitus.
I tried the low-end "amplifier" type of hearing aid. Yes it made things louder, but the background noise level was unbearable.
So last year I broke down and got real hearing aids. I have Oticon Alta-2 models, very high-end DSP (digital signal processing) types. They provide variable loudness and treble boost, multiple "programs" and best of all they suppress background noise. I can hear conversations in noisy restaurants.
The bad news: $3000 each ear, thankfully my insurance paid half.
The good news: I cannot adequately explain how completely they have changed my life for the better. It's such a difference in ease of conversation, and confidence that I'm not missing important information.
While I totally understand the concerns about cost, my opinion is that it's worth stretching as far as you can to get really good hearing aids. Cheap ones are a waste of money, IMO.
Good luck and God bless.
Denied your claim for disability or denied you help with hearing aids?
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