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Posted on 07/11/2025 12:37:10 PM PDT by Bernard
I have been looking into buying some assistance for my hearing loss. I got prices from a local Beltone rep and from a Miracle Ear rep, both in the multiple $1,000 range. ($3,995 to $6,500)
And, of course, just looking anything up on the internet results in ads and suggestions for all sorts of alternatives, including "Amplifiers" for less than $1,000. (All of this out of pocket.)
Any suggestions or recommendations from this group?
Thanks
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Or here: to donate by PayPal
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Yep. Available through Amazon today (Prime Day) for $149. I got mine months ago at full price, when I first paired them with my phone it ran a hearing test on each ear. They work well, I can hear frequencies now that were difficult prior to that.
Yes wax buildup can be a problem. I know that from personal experience.
I went with Widex which are designed for musicians.
In truth, I hear the music just fine. It was the voices that were giving me problems.
The air pods by Apple are great but not for playing music due to the delay in travel thru the elements. For voices only, should be great. Also, they have buffers that will dampen the sound if it is too loud, avoiding ear damage. Price is great.
i would never advise anyone to buy a hearing aid OTC without any hearing assessment. Except in cases of the most negligible loss, it’s a sure way to disappointment and waste of money.
Headphones, Detachable Microphone, Type-C Charging for Seniors, Adults, Elderly
Brand: Apantimx
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars (52)
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200+ bought in past month
Prime Day Deal
$79.99 with 20 percent savings -20%
$79.99
Typical price: $99.99 Typical price:
$99.99
I use mine by plugging in my old Iphone wired ear buds when watching TV and I want to hear what’s being said. You need regular hearing aids for other places. Try wired earbuds for your cell phone. They help a lot.
The first on listed above is the one I use but mine doesn’t have name on it and it doesn’t use a C charger. So I might have gotten a great one but it was a mistake. Because mine’s great and the one listed has bad reviews.
Anyhow this is the style and a friend who’s a lawyer useds this style for his elderly clients when ‘the kids’ bring deaf parents or grandparents in - and often it’s the first time in ‘forever’ the older person can hear what’s being said. So this is the right style but probably not the one I have since the charging cord in different.
Got mine through Costco $1499. They are chargeable come with extras parts too. Downside is that you have to get the Costco membership.
Echoing others. Not a detailed reply - I’m retired biomed engineer and biophysicist who worked with a respected MIT hearing expert until his death years ago but my forte is cardio-vascular stuff
When time came for me to counteract helicopter and artillery induced damage, I consulted him, and Consumers Reports. Ended up with a CostCo-sourced Phillips model. Happy with results.
Get a good independent evaluation. Price is NOT correlated with efficacy or satisfaction. Other modes available for profound loss or cochlear isues.
That’s what I have. They can also be directional so they pick up more sounds in the direction you’re looking supposedly for a one on one conversation in a crowd.
I still prefer not to wear them..less noise is good 🤣🤣🤣
The AirPods Pro 2 have a built-in hearing test feature accessible through the "Apple Health" app or "Settings" app.
You can use either an iPhone or an iPad (don't need an additional app or charge): 
My uncle uses them and says they work great.
For a straight-up hearing aid in a compact package, there is also a Prime Day deal on the well-regarded WASOCA aids:
I wish my dad could have had choices like this years ago, when the "most advanced model" was like $500, barely worked, and squealed anytime his hand or another person came near them.
I haven’t seen anything about “amplifiers,” but amplifying sound is making it louder, which is the basic function of hearing aids. I recommend an audiologist over Miracle Ear (not familiar with dealing with Beltone, but they actually make hearing aids so probably always recommend their own). Miracle Ear I think of as being staffed by people who are more like used car salespeople, having poor selection in aids, and being overpriced. If your hearing loss is mild (or maybe moderate), you might do well enough with over-the-counter aids that are less expensive than prescription aids.
I have a few decades in dealing with a progressive hearing loss. Couple other tips: If your audiologist asks which aids you “like,” make sure said audiologist is not going to sneak behind your back and order something else without your permission (had this happen), and if you’re buying aids that are in the multiple $1000s, do take them up on insurance offered or get your own coverage. All kinds of things can happen to the little things. Mine were once tag teamed in the middle of the night by my cat and dog. Cat knocked them on the floor from what I thought was a safe resting place, and dog ate them.
Costco is your best bet. For all the reasons in the other posts. I went there a year ago. 100% pleased. Not to often you can say that about anything these days.
Go to Costco and get Philips brand fr $1,500 - best there is.
Had much more expensive ones before, these are best.
& while before I had PhD audiologists, the staff at Costco is much better, NOT trying to sell me something, and their testing is far more extensive.
Going on 3 years and friends I recommended to go there have been just as satisfied as I have been
Do your homework/research. Costco is best.
I use Oticon, programable and adjustable from a phone app for all sorts of situations. Best thing I ever did!
Costco. Don’t go anywhere else.
L
Just a note if applicable, medical insurance covered the cost of a family member’s hear aids 100%.
I saw an ad for some that claimed they could tune out tinnitus, for like 6 grand...
Tinnitus is irreversible sadly.
I’m just gonna keep shooting guns and play loud music and run loud machinery till I go deaf. I have a book on sign language...;^)
BKMK
I’m really happy with my Oticon hearing aid, via an audiologist in Grapevine, Texas. My insurance covered all but $300. Connects to my iPhone.
They are not cheap in France, but are now well insured for.
In Ontario, Canada [quotes]:
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.
Through the Assistive Devices Program, we cover 75% of the cost, up to a maximum amount of $5,444, for a cochlear implant replacement speech processor.
You pay the rest of the cost. We do not cover the cost of an initial sound processor or initial implant. Also, you must wait a minimum of 3 years from the date of your cochlear implant surgery before applying.
Bone conduction hearing system replacement sound processors
Through the Assistive Devices Program, we help cover the cost of these 3 different types of bone conduction hearing system replacement sound processors:
bone conduction hearing system replacement sound processor with abutment
bone conduction hearing system replacement sound processor only
abutment only
We do not cover an initial sound processor or initial abutment. Also, you must wait a minimum of 5 years from the date of your surgery for the bone conduction hearing system surgery to qualify for the ADP.
How much is covered
If you qualify, and your application is approved, we will cover 75% of the cost for the device you need.
You can get help paying for one of the following up to a maximum amount:
the replacement sound processor only, up to a maximum of $3,000
the replacement sound processor with abutment, up to a maximum of $3,900
the replacement abutment only, up to a maximum of $900
You pay the rest of the cost.
https://www.ontario.ca/page/hearing-devices
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