[library user]

Miracle Ear?

[antceecee]

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[HiJinx]

My parents sold hearing aids and really liked the tuneable aids from Starkey Labs...

A co-worker wears BTEs with a small tube that goes into her ear canal from the hearing aid - she has no trouble using the phone or listening to her MP3s. She is prone to migraines, and noises such as you describe that bother you bother her as well - I don’t know if she has noise-cancelling features in her aids but I suspect they’re available.

Question - with the amount of loss you have, is the VA an option? The provided a similar set to my boss at no cost...

[Islander7]

All I can say is good luck! I’ve tried three types of in-ear aids. The latest, from the VA, are digital. They are supposed to be adjusted to the particular frequencies of my loss.

I have a ‘notch’ loss, right in the middle where the human voice falls; 70%. Despite what the technician assured me of, these new ones are no better than the older ones. Any sort of background noise is intolerable; defeats the purpose of the aids.

I also have sensory processing problems. It takes about 1 - 1.5 seconds for the sound to translate into something intelligible. I know your frustration.

Hope you have a better experience and results than me. Several of my friends have had excellent results. I supposed it is related to the type of hearing damage.

Regards

[fieldmarshaldj]

I don’t have hearing loss, but I have chronic labyrinthitis (and tinnitus), so I, too, have the problem with tolerance of sound. The bass subwoofers these idiots install in their cars can cause me instantaneous nausea and disorientation (worse is our illegal neighbors bombarding the house with it on a frequent basis and nothing I can do about it) and if it gets bad enough, I can have an attack that causes head to toe shaking (as if I was just dropped in a bucket of ice water) with a lot of even more unmentionable side-effects. It can pretty much destroy having a normal life (you cannot drive or operate any sort of vehicle) and I’ve had it now for about 12 years. The audiologist was amazed I not only didn’t have any hearing loss, but that my hearing was above average. That’s great, but what do you do about balance problems equivalent to being anywhere from moderately to severely drunk ?

[Diver Dave]

Check your FReepMail.

[Yaelle]

Did you know that there is a hormone that diminishes with age that sometimes gives patients significant hearing return, when it's taken in bio-identical form? Trying to find some info online -- try here: http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james46.htm Follow up with more research on your own. It sounds fascinating. So much of what we call normal aging is really just a loss of a hormone or another, and replacing them bioidentically can help sometimes.

[Lancey Howard]

Eh?

[leprechaun9]

I have a family member who has worn several different manufacturers hearing aids over the last 20 years. It is difficult to make comparisons due to the different causes of the hearing "loss".

An important parameter of hearing is COMPREHENSION level. That is, if a sound is detected, can it be understood? In our case, the COMPREHENSION level is 90% in one ear, but only 10% in the other. Thus having an Aid in each ear was self defeating.

Presently the hearing aids are wireless for the following resons:
1. Due to the low comprehension level in one ear, we decided to focus our efforts on the better ear.
2. The amount of hearing loss (detection level at different frequencies)was similar, but significantly different comprehension levels.
3. The initial pair of hearing aids were a waste of money, although they were a very popular brand.
4. When we decided to concentrate on assisting the better ear, the microphone was placed in the weaker ear and wired through the eye glass frame to the hearing aid in the other ear. This physical separation also eliminated oscillations due to feedback.
5. The eyeglass frame also contained a coil for telephone reception (old rotary phone which we still use). When this coil was "switched" in, it disconnected the microphone and only the coupled sound from the phone was input to the hearing aid.
6. When we switched to contact lenses, a wireless pair of aids were selected. This pair has the microphone with a transmitter in the worse ear and a receiver with the hearing aide in the other.
7. We also looked at the hearing loss, which two different audiologists diagnosed as "irreperable nerve damage". We pursued for about a year, the use of holistic medicine. We felt this was quackery, but a very good friend had achieved significant improvement with this effort. Based on our respect for and knowledge of this friend, we dicided to try it.
8. The holistic approach believes that the hearing nerves are not dead, but something was stopping them from functioning properly. The cause was linked to the lead in the fillings in the teeth. EVERYONE IN THE MEDICAL PROFESSION THAT WE DISCUSSED THIS WITH, TOTALLY REJECTED THE LINKAGE OUT OF HAND. The holistic approach leaches the lead out of the system throught the use of various supplements.
9. The results were mixed. Every friend and family member (after about six months) told my family member of the improvement of the hearing. For example, the repeated use of the word "WHAT" diminished significantly, including with use of the phone. However, the person with the hearing loss never felt the improvement. Due to other problems, the remedy was discontinued and the hearing problem has degenerated to the initial levels.
10. We also have a family member who suffered from severe migraine headaches for a long time. He eventually had all his fillings removed and refilled with a non-metallic material. He has not had a headache since (7 years now).
11. Starkey has been the choice for the past 12 years.

The bottom line is each person has to fully understand the nature of the hearing impairment and realize that there is no "magic" aid that will solve all problems. Good luck!

[joe fonebone]

you will want a CIC (completely in canal) hearing aid. Since you already have the results of your test( very similar to mine, except mine is worse than yours ) go to ebay and look at the aids there...you can get brand new digital cic for under 500 bucks a pair...

[Andyman]

One word: Costco. I’ve been to a number of hearing “professionals” and nobody gave me better service than my local Costco. They have got a number of different devices and styles, and their prices are at least 25% lower than any free-standing store.

[RFTECH]

I have 2 bte made by GN Resound NA, they cost 3700.00 Have had them for almost 2 yrs. Have some of the same problems as you no problem using phones web address is www.gnresound.com Good luck

[envisio]

I feel your fustration. I have similar loss although not as severe.

I have also developed tinitus on top of that.

Mine is cause by accoustic trauma as well.... years and years of impact wrenches and chainsaws and motorcycles and factories....

[BlueMondaySkipper]

You could take this route...

[jdub]

I used to be a miracle ear rep. I see several people suggesting buying aids off the internet. I don’t know what has changed since I left the business, but for many of my patients part of the barrier to affording good hearing aids was the money wasted on cheap ones. How do you think you are going to get a CIC to fit your ear without a mold being taken? When i left the biz 3 years ago the best thing going was an open-fit BTE with remote control. you had several programs to choose from (different sound environments that you have programmed for you), volume control at your fingertips instead of having to stick your fingers in your ears, and since its open fit you don’t get the automatic boost in low frequencies from plugging up the ear canal. I believe audibel has them too. They weren’t for extreme losses, but that was then and who knows what is available now.

[Hot Tabasco]

I'll speak louder if it helps you save money for the hearing aid.........just tell your friends to do the same.

[chesty_puller]

A grenade took out my right ear in ‘71 and my left has been slowly catching up to it. The VA keeps me supplied with Starkey digitals and they are outstanding! I still have trouble hearing children and high female voices, but It beats the near-deafness I have without them.

My dog ate them once but that’s a story for later.

[Revolting cat!]

This is what I use. Highly recommended.

[Revolting cat!]

I've heard of batteries in the nose, but to stick batteries in one's ears?