Hearingaides

[JohnRippert]

I am prone to heavy wax build up. Every three months I will use almost hot water and a ball syringe and repeatedly flush my ear canals until I hear a "crack" and then a noticeable jump in aural volume and see a pencil eraser fall out.


Works every time.

This, for me. Mostly in the left ear. I also add some hydrogen peroxide to the hot water and do it after a hot shower so they are already warmed up.

 

[Pisgah]

Some really hilarious answers here! Mostly, I think, because folks are unaware of what can be had in the market now. It is true that most inexpensive ones are amplifiers, but the new ones do have noise-cancelling, and the permanent batteries, with a charge that lasts a claimed (and real) 26 hours, are recharged in a couple of hours in a little case/recharging unit that is smaller than a pocket watch. I tested my hearing online, went over the results with my regular ENT guy, and bought the OTC units he recommended. YMMV, and everyone's needs are different, but don't cheat yourself and fall for the rap that they are no good for most folks. Exactly the opposite is true.

 

[YeshuaIsa53]

I bought the best they had, with insurance. I needed them for sure, after trying out a couple of cheaper ones. I don't always hear all the sounds, and these have volume that changes both. They also let you know when wax becomes a problem by looking at them, so I change two parts on each one while cleaning them. Sometimes when I am shooting, my left ear starts telling me to stop. Hoping it is not coming through where the temple of my eyeglasses are. Still hoping to find something that will help.

After having an idiot shoot next to my head with a ten gauge, I fell to the floor of my boat. Muzzle blast down the side of my head left me this way.
When I got up, I took in the decoys. Told him the BEST thing for him to do was lower the boat blind and shut up.

 

[lkabug]

Protect your hearing!
I've had hearing aids for 37 years. Currently I'm six weeks into cochlear implant surgery and two weeks in having the external device turned on. It is said to be a game changer in terms of hearing. The jury is still out. It will be 4 to 6 months before I'll know how well the cochlear implant will work. Protect your hearing. If you need aids get them.

 

[biku324]

A few months ago I was trying to remove some wax with a q tip and ended up jamming it into my ear.

The GP tried removing it with a hand held squirt bottle. It didn’t work.

Then I found an audiologist that would remove it prior to the ear exam. I signed up for the hearing test and sails pitch for hearing aids to get the wax out. She had a device that amounted to an electric psquirt bottle which produced a higher pressure pump.

She got the wax out and my hearing improved 100% immediately.

Nevertheless, she tried to sell me hearing aids. For $5000!

I think I’ll look around.

Other than Costco, where would you look for reasonable priced hearing aids?

I'm using Lexie Bose B2 - you can recharge them, and they adjust to what YOU want using an app your phone or manually. $899 from Amazon.

I should have had these decades ago.

 

[SweetMK]

My wife recently purchased a watch that connects to her phone,,
she can answer her phone, simply by using the watch.

Well, there is a girl at the Roanoke VA Best Buy store, that knows everything about phones, and watches,,

While waiting for my wife who was getting help with the watch,,,
I noticed they had several hearing devices that Bluetooth connect to your phone!

Much to my dismay, they were so new to the store, the girl did not have any info on the hearing devices.

My phone is so powerful, I would imagine that some hearing device that connected to the phone might be capable of enhancing my hearing??

 

[Sistema1927]

Veterans, if you have any level of compensable disability, you are now eligible for both hearing aids and glasses from the VA. It used to be that your disability had to relate to your hearing/eyes, but that was changed a few years ago.

I had some hearing aids from Costco, but they weren't that good for my type of loss. Last year I obtained some state of the art Phonak aids from the VA, and i have never been happier. I wear them ~16 hours per day, they hook up to my phone and TV via buetooth, and my tinnitus is non-existent while wearing them.

 

[Inusuit]

My phone is so powerful, I would imagine that some hearing device that connected to the phone might be capable of enhancing my hearing??

My sister-in-law is a Doctor of Audiology so I get the friends and family discount on top-of-the-line devices. On my third set over the last 15 years. Shooting without ear pro, motorcycles, chain saws, etc. Significant hearing loss in the upper registers.

My aids connect to my iphone. I can change modes (several settings such as restaurant, outdoors, social setting, etc.), adjust balance between ears, raise or lower the volume. But the phone itself has nothing to do with enhancing my hearing, it's all the aids.

No argument with those who go with less expensive options. Whatever works for you. But a professional audiologist can conduct an extensive hearing test and then fine tune the aids for the profile of hearing loss. Mine even have different wax protectors for each ear.

If one loses hearing in a certain frequency and doesn't correct for the loss, the brain loses the ability to translate sounds in that range.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Ear Trumpet Horn All Brass Metal Contruction. | eBay

 

[Onomea]

My sister-in-law is a Doctor of Audiology so I get the friends and family discount on top-of-the-line devices...

Inusuit, since she's your sister-in-law, please ask her what sort of profit margins are in the business and let us know.

My guess is that it is like most healthcare in the US, and that the primary purpose of audiology in the US is to make money. I am convinced dentistry and optometry are the same. Despite medical doctors being very well paid — the average is $350K per year — they only consume 8.6% of medical spending: https://wapo.st/3YRWdI5 (So here's to hoping your sister makes a good income!) For the system as a whole — manufacturers, corporate healthcare facility owners, insurers, etc. — the well being of the patient is secondary to making a healthy profit.

I was recently told I have a couple of cavities under two fillings, and that I need these teeth capped. The estimate is well over $3,000. My current Medicare Advantage plan only carries $1000 in annual dental coverage. I have consumed this (and then some) for a deep cleaning of my teeth, something I did annually in Japan for $100 or maybe less. The caps, in Japan, would maybe cost a couple of hundred. Japan has national health insurance, which covers dental as well, and which works very well for medical care in my extensive experience.

(By the way, my Medicare insurance broker tells me that in 2023 at least one Medicare Advantage plan offered $3,500 in dental care, so she thinks in 2024 other plans will try to catch up. I am hoping to put off the $3,000+ in needed dental work until next year if she can find such a plan this fall that covers my my current medical providers.)

While optometry is not covered by national health insurance in Japan, glasses are considerably cheaper. Interestingly, audiology/hearing aids seem to be a similar rip off: I had one buddy, now deceased, who paid about $3,000 for one hearing aid in one ear.

So I am not begrudging your sister-in-law her income, Inusuit, but am curious if she would confirm our consumer beliefs about the profit margin in hearing aids.

The other thought I had re OTC aids is that if you can try them and return them if they don't work well for ya, why not give 'em a shot? My audiologist also told me that they only amplify so are not suited for those with hearing loss in specific frequencies, like most of us with more than very slight hearing loss. But I bet some of the newer ones allow for frequency tuning with a smart phone.

 

[ditrina]

Veterans, if you have any level of compensable disability, you are now eligible for both hearing aids and glasses from the VA. It used to be that your disability had to relate to your hearing/eyes, but that was changed a few years ago.

I had some hearing aids from Costco, but they weren't that good for my type of loss. Last year I obtained some state of the art Phonak aids from the VA, and i have never been happier. I wear them ~16 hours per day, they hook up to my phone and TV via buetooth, and my tinnitus is non-existent while wearing them.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

THIS!!!

 

[H Richard]

I'll second that Phonak from the VA. It is well worth the small hassle with the paperwork. I'm on my third pair in the past 20 years. They recommend replacing every 5 years for the new technology.

 

[Nightowl]

I also have the Phonak, that I buy from the University Department of Communication Disorders. Yes, they are expensive, even through the University. But, they service them free of charge as often as I need. I have only had to pay for the speaker leads when they break. My hearing is mostly normal until 2000 Hz, when it tanks! So, they have to be specifically tuned, not just amplified.

 

[jscheck]

I just had the VA deny my application for hearing aids. Guess I'll have to check into the OTC ones or keep telling my wife to repeat herself.

 

[Inusuit]

Inusuit, since she's your sister-in-law, please ask her what sort of profit margins are in the business and let us know.

My guess is that it is like most healthcare in the US, and that the primary purpose of audiology in the US is to make money. I am convinced dentistry and optometry are the same. Despite medical doctors being very well paid — the average is $350K per year — they only consume 8.6% of medical spending: https://wapo.st/3YRWdI5 (So here's to hoping your sister makes a good income!) For the system as a whole — manufacturers, corporate healthcare facility owners, insurers, etc. — the well being of the patient is secondary to making a healthy profit.

I was recently told I have a couple of cavities under two fillings, and that I need these teeth capped. The estimate is well over $3,000. My current Medicare Advantage plan only carries $1000 in annual dental coverage. I have consumed this (and then some) for a deep cleaning of my teeth, something I did annually in Japan for $100 or maybe less. The caps, in Japan, would maybe cost a couple of hundred. Japan has national health insurance, which covers dental as well, and which works very well for medical care in my extensive experience.

(By the way, my Medicare insurance broker tells me that in 2023 at least one Medicare Advantage plan offered $3,500 in dental care, so she thinks in 2024 other plans will try to catch up. I am hoping to put off the $3,000+ in needed dental work until next year if she can find such a plan this fall that covers my my current medical providers.)

While optometry is not covered by national health insurance in Japan, glasses are considerably cheaper. Interestingly, audiology/hearing aids seem to be a similar rip off: I had one buddy, now deceased, who paid about $3,000 for one hearing aid in one ear.

So I am not begrudging your sister-in-law her income, Inusuit, but am curious if she would confirm our consumer beliefs about the profit margin in hearing aids.

The other thought I had re OTC aids is that if you can try them and return them if they don't work well for ya, why not give 'em a shot? My audiologist also told me that they only amplify so are not suited for those with hearing loss in specific frequencies, like most of us with more than very slight hearing loss. But I bet some of the newer ones allow for frequency tuning with a smart phone.

Would you ask me how much money I make or how many cattle I have? How many guns I own? What do you do to make money and how much? I'm not asking her personal financial questions. It's none of my business and none of yours.

Stop by Costco and ask about their profit margins. Let us know what you find out.

Of course she is in the business to make a profit and support her family. She does not live an extravagant lifestyle. She travels overseas regularly without pay to provide free hearing consultations and basic aids to children and elderly in developing countries, sponsored by the company that makes the devices.

You are making guesses and assumptions based on limited information.

We need universal health care in this country but our elected representatives are unwilling to provide it.

I apologize for coming on strong. Your assumption that my sister-in-law is ripping off patients by overcharging is offensive.

Go buy the cheap ones from Walmart. They will probably fit your needs and you may not be ripped off.

 

[Onomea]

My apologies, Inusuit, for offending you, and not communicating more clearly.

My comments were not intended to ask what your SIL makes, but to get her understanding of the profit margins within the industry as a whole. My assumption is that the income of audiologists, like that of medical doctors, per the article I linked, is a relatively small amount of the overall cost in this area of health care. I did not mean to suggest that your SIL is ripping off her patients, and regret that my comments led you to believe that I did.

Healthcare in the US is a pet peeve of mine. For what it's worth, I have spoken to a number of healthcare professionals — doctors, physicians' assistants, nurses — who have agreed with me that the system in the US is unnecessarily costly. This might be your SIL's view as well.

 

[OLDSTER]

Could you guys please post your comments a little louder. ?? I'm having trouble hearing them.

 

[duane_wade]

I've worn hearing aids for what seems to be forever. I've been using Miracle Ear for around 30 years. Mine are programmable and would be lost without them and don't know how I survived before I got them.

I've got 3 selectable channels that I can choose from depending on what type of environment I'm in. I spent a little over $7k for the pair and the place I work at now covers them under their insurance plan.

I get 3 years free repair or replacement and after that I pay just for the cost of components to fix. I try to buy a new pair every five years.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[Inusuit]

My apologies, Inusuit, for offending you, and not communicating more clearly.

My comments were not intended to ask what your SIL makes, but to get her understanding of the profit margins within the industry as a whole. My assumption is that the income of audiologists, like that of medical doctors, per the article I linked, is a relatively small amount of the overall cost in this area of health care. I did not mean to suggest that your SIL is ripping off her patients, and regret that my comments led you to believe that I did.

Healthcare in the US is a pet peeve of mine. For what it's worth, I have spoken to a number of healthcare professionals — doctors, physicians' assistants, nurses — who have agreed with me that the system in the US is unnecessarily costly. This might be your SIL's view as well.

Thanks for your response and clarification. I am so grateful to my SIL for her help in addressing my hearing issues that I over reacted to your post. You are obviously a gentleman and a better man than I am. That's not sarcasm. No apology is necessary but I appreciate it.

 

[Smoke]

Before I got my hearing aids from the VA I went to an audiologist in town who was giving people free hearing tests.

When he did mine he told me that in general my hearing is not bad but that I had something that he called a "Hearing Notch". What that meant was that across most of the spectrum my hearing was fine but there was a certain range where it dropped off sharply. When I got my hearing test from the VA they essentially said the same thing.

The VA gave me a pair of Phonak hearing aids. I saw something similar at Costco for $3,000.

I've talked about this before but I was very surprised at the technology available. My hearing aids will Bluetooth connect to my phone and my TV. That alone makes them worth the price (that I didnt have to pay anyway) to me. The biggest part of my hearing loss is voices. I used to hate watching TV, I used to hate listening to music, I still hate talking on the phone but the reason was because I could tell the people were talking but I couldn't understand what they were saying and the hearing aids corrected that.

The only thing I don't like them for is going to the gym because apparently if you sweat a lot the sweat gets in with the batteries and makes them drain much faster.

After reading some of these posts I'm actually very surprised that my experience with the VA as far as my hearing aids goes. When they found out I was artillery they essentially told me that the hearing loss disability and hearing aids were automatic.

As other people have mentioned my hearing aids are adjusted to my specific range of hearing loss. They don't just bring up all the sound they bring up that specific range.

I've said this before but when I first got my hearing aids one of the first things I did was sit down and listen to Dark Side of the Moon. My hearing aids gave me better sound than any Bose speaker I ever heard. In theory Dark Side of the Moon is actually supposed to only be two songs. It's supposed to be a continuous track on each side of the album.

When I listen to it on my hearing aids I can hear the beat between each track. The conversations that people are having between the tracks I can hear every word they're saying perfectly. The first time I heard that album through my hearing aids was like the first time I ever heard that album