I don't suppose that the subject of hearing aids would be considered very interesting and certainly not "exciting" to most folks, even those that wear them.

I have been wearing them since 1998 and let me tell you that I have been around the block with all that a few times. I guess you could say that anytime you loose a body part or function and gain relief by the use of mechanical of chemical devices it is better than nothing but falls far short of the quality of the real thing. Add to that the inconvenience and aggravation of having to acquire/maintain/replenish all this and what you have is something that is better than being blind or deaf or an amputee or edentuless but not wonderful.

Every time I've gotten new hearing aids my threshold has shifted and I find I'm needing more and more "medicine" in my hearing aids. I finally reached a point in the decline of my ability to hear where I had to have the big kind that go behind the ears. I feel like I have car batteries over my ears. I hate it!

I'm not vein about it I have never been nor will I ever be handsome but if I only had SOME HAIR at least they wouldn't be so obvious.

I went in for my check up/tune up yesterday and sure enough I've slipped another couple of notches. But wait............

There have been significant advances in both technology and quality of sound since my current hearing aids were made. My new ones will be less than half the size of the ones I have now and there is no more taking a mold of your ear and having a piece of rubber crammed down inside your head. Now they use a very small very thin very soft rubber "cup" that just lays barely inside your outer ear.

And a REALLY great part is that the sound no longer travels through a large plastic tube it travels through a very thin and discrete wire. This is a major improvement in the quality of the sound you hear, a lot more natural and a lot less mechanical sounding. All in all it is a lot less bulky, cumbersome, and obvious and a lot better quality sound with a lot more features to add to the convenience of wearing hearing aids.

And the exams are quite different now. They are more scientific to meet the needs and capabilities of the ever advancing technology. They even tuned up these old beaters until I get my new ones in. It's all wireless now. They put this "necklace" around my neck and with no wires to or from my hearing aids or computer they tweaked me up as much as these can be tweaked. I thought that was pretty cool.

I admit it. I am very excited about it all. Things are getting better!

I started a thread about hearing aids a few weeks ago and got a lot of good info for my wifes hearing problem so I think your post is great. Will let my fatherinlaw know about it. He has gone through what you have.

Thanks for sharing.

Joe

Consider yourself lucky. I've been wearing hearing aids since I was a kid and I'm 63 now so that's a long time. Started with a body aid, that's a strap that hold the hearing aid on the chest and have a long wire going to the earpiece. It's nothing more than an amp with volume and tone. Rustling paper and rattling metal screams in my ear while I CHS otherwise.

Only a few years ago the hearing aids turned digital and that was a MAJOR improvement. Now I can hear almost as well as a normal hearing person, maybe better than, and the noisy sounds quit being noisy.

It's about time jeez.

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_It was love at first shot_

I am at the point where I could probably use a hearing aid. I can pass a DOT physical without one, but I have to turn the TV up to where it annoys my wife, and I miss a lot of the conversations going on around me (although perhaps that is a good thing).

But HOLY $)(!#, are they expensive! My friends who have them talk about spending six or seven thousand dollars for one, and needing a new one every two or three years. Do they really cost that much, or are these guys just spoiled rich brats? And if they do cost that much, why? Digital technology is amazing, and it is cheap. I don't see why they couldn't build the most wonderful in-the-ear sound amplifier in the world for a few hundred bucks, at most.

Is there something I am missing, or is the hearing aid industry just a bunch of flim-flam?

Here is a collection of articles on the topic: Hearing Aids

It took three years, but the VA finally came through with a pair of hearing aids. Thankfully they were the newer modern kind like you described, and are really a boon to hearing the TV, or telephone. I can even hear my wife now, not so sure that is a great improvement.

Do i need a hearing aid, Yes, do I wear one, No......Went to the Dr about 15 years ago and he said 1/2 the hearing in my right ear was gone, due to years of shooting at the gun range without hearing protection. That's the way us moron's did it way back then. Maybe we didn't know better, or didn't care.....WE KNOW BETTER NOW, DON'T WE....will i get the hearing aid? been married 46 years, you tell me.........

There's an advantage to wearing one, you can turn it off anytime.

Like I did when my boss started singing.

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_It was love at first shot_

These are not your father's hearing aids. My son got a hearing aid that can be programmed like a sound studio. Filters, equalization, compression, limiters.... the whole works. Everybody can't be helped by hearing aids, but if you can be, there is a whole different world out there.

40 years fo listening to large diesel engines has done a number on my hearing. A couple of years ago we finally got some insurance that would cover about half the cost of hearing aids so I went for it. Still cost me three grand.
Small, discrete, eight channel marvels of electronic technology. I hardly ever wear them.
My problem is that while I do have a significant hearing loss, its in a fairly narrow range. Unfortunately its the range the human voice falls in. I can hear high or low sounds just fine. But I can't understand a person speaking to me more than a few feet away.
I went in once a week for almost three months where the tech tweaked, tuned and adjusted these things, but it always ended the same. By the time they got them so I could clearly understand human speech, the background noise would drown the person right out. I found that in noisey environments that I was actually better off without them. A place like a restaurant is a nightmare. With all the other people talking, dishes clattering and such, I can't hear the person across the table from me. And the background noise is uncomfortably LOUD!
These days about the only time I wear them is when I go to the movies. In a nice quiet theater where the only sound is coming from the screen, I can finally catch all the dialog. So that does work for me.
Then again, you have to understand that I'm a somewhat unusual case. YMMV

I wear hearing aids, aircraft noise does a number on hearing. The Va recently fitted me with new hearing aids. I have now received them yet but they are digital with a remote device that can be used as microphone so in noise environments it can be adjusted to pick up the person closest to you. There hearing aids with blue tooth you can link to your cell phone.

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Carpriver.

The NRA has a very good hearing aid program for members. That's how I got mine. The new technology has really helped my 50% hearing loss in one ear.

I have them and wear them most of the time. My Boeing health insurance covered the cost of the first pair 100%(about $5K). I am still using them 6 years later, but when I need new ones I am going to the VA. Since the AHCA(Obama Care) my insurance will only pay $600.00 total toward a pair of aids. I don't think that will buy much today! The VA is a good option for Vets. Regarding watching TV, the best gift my wife ever bought the entire family, is a pair of headphones to listen to TV with. Mine are made by Sennheiser but I am sure there are other good ones. They came from a home TV and Electronics store and I never miss a word, nor do I have to ask, "What did they say?" I hope this helps some one.

I'm like Carpriver, Jet engine noise does a number on your hearing. For many years I didn't know what I wasn't hearing. As it got worse, and the tinnitus got louder I sought out the V A and they fit me with good hearing devices. The next time I got them replaced, about 3 years ago now I couldn't believe the progress.. As I'm getting ready to leave the office after having them fit, I stick my arm down the sleeve of my jacket and I actually heard the "rustling" as I put my arm in. I don't think I had heard that sound for 15 to 20 years. Most anyone with hearing loss can have some form of improvement.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

I have the digital ones with the Bluetooth feature.. Cell phone call goes directly to my ears. Cell phone stays in my pocket.. When I get in my car it automatically hooks up with the radio speakers.

I push a button on a thingy around my neck and talk naturally.. Folks think I'm talking to myself until they figure it out.

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Eccentric old coot

They help when I don't forget to put them in.

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Mighty 90's,Trying 4 a 100!

I also get mine from the VA, Every 3 years you latest and greatest....

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US Army 71-73 USMC 75-78

That's just what I was getting at. They don't just make sound louder, but can minimize the problem and maximize the strengths of your hearing. And yeah, they ain't cheap.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I am for the most part, tone deaf. It seems that I have been in need of hearing aids for about 20 years, but my insurance doesn't cover hearing aids, and I am cheap. Back in January or February, I was reading "The American Rifleman" and discovered an ad in the back for hearing aids from MDHearingAids. The price was affordable, and they offered 0% financing, so I took the plunge. When they came in, I was amazed at the difference. I have had a diesel pickup for about 13 years, and I never realized how noisy it is! It is not a pair of digital, nor programmable, but they work! I can now hear my kids, and I can enjoy my daughter's voice when she sings.

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Judge control not gun control!

I lost my hearing do to Jet Noise. The Sound Of Freedom When I was in the Air Force. I get mine from the VA and every four years they upgrade me to the new technology. I don't upgrade that often, maybe every 8 years but what a difference the new aids make. If I had to pay for them my new ones would run about $5K each.

Without them I live in a very quiet world. Can't hear high voices, the tv or simple sounds like my watch alarm going off. With them I hear very well. When I go to the range I use my hearing aids under my electronic muffs so I can hear range commands. The muffs shut off during firing.

I have lost some frequencies. Now I need to turn the tv up more.

I find myself reading lips.

Talking to someone in the dark is not good.

What did you guys who went with the VA do to get started?

To get started with the VA I contacted a local VA rep. We are fortunate to have a Veterans Home located in my city, and they have a VA rep on the site. I brought in my DD214 and we talked and he initiated the initial contact and I went to a VA Hospital for a hearing testing and determination. I was found partially disabled (had been documented in my discharge back in 1963 that I had a 10% hearing loss from the comparison test when I entered the USAF in 59). This took about 6 months and they then sent me to the VA hospital to be fitted. They recommend I come back every 5 years for updating. In addition to the hearing aids, they furnish the batteries and ear pieces by mail, and they send me a $133 per month disability check. Kind of wish I hadn't waited 40 years before filing for them, no, it wasn't retro.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

My hearing has gone downhill for some time and I was reluctant to try hearing aids because I was afraid I'd get all sound just magnified and it would drive me nuts. I finally gave in and had my hearing tested. I'm amazed at the technology. They can pretty much determine the frequency levels you can't hear and adjust you hearing aids accordingly. I have the small behind the ear type and initially started with a pretty standard setting. After a few visits to the clinic where they are wirelessly connected to a computer, they can fine tune the sound you hear. They also did a check to see exactly how much sound was getting through the ear canal and were able to adjust the output separately for each ear. The results are amazing. The sound I hear is natural and I have no feeling that unnecessary sounds are getting through. The clinic I go to has an outstanding program supplying batteries and other supplies, as well as any adjustments needed, all included. The only downside is the price. Mine were $4500 of which $3000 was covered by my insurance. I understand if your a vet you could actually get them for free through the VA.

I am scheduled for a hearing test which I'm sure will result in the need for a hearing aid. My question for those who wear them is do you wear the hearing aid when you are at an indoor range or remove it? Also , what type of hearing protection do you use? Thanks!

The years of shooting, law enforcement; competition; hunting; military, 8 % left ear, 23 % right ear, 3 different hearing aids and now the newest, the Cochlear Nucleus System. Best of all Medicare paid for all of it.The unit cost $26,000.00, the surgery was $42,000.00 to be implanted in my head, and I just have a outside unit behind my ear and a magnet to put on the side of my head to hear. Most of all I can take it off, and the world is quiet, which is the best thing. The Computer will tell you all about it on their web Site. Think about it, you may qualify

I'm on my third pair of hearing aids, both ears. Fortunately, my SIL is an audiologist so I get the family discount. I remove my hearing aids when I'm outdoors because they tend to amplify wind noise.

When shooting, I wear custom in the ear plugs made, again, by my generous sister-in-law. At the indoor range, whether shooting or teaching pistol classes, I wear both the in-ear plugs and a pair of Pro Ears electronic muffs. I want to protect what hearing I have left. As others have noted, when I started shooting 65 years ago, no one told me about hearing protection.

I was in the National Guard back in 1963, we didn't wear hearing protection and the M1 did a number on my ears. The only problem is I lack 4 days of active duty time to qualify for aids. :-(

Well,I recently forked out over $8,000 for a pair of the latest and greatest. Wish I had my dough back. They help some,but I'm not getting the "bang-for-the-buck" that I was hoping for. Seldom wear them (ain't nobody here but me and my dog). Biggest benefit is that my family has quit buggin' me to get them.
f.t.

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South Carolina-God's country

Any of us that served in the military, worked in machine/automotive shops, or on heavy equipment, hunted, were in law enforcement, some or all of the aforementioned, damaged our hearing. About a year ago, I finally got mine tested. The results were mixed. Not a good description but there are some frequencies I can't hear at all or hear well and some only under differing circumstances. The old doctor was cool. We talked and based on my age and previous profession I didn't need to explain anything to him, he had the causes down to the letter. He even told me I couldn't hear female voices in a noisy environment. His opinion was that yes I could benefit from them but in my situation they might be more of a hassle than what I would put up with for very long and then would quit wearing them at all. I thought the guy had been living in my house without me knowing it. His last sage advice was funny "when you get tired of saying "huh or what" come back and see me". I went home and looked under the bed. Bottom line it's not if but when. I wrote all that to write this: Thanks to all of you for providing a tremendous amount of valuable information to someone on the brink. hardcase60

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You want me to do what?

What is the brand of these devices?

I "shot" my hearing away in the 1970s.
Wife sorta mandated hearing aids a few years ago.
I got the ones that fit behind the ear and have a small tube that runs over the top of ear to a soft tip that in the ear.
They help my hearing quite a bit, but in crowds with lots of noise, they are not some good.
Bad news is they cost about $7000 a pair.

my wife's hearing is poor and she got a pair of hearing aids from a local business...spent $1000's.after going back numerous times for adjustments, finally gave up....complete junk and a waste of money. dont believe there are any quality hearing products today..........

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There's nowt so queer as folk

Mine are top-of-the-line Miracle Ear.
f.t.

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South Carolina-God's country

I have worn hearing aids for over 20 yrs, I can't function very well without them. Currently on Signia Silk Primax. There are excellent hearing aids available today; Signia, Oticon, Rexton, Phonak, etc. See Hearing Aid Forums | Hearing Loss | Hearing Aids for reviews of actual users. Half of the battle is finding an audiologist that you are comfortable working with.

Reviving an old thread.
I have finally admitted that I need hearing aids. The ringing in my ears is getting more bothersome and I can't hear the TV anymore so I haven't been doing much of that. So yesterday after my visit to my GP I went for a complimentary ear exam. I was fit with a pair that were tuned to my needs and I was surprised that the ringing was gone, or at least I didn't notice it.
The guy giving the exam had me walk away from him while he was talking I was surprised that I could hear him up to about 20-25' away, behind me, and that was in a noisy environment. The ones I had on were 32 channels in the $2K range. That's about all I can afford right now. I liked the fact that if I need any tweaking done it could be done on site. I need to hear well for my job. Retirement is probably at best 3 years off. I know with all the shooters here I know there are others in this predicament. Any advice?

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I told you not to use Lifebuoy

Acorn ....where did you get them? Brand name?
This is coming soon for me.

I didn't get them yet Jim. Just a test drive, so to speak. They were Lucid, or Lucent. Not sure which. I was at Sam's Club and figured, what the heck. The guy was real nice and probably spent an hour with me. He said he welcomed something to do. He said most of the time he's like the Maytag man. I was sold but now got to figure how to free up the finances. $2K would buy a real nice model 27-2 and have quite a bit left over.
In the "For What It's Worth Dept.". I just read that Starkey hearing aids has severed ties with the NRA so they can stick them where the sun don't shine.

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I told you not to use Lifebuoy

If I'da known back then what I know now, I'da taken better care of my hearing. But mostly, what I would have done was to have bought stock in EverReady and Duracell! My hearing aids go through batteries like corn goes through a goose! Seems like they always need changing at the most inopportune times. I carry a spare set with me at all times, which is just one more things I have to find room for in my pockets!

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So long ... Ken

lost half my right ear due to bulls eye practice.
lucky for me, i have a spare ear on the other side of my head.
not much i wanna hear anyway.

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susie

I've worn hearing aids for 36 years. If you have a hearing loss you are the last one to realize that fact. Those around you know before you know or at least before you will admit.
My 'awakening" was my 7 year old son saying "forget it dad, you can't hear me anyway."
After I had ask him to repeat something several times.
Hearing aids properly fitted can be a life changer for you and those around you and especially those you love.

Yes I need them.
But my 80 year old FIL needs them more.
And I will not get a pair before he does.

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Some men, you just can't reach

Years of shooting in my teens in the UK. Wife finally put her foot down when I retired from Uncle Sam. Found the Costco system to be the optimum. three years ago, a hair over $3K. Then my Federal Retiree insurance paid me $2.5K and so tomorrow I go back and start again at the same Costco. If I need new ones, again Uncle Sam will pay $2.5K after I pay Costco more than that. Dave_n

I recall reading about some sort of legal change happening around next year or so which is, if I recall corectly, supposed to make quality hearing aids cheaper... Don’t recall the details, though.

I bought a $200+ hearing amplifier — whatever they are called to avoid calling them hearing aids, which is a no no for some reason — a few years ago that could be tuned to one’s hearing with an iPhone app. It sorta worked, but I never really got into it. The company soon went out of business though, and I wound up chucking ‘em.

Thats kind of what happened to me. I was at the dining room table when my daughter walked in and spoke to me and I heard nothing.
I've read that hearing loss increases the risk of dementia due to lack of stimulus(stimuli?) to the brain.

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I told you not to use Lifebuoy

The Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act was signed by the president last summer, and I think it came into effect last week, on New Years Day. I think it is supposed to remove certain governmental restrictions and make hearing aids available at much lower cost.

My friend bought $6,000 aids at the ENT doctors office that were unsatisfactory. I referred her to my friend who has an independent retail outlet. When she walked in, she could not have a normal conversation in a quiet room. He set her up for $3,000 and she can now have normal conversations. Her husband is every bit as excited as she is. She returned the overpriced pair.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Well, you're not supposed to stand in front of other shooters, susieqz! Lucky they only hit your ear...

All silliness aside, I'm following this thread as I have been diagnosed with "sensioneural hearing loss", which I think is tech-speak for "we don't know what the cause is." I've had some HF loss in both ears for some time (I'm 66 now) and it hasn't bothered me all that much, but I developed about 15dB loss in the right ear a year and a half ago, and that is noticeable. Feels like my ear is blocked- like being in a plane, but it won't clear. Have had various tests done, including having neural response time checked (electrodes on head and different signals sent to each ear) but nothing out of the ordinary has been detected.

The high-end aids ($5k) are out of reach but I've heard good things about the Costco (made by Rexton?) ones so will probably check those out this spring- or when the denial finally wears off

Het Guys........

There's nothing like having "plausible deniability" when your wife asks you to do something and you claim you "never heard her"! HA! Its the "perfect way out"! LOL .........

I like the current TV commercial. "I love you Dad". Why can you get a
state of the art TV for 5 or 6 hundred, but a tiny little hearing aid is
3,000, 5,000, anything they can get? Been there and done that for my
wife's hearing.

If you pay 3,000 to 5,000 now a days, I think you are paying about 200
for the aids, a couple of thousand for all that advertising they do to get
you in, and a couple thousand profit.

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In Omnia Paratus

The hearing aid industry sucks ! They keep control of the prices and the tuning.

I have to get past the monopoly prices. Like the eyeglass industry, a few big boys in hearing aids bought the industry and consolidated. I can't let that stop me from hearing.

Everyone is correct about the technology being standard DSP, digital signal processing, tech and nothing really new. However, that technology really works.

I spent 7 months training a local guy with 25 years experience in hearing aids about tuning using the computer. He kept telling me how great it was and he really appreciated all the time I spent. In the end, his price was still $6k. The same model started at $2k and got to $6k by adding channels. It cost almost nothing to do that for them, but they made out like bandits.

The real issue in the end for me was how flexible the aids were. It is possible to tune for multiple environments. However, the computer software that does it is not available to citizens. You must go in to a techie to get them done. You sit and "describe" what you hear. The techie makes the adjustment. You try to decide if it is any different. That is the dumbest and worst process imaginable to tune anything.
Imagine having a multi thousand dollar graphic equalizer at home on your stereo and being told you need someone else to move the sliders. They don't know what you hear !!! You need to move the sliders yourself ! and in real time.

So it sucks, so what? You can't let that stop you from hearing.