Hearing aids. Prescription VS Over the Counter.

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Wdbutcher97

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I've probably needed hearing aids for more than 30 years. I had in the ear hearing aids about 25 years ago before they went digital. The feed back using a phone and other back ground noises made them more annoying than useful, so I quit using them. Now that I've retired, I'm spending more time at home, my Wife says she's really tired of me not hearing her and the TV volume bearing turned up so high, so I starting shopping for hearing aids again.
The number of over the counter hearing aids advertised is mind boggling. I'm using some behind the ear Miracle Ear hearing aids on free 30 day trial right now. I like them except for the $5500 price tag. The part i like best is that they are tuned to my high pitch hearing loss. Does anyone know if there are any over the counter hearing aids that can be tuned for specific hearing loss?
Another thing I really like is the blue tooth cell phone use capabilities. I may look like I'm having a one sided conversation with myself, but I'll be turning 69 years old in May, I really don't care what people think. Thanks for any information that you can send my way!
 
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I have the ones furnished by the VA, (free), but one of my shooting buddies got the ones from Sam's about 6 months ago. He has had behind the ear (expensive) ones from his Dr for several years but hated them and seldom wore them. He tried the Sam's aids and swears by them. He claims much better then the $5000 ones he had before, and he now actually wears them.
 
I am in the same situation, wife is constantly on me about getting a hearing aid. She may someday succeed. But no way am I paying $5500. I would really like to find out what users think about different types of OTC hearing aids. My health insurance will pay up to $1500.
 
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Not new here, just left and then came back. I have worn hearing aids for 20 years or so. Have had doctor prescribed ones, audiologist recommended ones, and Costco ones. Most in the ear. Resound, Phonak, Philips, and now Jabra. The Philips ones were a try at using behind the ear ones. Didn't work for me. The Jabra ones are the best I've had, and significantly less at Costco. I prefer battery ones because I don't have to mess with recharging every day, just once a week battery change. Every Monday morning means they never go down. I think the best thing is to get the first set from a doctor, after that, I'd go to Costco.
 
I bought a pair of $6500 aids that let me hear all the conversations in the restaurant except the one my wife wanted me to hear. The price of batteries was a problem. The aids got packed when we moved and the batteries drained into the aid. Flush and weep.

I bought a pair of Fursom aids from Amazon for less than $100. Yesterday, I suspected the right aid wasn't charging properly. Oh well, that would be one down and 64 new pairs to go before I repeat my earlier expensive mistake.

Avoid battery powered aids! Get aids that are rechargeable.
 
I'm on my second pair of VA-issued Phonak hearing aids. Had a lot of charging issues with the first set until--after I told them twice--the charging unit was replaced. The latest pair work okay after some tuning, but they do exactly what hearing aids do--amplify muffled voices. I also hear everything I don't want to hear: my breathing, my footsteps, the AC relay kicking on, everything. I use them primarily when I'm watching YT videos and don't want to hear the wife's Hallmark Channel.
 
I've worn hearing aids for 15 years from several providers including Costco. There is a reason they are called aids, not correctors. The current state of the art aid is somewhat better than 20 years ago in that the frequency spectrum is easily manipulated by a digital device. We used to be giddy about audiio graphic equalizers for stereo equipment. Today's aids are the same, amplifying the upper frequency ranges where loss is typically most severe. My only advice is to not expect perfection. The corrective action you can attain comes with some aggravation.
 
SMSgt said:
I'm on my second pair of VA-issued Phonak hearing aids. Had a lot of charging issues with the first set until--after I told them twice--the charging unit was replaced. The latest pair work okay after some tuning, but they do exactly what hearing aids do--amplify muffled voices. I also hear everything I don't want to hear: my breathing, my footsteps, the AC relay kicking on, everything. I use them primarily when I'm watching YT videos and don't want to hear the wife's Hallmark Channel.
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I believe a Hallmark Channel cancellation option should be standard on all hearing aids;)
 
I went through this a couple years ago. I took my time and it was still a maze.

I did several "trials" at our local Miracle Ear place. I will never go back and I didn't buy anything. They showed me the lower priced aids saying these would work and put some in my ears and I said these are the lower priced? And of course they were not, these were nearly $10,000. The lady was a nut case and she said the reason they are higher is because of her service - well, both the aids and her service were overpriced by double in my opinion.

I tried Sam's and actually had a test done there, kept the results for others I talked to. The guy was a jerk and I could only try some aids and walk around in the store, not take them home. I did some research on the brand and it did not come up good at that time. Very low quality.

Went to another place in town and she was good, put some in my ears and I like them and the price was less than miracle ear. Still not convinced I moved on keeping this option open.

Went to a dinner meeting of a local guy and it was right at $10,000 but of course he was a certified audiologist which most are not by the way.

I went with an online company called Embrace and supposedly have units made by Phonax. They are my first so I have little to go on besides an audiologist called me and asked a ton of questions and she made the settings. I just do not have a person to go to for cleaning and anything else but haven't really had the need. They were less than $3,000 and three year guarantee, they supply all the supplies which isn't much for me. The downside is I don't have someone local to take them to but haven't needed to as well.

I really do think some of the Jabra's and Costco ones are very good. Look for two microphones and have them show you the app where you can adjust things. My rep asked what I did and I said hunting, church in small rooms and the sanctuary, teaching classes, and basic TV and stuff as I recall. She programed for each setting and rarely do I change mine now. If I am in a room with weird acoustics I just make minor adjustments that revert back to normal when I take them out.

It is a maze, my best advise is to take your time and ask lots of questions and get as many free trials as you can. They are overpriced as a market in my opinion. Especially Miracle Ear!
 
ladder13 said:
My ENT doc sells the expensive ones, he recommends the OTC, says why spend more. :eek:
Costco Jabra, all the cool kids are getting them. ;) $1500 both ears. Some insurance plans pay for them.
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I got Jabra Elite 20 from Costco here (British Columbia) in Jan. 2023 for $2100 Cdn. They sound good BUT I've had to have them replaced twice- most recently just a week ago - for the same fault. My tech there said they'd had a few returns so it may be that Resound/GN Group are having some QC issues. But they do sound good.

I still have my older (6 yrs.) Rextons which use batteries and was glad I had them when the Jabras went wonky although I can "get by" w/o HA's of necessary. They've been really reliable even though I've never got them adjusted tonally quite to my liking but I'll probably have that looked at at my next appointment.

One thing I prefer about the Rextons is that their "listening in noise" program seems to work a little better than the Jabras. The app allows you to tune the directionalty of the HA's:

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whereas the Jabras' program is non-adjustable. But it's not a big deal for me as I'm rarely in a noisy environment.

I suspect there isn't really all that much difference between the various brands, including the really expensive ones. The main differences are probably hype and markup :rolleyes: (Reading the mfrs.' advertising and buzzwords is exhausting. Why haven't they achieved world peace and eliminated poverty?)
 

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ggibson511960 said:
... We used to be giddy about audiio graphic equalizers for stereo equipment. Today's aids are the same, amplifying the upper frequency ranges where loss is typically most severe...
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I wish they'd put practical EQ adjustments on HA's to allow us to do a little fine tuning w/o having to make an appointment. The supplied adjustments are kind of a joke, although obviously designed for non-tech folks. Having worked as a rec. engineer in the past, something a little more sophisticated, like a simplified parametric, would be nice as an optional component.
 
Another Jabra wearer here.
I had Starkey for several years and then the Starkey guy moved his practice to another town. No one would would service the Starkey aids so I started looking. I bought the Jabra from Costco and they are working for me. Check them out.
 
Costco has three models depending on who your phone type is. I went with Phillips as I have an I phone. Mine work well though I still miss high pitched tones. I worked around equipment and loud noises for decades, then shot recreationally too. They are aids not restoration devices.
 
Huskerguy said:
I went through this a couple years ago. I took my time and it was still a maze.

I did several "trials" at our local Miracle Ear place. I will never go back and I didn't buy anything. They showed me the lower priced aids saying these would work and put some in my ears and I said these are the lower priced? And of course they were not, these were nearly $10,000. The lady was a nut case and she said the reason they are higher is because of her service - well, both the aids and her service were overpriced by double in my opinion.

I tried Sam's and actually had a test done there, kept the results for others I talked to. The guy was a jerk and I could only try some aids and walk around in the store, not take them home. I did some research on the brand and it did not come up good at that time. Very low quality.

Went to another place in town and she was good, put some in my ears and I like them and the price was less than miracle ear. Still not convinced I moved on keeping this option open.

Went to a dinner meeting of a local guy and it was right at $10,000 but of course he was a certified audiologist which most are not by the way.

I went with an online company called Embrace and supposedly have units made by Phonax. They are my first so I have little to go on besides an audiologist called me and asked a ton of questions and she made the settings. I just do not have a person to go to for cleaning and anything else but haven't really had the need. They were less than $3,000 and three year guarantee, they supply all the supplies which isn't much for me. The downside is I don't have someone local to take them to but haven't needed to as well.

I really do think some of the Jabra's and Costco ones are very good. Look for two microphones and have them show you the app where you can adjust things. My rep asked what I did and I said hunting, church in small rooms and the sanctuary, teaching classes, and basic TV and stuff as I recall. She programed for each setting and rarely do I change mine now. If I am in a room with weird acoustics I just make minor adjustments that revert back to normal when I take them out.

It is a maze, my best advise is to take your time and ask lots of questions and get as many free trials as you can. They are overpriced as a market in my opinion. Especially Miracle Ear!
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One of the trial Miracle Ear hearing aids stopped working after 2 weeks. I'll be returning them. I had a informative conversation with a tech from the hearing department at Costco yesterday. She answered all of my questions, so I guess that will be my next step. She said they sell 3 brands, Jabra, Philips, and another brand I hadn't heard of. All with 3 year warranties. I just need to get a Costco membership for $65. I never could justify a membership before since the closest Costco is about 60 miles away from me. We'll see what happens. Thank you all for your great information!
 
Huskerguy said:
I went through this a couple years ago. I took my time and it was still a maze. ...

...my best advise is to take your time and ask lots of questions and get as many free trials as you can. They are overpriced as a market in my opinion. Especially Miracle Ear!
Click to expand...
This ^^^ Some investigative journalist needs to go undercover - maybe find a disgruntled audiologist - and find out just how much of a scam HA's are. (Anyone remember Lesley Stahl's CBS 60 Minutes segment about 10 years ago on why eyeglasses are so expensive?) They are sophisticated devices, and providing service isn't free but if Costco can sell reputable, workable units for $1500, you have to question $3,000, and $5k or over must be a ripoff. $10k??? :eek::eek::eek: A lot of vets get HA's on the government's dime, so the high-end boys must be making out like bandits.

That being said, there was a local article about 3 years ago about a young woman (mid-30's) who worked as a live sound mixer and was losing her hearing, but not as a result of her work. She did a lot of research and ended up initially with Phonaks, then switched to Oticon. I bet she was into >$5-6k, but her requirements would be pretty stringent.
 
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