Speaking of hearing aids....

[walkin jack]

My new ones finally came in. All I can say is

WOOOWWWW!

I never imagined technology would ever get us this close to natural hearing. And the technology is awesome in more ways than just better sound. The controls are awesome.

Think Bluetooth.

These hearing aids are set up on my i-Phone. I can control the volume in both ears at the same time or individually. There are settings for tv, restaurants, outdoors and one for "automatic" which will detect the sounds around you and kind of auto adjust.
They are paired with the car and the tv.

I can control everything with the buttons on the hearing aids or on the phone.

Because of the level of my hearing loss I was given the very top of the line. A special feature to help with word recognition which is something I WAS having a lot of trouble with. And they are rechargeable.

Every time a hearing aid thread comes up someone always says that the less expensive ones like from CostCo are just as good. That may be true for some depending upon the severity of hearing loss but for folks in my position that is not true.

I've been wearing hearing aids for about 24 years. this new pair I just got is my 6th or maybe my 7th pair. There aren't many kinds I haven't tried. If your hearing is not badly damaged you may get what you need form the less expensive kind but for people like me they just don't cut it.

If your hearing was damaged by your pace of employment you may be able to get workmens comp. That is what I got. Or if you are a military vet or on active duty you can get them through VA.

I'd like to share my thoughts on deafness with you:
If you are disabled, blind, paralyzed or whatever people will be polite, helpful, patient and respectful. If you can't hear you are stupid and no one wants to put up with you.

NOTHING ISOLATES YOU FROM OTHER PEOPLE LIKE BEING DEAF.

That feeling of isolation is now a thing of the past for me. Bottom line here is get the best hearing aids you can get. Get them through insurance if you can, pay for them if you must but get the best you can. Your quality of life is ever so much better if you can hear the world you live in. I can now hear humming bird when they fly up to the feeders....amazing!

OK. End of lecture...as you were.

 

[ralph7]

I have 2 sets of aids from the same manufacturer (Starkey).
I hear better with the set that costs about 2k less than the other.
Go figger, huh?

 

[Rustyt1953]

Jack, I am glad they worked out well for you.

My grandmother was born deaf and could lip read. She was incredibly witty and funny but, like you inferred, some folks felt uncomfortable around her and avoided her. She was an independent soul with an understanding and loving heart.

She said her greatest hope was to meet her family in the hereafter and hear their voices.

Again, congrats.

 

[walkin jack]

I have 2 sets of aids from the same manufacturer (Starkey).
I hear better with the set that costs about 2k less than the other.
Go figger, huh?

Hearing impairment is a very personal situation. No two people are hearing impaired in exactly the same way. It's hard to have a hearing aid that solves all the problems for everyone.

That's why the more expensive ones cost so much. They have a lot of science and hi tech features and can be more or less custom made for each patient.

 

[Tom S.]

Mine take no batteries, never need adjustments and are compatible with any phone"

 

[Tom Beavert]

Jack,
Please give us the brand.
thanks
Tom B.

 

[walkin jack]

Tom, Mine are Phonak but my daughter just got some by Siemens (SP) And she tells me they have all the bells and whistles too. My last 2 pair have been Phonak and they have served me as well as current technology could manage at that time.

 

[jscheck]

I needed this post! My hearing is getting progressively worse and I'll be needing some sooner rather than later. Thank you!

 

[ACORN]

I have an appointment at Costco's next Thursday for an exam and trial. Hope to get by their private label which are made by the makers of Phonaks.
I hope they help with my tinnitus in my left ear and poor hearing in my right (since birth)
I really miss listening to music on my home stereo.

 

[hsguy]

Not specifically about hearing aids but still interesting. My sister-in-law is a physician and she noticed when she and patients starting wearing masks many of her patients had a hard time understanding her. She realized that many patients with hearing loss also lip read to an extent. She procured some masks with clear plastic over her mouth area and it worked out well.

 

[oldbrownhat]

Mine take no batteries, never need adjustments and are compatible with any phone"

An ear trumpet was good enough for Beethoven...

 

[oldbrownhat]

I have an appointment at Costco's next Thursday for an exam and trial. Hope to get by their private label which are made by the makers of Phonak...
I really miss listening to music on my home stereo.

My Costco/Rexton were made by Sivantos, which I think at that time were an offshoot of Siemens, but I see Sivantos have now partnered with Widex. It's getting increasingly hard to keeo track of the mergers and other corporate shenanigans! If Costco's house brand are now made by Phonak, that's a good sign. They have a good reputation.

Hope you have a good tech at Costco for setting up the Music program- it's a little more complex than for speech. I'm a retired musician and my Costco/Rexton aids are "OK" for music but not great, so when I upgrade in a year or so I'll probably splurge for a model with the improved performance for music listening.

 

[Onomea]

Hears (!) an article from today's NYT that those with an interest in hearing aids may find useful: Will Hearing Aids Ever Be Hip? - The New York Times

 

[oldbrownhat]

Hears (!) an article from today's NYT that those with an interest in hearing aids may find useful: Will Hearing Aids Ever Be Hip? - The New York Times

Good article. My gf's mum (92) needs HAs but won't get them. She lives alone so I don't think she's worried about being "hip." (Probably applies to most of us as well.)

What the OTC units will probably lack is the sophisticated noise-reduction and variable pickup adjustment that the fancy ones have (the latter useful in noisy evironments such as restaurants) but in many cases this is not critical.

...On July 9, President Biden signed an executive order giving the drug agency 120 days to issue guidelines so that those with mild to moderate hearing loss could purchase high-quality hearing assists directly from retailers like Apple, Bose or Samsung that cost several hundred dollars a pair, not several thousand.

Such companies have already proven themselves by creating superior sound quality and are expected to not take long to market top-of-the-line hearing aids that cost no more than a basic cellphone...

 

[Chubbo]

My new ones finally came in. All I can say is

WOOOWWWW!

I never imagined technology would ever get us this close to natural hearing. And the technology is awesome in more ways than just better sound. The controls are awesome.

Think Bluetooth.

These hearing aids are set up on my i-Phone. I can control the volume in both ears at the same time or individually. There are settings for tv, restaurants, outdoors and one for "automatic" which will detect the sounds around you and kind of auto adjust.
They are paired with the car and the tv.

I can control everything with the buttons on the hearing aids or on the phone.

Because of the level of my hearing loss I was given the very top of the line. A special feature to help with word recognition which is something I WAS having a lot of trouble with. And they are rechargeable.

Every time a hearing aid thread comes up someone always says that the less expensive ones like from CostCo are just as good. That may be true for some depending upon the severity of hearing loss but for folks in my position that is not true.

I've been wearing hearing aids for about 24 years. this new pair I just got is my 6th or maybe my 7th pair. There aren't many kinds I haven't tried. If your hearing is not badly damaged you may get what you need form the less expensive kind but for people like me they just don't cut it.

If your hearing was damaged by your pace of employment you may be able to get workmens comp. That is what I got. Or if you are a military vet or on active duty you can get them through VA.

I'd like to share my thoughts on deafness with you:
If you are disabled, blind, paralyzed or whatever people will be polite, helpful, patient and respectful. If you can't hear you are stupid and no one wants to put up with you.

NOTHING ISOLATES YOU FROM OTHER PEOPLE LIKE BEING DEAF.

That feeling of isolation is now a thing of the past for me. Bottom line here is get the best hearing aids you can get. Get them through insurance if you can, pay for them if you must but get the best you can. Your quality of life is ever so much better if you can hear the world you live in. I can now hear humming bird when they fly up to the feeders....amazing!

OK. End of lecture...as you were.

I am truly happy for you, and your success in the use of your hearing aids. My latest pair of hearing aids were bought based on their highly rated technology. They give one, wonderful hearing, when set properly. I didn't question whether I'd be able to operate 'em. I'm nearly 90years of age, and I've found that I can't use them without help. Seldom do I have help on hand, when it's needed, and as a result, I'm in constant turmoil, while using 'em. We old folks need extensive consoling, before purchasing hightec hearing aids.

 

[oldbrownhat]

I am truly happy for you. My latest pair of hearing aids were bought based on their highly rated technology. I didn't question whether I'd be able to operate 'em. I'm nearly 90years of age, and I've found that I can't use them without help, and I'm in a constant turmoil. We old folks need extensive consoling, before purchasing hightec hearing aids.

All that high-tech comes with a price, usually in the form of pages of instructions (in tiny type) that requre an engineering degree to decipher, or so it seems. But there's no question that the sophistication they can pack into the tiny case of a hearing aid can be mighty impressive. Couldn't do that if we were still using vacuum tubes!

 

[ben_g1]

I got a set about 8 months ago from the VA. Starkey AI, rechargeable.
The hearing specialist said the VA only buys top of line from different manufactures. Way more high-tech than what I,m smart enough to use.

Took me about 4-5 months to get used to them, everything sounded tinny. Doc said can take anywhere from couple weeks up to 6 months to get over the tinniness sound.

Like them, but sometimes it's nice NOT to hear everything .

 

[oldbrownhat]

Took me about 4-5 months to get used to them, everything sounded tinny. Doc said can take anywhere from couple weeks up to 6 months to get over the tinniness sound.

Like them, but sometimes it's nice NOT to hear everything .

This doesn't sound right to me. Have you had them adjusted since you got them, or were you just sent home after the first fitting?

It's true that you do have to get used to artificially-assisted hearing- your brain makes adjustments (just as it does when you are losing your hearing and it compensates up to the point it can no longer do so) but I'd think after two or three weeks it should have adjusted.

"Tinniness" suggests that the default setting that the aids were set up with, based on your sudiogram, needs to be modified. When I got mine I found they were WAY too bright and had the tech tone them down. They've been pretty good since, and these are "basic" Costco/Rextons, not pricey Starkeys.

 

[JohnRippert]

I keep remembering my roommate's Grandpa who wore his all the time but quite often left them turned off while he watched TV. His wife would jabber away like he was listening, but......

 

[MORSNO]

I've been wearing my new Phonak Paradise P90-R for about two months now. They are absolutely incredible! The Bluetooth capability is great and the adjustability using my smartphone is super convenient. Mine also have tap control so I can answer and hang up my cell phone without ever taking it out of my pocket, just tap my ear twice and bingo, instant connection. You can get these for free thru the VA if you are a veteran, even if you do not have a service connected hearing disability. The VA covers a lot more than they did years past.