Hearing Aid Questions

[fintstone]

Originally Posted by bob deluke

Fint,
I have Phonak Audeo L90-R model. Rechargeable. Custom program options: WhistleBlock on (whatever the hell that means) and long term user. I usually have them on about 10-12 hours a day. Very comfortable and I like the rechargeable feature, no batteries! I think I may have some age related cognitive decline as Crowbob said.

Thanks Bob!

[charlesbahn]

Oticon

Expensive, but life changing.

Charles

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Oticon you say? I have real problems hearing speech in a restaurant.
Did you go to an audiologist to get them or just buy them on line?

They were lovely in a noisy restaurant. I think I heard every word said at our table, and I joked with my friends that I could probably listen into the next table's conversation too if I wanted.

I got them from an audiologist and he did the tests, made a mock up one for me, asked how I liked that. Then fine tuned that a bit more for me. I just got one for my left ear. He said my right ear wasn't too bad, but my bad ear was moderate to severe hearing loss.

I paid a bit more and got the one with the rechargeable battery. Audiologist said when you take it out of your ear, put it in the charger so you know where it is. Won't overcharge or anything.

Ha, funny thing is on day two I was in my room and thought what is the dog eating, and pulled something out of his mouth. Gulp it was my 24 hours old hearing aid. It's completely OK so that was good luck.

[cjh]

Everything people are saying is true.
I have a set of in the ear Oticon that has 3 different programs set up. I use the speech program the most. I don't think you need 5 - 10 programs.
Once you decide to get them, one of the biggest decisions is do you want in the ear or behind the ear. I decided on in the ear and screw what people think. The only problem is when you wear headphones it changes the program every time you chew or yawn. I was amazed at how small the behind the ear hearing aids are, but in my logic that was a problem when out in the woods and I removed my glasses and ripped the hearing air out.
You need to wear them and get use to tuning out noises to find distracting like the ice maker or refridgerator.
State laws vary, but some give you a period to "get use to them or return them for a refund. I found having a person who is good at fitting them is a very good thing in your corner. I also bought an extended 3 year service plan that gives you tune-ups, replacement, repairs, reprograming, etc. After 2 years, I sent them back to have them checked and ended up with a new set.

[Superman]

Bill Douglas' experience is the same as mine, except for the dog thing.

Again, my convenient and rechargeable aids can be pointed in a particular direction. It is as if there are two megaphones attached to my ears and pointing at something. Like the person across the table from me in a noisy restaurant. Today is my anniversary and I am taking my angel to dinner. I will use the hearing aids and it will be as if we are alone in the room.

The aids get tucked into a small plastic case when not in use. The case has a battery. It is the CASE that gets plugged into the wall and charged. Fully charged, the case can keep my aids charged for days, depending on usage. I often put the aids on at the end of the afternoon and take them off at bedtime. So....2-4 hours of use per day. The case needs charging roughly once per week.

[wdfifteen]

I tried my wife's Oticon More2 aids yesterday. They were adjusted for her, so I'm probably not getting the most benefit.
I wore them for 6 hours around the house and watching TV. I'm not a fan so far. The improvement in hearing wasn't dramatic, but I can hear sounds that I couldn't before. The sound of my keyboard keys is much different. They "click" with the hearing aids and "thump" without them, and I discovered that my Apple mouse actually makes a click when you "click" it. My voice sounds different too, it's sharper.
It has an anti- tinnitus sound that is weird. I can't get it to go away, so there is this constant sound like low-volume radio static. It has "MoreSound Booster" that I haven't figured out yet.

[Bill Douglas]

Oticon have an app for your phone. It's called "Oticon ON" and you can do a reprogramming all you like. I've only adjusted the volume, and adjusted it down. Everything was loud enough, I just wanted to hear better not more.

Before I bought mine GF got one and I tried her's. I think my experience with her's was similar to what you had Super. And after a while I took it out. Very clear, but tiring if that's the right term.

[Superman]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

. I tried my wife's Oticon More2 aids yesterday. They were adjusted for her, so I'm probably not getting the most benefit.

Probably. If they were programmed to address your personal hearing loss profile, then they would work better. But.....probably not dramatically better, in your perception.

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

I can hear sounds that I couldn't before. The sound of my keyboard keys is much different. They "click" with the hearing aids and "thump" without them, and I discovered that my Apple mouse actually makes a click when you "click" it. My voice sounds different too, it's sharper.

Okay. I edited out your statement that the difference is not 'dramatic,' and should have left that in. No, the difference is not 'dramatic, except that you yourself report hearing many things you could not hear before. You see.....

Those are the high frequency sounds you are missing. And they are important for things like speech. The clicking sound is one of those. Also, hissing. Like the sound of a cymbal. The sound of a tongue working during speech. Much of speech, and even also a fair bit of music, involves these frequencies. And when you don't hear those things, speech is much harder to understand.

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

I'm not a fan so far.

It's not going to make bass or low mid frequencies better. It is designed to provide only what you are missing. If you wore them more, and if they were programmed for your hearing loss, you would hear better. Here is something you can do, even with someone else's aids: Put them on and listen to music. I think this will be fun for you. I think you will hear some things you have not heard in a long time.

As an aside.......there are frequencies an 8 year-old can hear that we cannot. And unfortunately, we never will. Hearing aids cannot do that. They can only improve frequencies your ear has the mechanical capacity to hear. They tweak the volume of those frequencies.

[wdfifteen]

Thanks Supe. I need to be convinced these aids are going to work before I shell out $5k for a pair. I photographed a wedding yesterday and was going to try them out in a crowd but decided against it; too many other things for me to keep my mind on. We made a date to go out to dinner next week so we could try them in a restaurant. I'm lucky I have hers to experiment with.

Originally Posted by Superman

As an aside.......there are frequencies an 8 year-old can hear that we cannot.

I know. I experienced that first hand. I had one of those (useless) ultrasonic mouse repellent things in my barn. I could not hear it at all. My 12 year old grandson came in with his hands over his ears. "What's that awful screeching sound?" Finally figured out it was the mouse repelers.

[Superman]

Many hifi speakers have tweeters that focus on high frequencies. Very possibly, there is nothing coming from that speaker that you can still hear.

Try the music experiment, WD. For me, there is a great deal of percussion that comes alive with the hearing aids. Put on Rhythm Of The Saints album by Paul Simon. For me, it's kind of a whole new world.

[wdfifteen]

I'll try the music thing tonight. My aids can pick up music and phone calls via bluetooth directly from my iPhone. It's kind of cool to hear the conversation going directly into my ear.

[Superman]

Hm. Mine have that same capability. Hm. I'll try that.

[dennis in se pa]

Start out with MDHearing aids Adjustable volume and megahertz range. $300. They are my backup. My insurance pays for Oticons. They are great.

[wcc]

I'm in this boat now too. I don't want to make this political so I'm just sharing what happened to me personally. A couple years ago I got the J&J vaccine and two weeks after the shot that I lost hearing in my right ear and then had numerous vertigo events, like 2-3 a week. Debilitating events. Related or not idk, but it seems too conincidental for me.

Anyways, I have vertigo under control now so I'm looking at a hearing aid to bring back some hearing in my right ear. I see most are sold in pairs so that kind of sucks. But I've been looking at the Jabra Enhance 100 or 200. Does anyone here have any experience with them? They look highly rated.

[dennis in se pa]

MD Hearing uses separate tubes for each ear. So both aids will work in both ears. I have MD and like them - the Airs.

[wcc]

I'll have to take a look at those..

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

I'll try the music thing tonight. My aids can pick up music and phone calls via bluetooth directly from my iPhone. It's kind of cool to hear the conversation going directly into my ear.

I use that feature a lot of the time. When I use Waze to get somewhere (and know where Jonny Law is sitting) I-Heart radio when traveling, an unexpected benefit is that I can actually now listen to music in the track cars.
It is truly unbelievable how much hearing that I have lost and a huge difference when I don't have them in.
On another note, I saw this at my local Walgreens.

[Skytrooper]

5k ? I got mine with all the audiology testing and tuning, with a 4 year warranty for $1880. They are very small behind the year type. They are rechargeble too. They are bluetooth also and have a phone app so you can adjust " on the go". I just got back from a huge gala wedding in D.C. They are great ! I have had mine for over a year.

[Rikao4]

as one who knows first hand..
the plastic used in many aids..
is just like that the one used in Nyla chew bones for dogs..
they will smell or hear your misplaced squeal..
before you know it..
VA here re-issues them every 3 years..

Rika

[fintstone]

What does the VA issue?