Educate me on hearing aides
 

Educate me on hearing aides.

Beginning last year the FDA cleared hearing aides to be sold OTC. Sounds like a real money saver, but I know nothing about hearing aides. Do they need to be tuned to match your hearing loss? Are hearing aides only for severe hearing loss, or do they benefit moderate loss as well?

I'm pretty sure I've got some hearing loss. (Probably from too much AC/DC.) One reason, I feel like I'm talking really loud lately. Another reason is I took an online test and it indicates moderate loss.

First off I would check to make sure that you do not have a buildup of wax in the ears. That can contribute to loss of hearing. Ideally a doctor or nurse can remove the wax. Also there are various products sold in drug stores that can help remove wax.

Next you could consider buying hearing aids on line. They start off being quite cheap but are not as effective as the ones sold for instance in Costco where I got my last pair from.

The ones I got from Costco are pretty effective but the technician there fitted me with Phillips hearing aids. They go into the ear but have a flexible retaining plastic wire that wraps around the ear to stop it falling out.

Loss of hearing can contribute towards dementia. Good hearing is important to quality of life.

No regrets getting them.
Cheers, Guy

What?

Hearing aids run the gamut of cheap to stupid expensive . My MIL has hearing loss but is quite a bit older than you . Anyway my wife had her tested by a doctor and hearing aids were prescribed . A local company was called into the assisted living facility to take measurements. Hearing aids were manufactured and fitted/adjusted . Several adjustments have been made since the $4,000 dollar purchase . No limit on how many adjustments can be made . All included in the purchase price .

After every adjustment MIL says they are working great . Then she never wears them :( . They are small , easy to install and recharge . Nothing difficult at all . MIL now refuses to wear them . Not money well spent in her case . But I do believe local expertise is a valid purchase requirement to be able to " tune " for YOUR particular hearing loss . I say start with your physician and go from there .

I feel you would be getting them for both yourself and the ones around you. my mom refuses to wear them, and talking to her is torture. I just watched her and my auntie have two different conversations because both of them are deaf.

1st. get checked by an ear doc. I thought I was losing my hearing but testing showed I am okay. I think I just choose to ignore people :D. oh, I had custom earplugs made at the time and they are sick!!

2nd: consider dark colored units. my youngass friend wears them. from birth. he said it was way better when he bought black ones because people can see them and understand he had difficulty hearing. made sense to me.

that's all I have. I'll be there someday.

Dixie - search is your friend. We've already covered every possible topic on PPOT :)
Find a thread with the most related discussions and go from there.
My input as mentioned on at least one of these threads is go to Costco. No cost hearing test and 6 month no questions asked money back return if you purchase a hearing aid(s).

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/1137805-hearing-aid-questions.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/1133952-do-you-wear-hearing-aid.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/1128718-hearing-aids.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/943807-hearing-aids-tinnitus.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/1106861-hearing-aids.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/1167164-educate-me-hearing-aides.html

This!

I'm also a Costco customer, Getting them changed my life, had no idea how much I was missing and making people around me miserable with asking them to repeat themselves and me talking so loud.

Here ya go!!! https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...ca79f7606c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...66488afe4a.jpg

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

MBAtarga is right, so I will just add my anecdotal perspective. I got mine at Costco. The devices they sell are top notch, at a price far lower than you will find elsewhere. Also, the hearing analysis and fitting is free, as is the excellent ongoing cost-free service you always get at Costco. And when I say 'hearing analysis' I mean your hearing aids are custom programmed to address your personal unique hearing loss profile. Choice of colors. I picked a sort of silver because that is the color of my hair. My hair is longish and people never notice the devices.

My Costco guy recommended the Rexton devices. The app allows you to adjust some things. For example, at a restaurant you can tell the devices to ignore sounds coming from anywhere except right in front of you. You hear your dinner friend very clearly above the din. About $1600, as I recall. I couldn't be happier.

Thank ya kindly. You're 100% right; however, being able to interact in near real-time is the beauty of the forum.
If all we ever did in life is look things up, it would be a boring world

My wife got Oticon hearing aides and hardly ever wore them. With the audiologist visits and hearing aides it cost about $2500. I tried them and I don't think they helped much. They come with a phone app that lets you tune them to your liking. I think that's better than going to an audiologist once in a while and having them adjust them. You can re-tune them depending on your situation.

I'd be willing to pay for a good hearing aide. She would have to be in good shape and cute. If it didn't work out, I'd get a hearing aid. :D

Lol, okay. Autokorrect got me.

I was buying my dad hearing aids online, now we go to Costco and have been very happy with them.

But first have your ears checked for wax. I noticed growing hearing loss a year ago, went into the clinic, they removed a large amount of wax buildup, and my hearing was back to normal. Well, normal-ish. I'm 61 y/o and following conversations in crowded or loud environments is increasingly taxing.

I have been wearing an aid for 50 years. The main thing is getting it adjusted properly. If you get them with bluetooth you can do it yourself with an app on your phone. I tried getting them from the specialist and it was no better than just buying on line and learning to do it myself . +1 for Rexton.

Apple's next gen airpods are going to have some self adjusting hearing aid functions.

^^This^^

I have very high-end hearing aids through an audiologist. They are small and you can barely see them if the choice of colors is correct (hair/skin color). People generally don't notice I have them unless I tell them. Silver/grey ones look great if your hair is greying slightly.

It is the second set for me. I replaced the first set after wearing them daily for 7 years because of slight improvements (rechargeable batteries, relocation of the tiny microphone to focus sound better, AI, etc.), but these are very similar and the same band (Widex). Buying them allowed me to work effectively 5 or 6 more years than I would have been able to do...as I had a great deal of difficulty understanding coworkers and spoke way too loud.

Blue Cross covered the first $2500...and allows me to get some new ones (and pay the difference myself) every 5 years. Of course, they preapprove the purchase based on the Audiologist's testing/diagnosis. I like that they are very customizable by the audiologist.

I really need them to watch TV. I also use the Bluetooth to listen to music from my Iphone. It was great when I rode the train for hours each day. It is also great when driving cross-country as I can play Sirius XM (phone app) and not bother my wife (who does not share my taste in music/news). The new ones have a dongle for my computer that goes in the USB port that allows me to hear audio very well. My speakers did not do the job....and I had great difficulty with videos. They also route my phone calls via blue tooth to my hearing aids. This allows privacy and I find it very hard to use a phone otherwise (without putting it on speaker on high volume).

I can see how some find it difficult to wear these as they are a little annoying at first...and if you don't wear them regularly, the added volume and crispness of sounds can give you a mild headache (like new glasses do for those that wear them). When I first get up, I wait until after my first cup of coffee to put them in as I like the dull sounds in the AM. Sometimes I forget and go somewhere and regret not having them.

Because they use AI to try to deliver the best sound...sometimes they just do not work perfectly.
For example, sometimes in a large, crowded restaurant, I can hear the couple way back in the corner while struggling with the person nearby...of the creaming baby is amplified over my server. Most of the time, they are great.

I bought a Lexie B1 for a friend of mine. Can be tuned with an app. But this was after he was diagnosed, but the prescription ones were too expensive.

I don't think you can do that and I don't think your hearing profile changes with various 'situations.' Hearing loss happens at some frequencies more than others. And so, your specific hearing loss can be expressed as a graph showing what frequencies need boosting and how much. This is what the audiologist does. I suppose one's hearing loss profile probably changes over time, but probably slowly, and I just don't see how you could do the work of an audiologist yourself. My Rexton app allows adjustments, but reprogramming them according to a new hearing loss profile does not seem to be one of the available adjustments.

Am I wrong, Jack? I've got the Rexton aids and the Rexton app. Can I reprogram the frequencies and boost profiles?

And yet, I'd also guess the Costco audiologist can re-test and re-analyze my hearing loss profile, then re-program the devices. For free.


That's the first thing Costco did. If my canals had wax then they'd have told me to go to a doctor to get them cleared out, but there was no wax. Just nice healthy pink eardrums.

Just don't buy the Hezbollah exploding ones.

I actually use an older style Rexton that Does not use the app. It has 3 dashpots that one uses for tuning. Very old school but it works for me. I just expected the newer style aids would be adjustable in the app. Maybe this video will help.
<iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ahibffyf9Ig" title="How to Self-Program Your Hearing Aids Like a Pro!" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Have to have good tuning or they are worthless. I've used off the shelf units and professional tuned. Guess which ones made it so that I can hear?

Hahahahaha. I'm pleased I had just put my coffee down before I read that.

I just paid the money, saw the specialist, and have enjoyed them ever since.

I got an Oticon one and don't mess about with the app. I just take it off the charger, where it can sit for days, put it in my ear then go out for the evening. I could have done with this technology as a kid onwards - my life would have been different.

I’m glad the spambot brought this thread up from the past. I was going to post a separate thread, asking if anyone just has a hearing aid in one ear. My 24 years in the military has left me with hearing loss in just the right ear. I also have tinnitus in that ear, which sounds like a swarm of locusts at medium volume.

Costco is the go to for virtually everyone I know. I will be going there someday. Soon.

I haven't bought anything yet. I've prioritized getting my cataracts done. (First eye is this Thursday, 5/22.) In the interim I just smile and nod when I can't understand a word being said due to background noise. I remember my mamma used to do this and it drove me nuts. Turns out it's not so bad when you're the one doing it, haha.

It turned out that I had mastoiditis when I started this thread. That infection caused my hearing to really drop off, and cost me a day in the ER. Luckily, it was caught early, averting any surgery and encephalitis.

I know this thread is older and just popped back up, but the Oticon Intent hearing aids are impressive. My dad went from barely being able to understand me, with his old hearing aids in, on the drive to the audiologist's office to being able to hear me whisper on the ride back. WARNING they are not cheap but WOW what a difference. While in the audiologist's office getting them fitted and level adjusted, she asked me to say something to my dad from across the room. I turned my head so he couldn't see my mouth moving and gently said "how do you like the new hearing aids?" He replied that they're pretty nice. No way he'd have heard me with his old ones in. And the biggest thing is, they weren't even tuned to their fullest capability because the audiologist said it would put his brain on overload with the news sounds he could hear.

If you're into gadgets, these play nicely with iPhone and Siri, have an app for adjustments, and feature a double tap to answer a call rather than using the phone. They are impressive.

On this point, the airpod pro2's have hearing aid functionality along with a hearing test you can do at home which then automatically adjusts the airpods to your hearing test. I haven't been impressed so far but if you can keep them in custom transparency they work okay as a hearing aid. I haven't tried them in a crowded place.

Led Zeppelin and the Who 69, ELP and West Bruce and Liang 70, Steve Miller Band 71 among others. Might need hearing aids soon

You are absolutely correct about seeing an audiologist, yes, it costs more, but that includes them testing and readjusting as needed and servicing them. Mine are blue tooth, I can adjust the volume, even direction, on my phone, I can also take phone calls directly to my hearing aids.
Another reallly cool thing is that I can listen to music from my phone, again, directly to my hearing aids, and if I get a phone call,it mutes the music and surrounding sounds.. There is an unbelievable difference in my hearing when I take them out to recharge. Are they expensive, hell yes, but they are worth it.
On the health side, loss of hearing can contribute to having dementia later on, so, unlike me, I know many of you have families and children, and those who have dealt with family members and friends who have dementia know how really hard that is on you, so do you really want to put your family through that??

$6k the first go round at an audiologist five years ago. $1500 at Costco this time with all the same features just mentioned. First time Costco was 2 hours away…now closer. They even replace them if you lose them in the first year. Whenever I go there I drop them off while shopping and they replace the wax protectors and rubber thingies for free. Best feature is the TV device (had that with my old Widex ones too) that broadcasts the audio straight to my aids even with TV muted.

A couple of things. Costco was mentioned. My most recent hearing aid purchase was at Costco. $2000 cdn for a Phillips set which has a plastic tube which wraps around each ear so you don't lose them. I cannot imagine the one that goes directly in the ear without a clip and remains there hopefully. Losing it on the golf course would be a pain.

Yes I told the tech at Costco I was wearing one hearing aid only and she said to wear both. Also make sure you get the wax removed from your ears if you have that problem before getting tested. A doctor did that for me once. That helped.

Cataracts Dixie? You could start a whole new thread for that one. Or do a search.SmileWavy

The Oticon hearing aids my dad had were able to be found with the app similar to the "find my" feature in iPhone.

Did they explain why? One of the things my dad's audiologist did was make sure his hearing was balanced. She said that your hearing being unbalanced is actually hard on your brain. I didn't ask why that is. The answer probably would have gone way over my head. She was also very negative on noise cancelling because, as she said, your brain needs certain sounds.

I think now days they can all be found with the app. The aids that plug directly into you ear (not hang on the back of your ear) have a downside. They block out ranges that you CAN hear. Or so I was told.

Correct the clear tube thingy is like an antenna.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1747978643.jpg

I finally acquiesced. Last week I bought a pair of Lexi Lumen self fitting OTC hearing aids. I was shocked to realize I hadn't heard birds, or the river lapping against its bank, for many years. What really surprised me though is that my stuffy ear sensation is gone. Turns out my brain erroneously assumed I couldn't hear because something was stuck in my ear.

Here's a few other things I discovered about wearing them. I've learned running my fingers through my hair results in hearing aids flying across the room. That long fingernails makes putting them on a pain. And noises emanating from me, like walking in heels, are thunderously loud and hollow.

So far the hearing aids are a net benefit. They didn't exactly fix my hearing, but then again they're called hearing aids, not hearing fixers, for a reason.

Thanks to all for your valuable input.

I could be that patient....

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1756844506.png