Hearing aids

[DaveH]

Probably not many, if any, users of hearing aids here... But if there is anyone, I would love to hear experiences, recommendations, pitfalls, etc.

I'm getting really tired of the constant ~4kHZ tone in my ear, and having to respond with "what?" in every conversation. I have an appt. with a ENT and hearing aid specialist Monday, and any insights may help me to ask the right questions.

[DNight]

I just went thru the same thing. If you decide to try hearing aids, make sure they have a decent trial period so you can really see how they work in situations you typically interact in. Don't be afraid to return them and try some other brand if they aren't working out. However, make sure you really give them a fair shake as They do take some time to get used to. Hopefully, the audiologist has several appliances from several manufacturers to try. Make sure you get a signed copy of the results of your hearing test.

The price of the hearing aids kind of blew my hair back for what I needed, 7 to 8 thousand dollars was typical. My insurance did not cover them. Look into tru-hearing which is a company that provides the appliances at a very good price but you have to go thru one of their contracted providers. Some insurances have it as a benefit. I bought a vision policy online that had it as a benefit. Also, if you are a Costco member, check to see if the store has a hearing center. The have some quality equipment at an excellent price. (No vested interest in either company other than being a consumer)

Ultimately for me, hearing aids caused more problems than they solved. The programs aimed at tinnitus didn't work for me and the hearing aids introduced other sounds that drove me nuts. YMMV

Hope that helps.

Dan

[DaveH]

Yes, that helps, thanks. At the very least it will help keep me from getting hopes up for a magic bullet.

She told me that they do have models from several mfg.'s, and entry price is in the $2k+ range. I really don't know what to expect from tomorrow's appt, something tells me I will leave with more questions than I arrived with.

Yours were supposed to cancel out the ringing in your ear... Did it work at all? What sort of issues did they cause?

Thanks.

[Camstone]

It makes no sense to me that these days you can get a smart phone that is a phone/computer/camera/mp3 player..... for next to nothing and yet a hearing aid that is simply a microphone and amplifier with some notch filtering is $2k to $8K.

[crunchee]

Surprises me a little that Marshall and Fender hasn't gotten in on this 'racket' (see what I did? )...of course, just the act of marketing them for musicians might leave them open to even more liability.

[alantig]

It makes no sense to me that these days you can get a smart phone that is a phone/computer/camera/mp3 player..... for next to nothing and yet a hearing aid that is simply a microphone and amplifier with some notch filtering is $2k to $8K.

Phones wouldn't be that cheap if they tried to get insurance companies to pay for them.

[Steve Haynie]

Medical device tax is part of the cost. Product liability insurance is part of it, too. Then there is the part that probably adds the most-- seeing how much money someone can get an insurer to pay for hearing aids.

A friend just got a pair of hearing aids and is learning to adjust to them. He has paid out around $6000.00.

[DNight]

Yes, that helps, thanks. At the very least it will help keep me from getting hopes up for a magic bullet.

She told me that they do have models from several mfg.'s, and entry price is in the $2k+ range. I really don't know what to expect from tomorrow's appt, something tells me I will leave with more questions than I arrived with.

Yours were supposed to cancel out the ringing in your ear... Did it work at all? What sort of issues did they cause?

Thanks.

The tinnitus program on the Oticons really did nothing for me - it just seemed to add to the noise (my ringing sounds like cicadas) and was very fatiguing. Widex has something called zen which is musical notes that I liked but ended up being a distraction for me. The biggest problem I had on all brands was the delay - the digital appliances are very fast but there was still the delay between what my ear picked up and the frequencies amplified. They were able to minimize it but it caused the sound to be very harsh and very garbled in noisy situations. I am outside quite a lot and the wind made them unusable.

Make sure you ask questions and if you end up trying some appliances, make sure to track issues encountered and in what environments (I kept notes) and figure out a descriptive way to convey what you are hearing. The better you can describe the better the audiologist is able to adjust.

I guess my expectations were kind of high based on the price of the things, I really thought they would sound more natural than they did. In the end, my main issue was the tinnitus along with some higher freq hearing loss. Without any relief from the fookin' cicadas in my head, I wasn't willing to deal with the rest of it - especially for the price.

[DaveH]

Thanks man. From what you describe I'm afraid my expectations have been set too high up until this point. I'll see what they have to offer and try to ask the right questions, and go from there.

[DNight]

Good luck - I hope something works for you

Dan

[DaveH]

I was thinking more about your descriptions... Cicadas hadn't even occurred to me as a comparison. Now that you mention it, mine sounds kind of like cicadas with scooped mids.

The latency you speak of will drive me nuts, I'm afraid.

[DNight]

Keep an open mind - since hearing is so subjective and personal, your experience may be totally different than mine.

[tommy p]

Depressing topic, but I really need some hearing aids also. I'm planning on looking into them next year. I hope some others will chime in here with their experiences, good or bad.

[SSII x 2]

Surprises me a little that Marshall and Fender hasn't gotten in on this 'racket' (see what I did? )...of course, just the act of marketing them for musicians might leave them open to even more liability.

Hehe, get 'em coming AND going! Looks like a good business

model to me...

[Hamer Dave]

I'd get model info, and search on line. You may be surprised what you find. Good luck!

[Hamerica]

Hamer Dave,

Good luck with your research, anything the Federal Government and insurance gets their hands on fucks things up and usually reflects an astronomical price.

If you haven't read the tinnitus thread I would suggest you start there.

Also I encourage all HFC'rs to get hearing protection.

Best wishes,

Hamerica

[Rocktuna]

I've had hearing aids for about 8 years now

They still suck, are uncomfortable, don't sound natural and don't even think about rolling down that car window.

The tinnitus is still there none of those white noise crap things work

My wife loves them cause I don't say "what?" All the time

You also reconnect with the world when you can hear what everyone is saying

So in spite of them being a PITA they're great

And you can shut them off when kids are noisy

[Armitage]

WHAT???

( Oh come on, we all knew someone was going to post it! )

[DaveH]

I've had hearing aids for about 8 years now

They still suck, are uncomfortable, don't sound natural and don't even think about rolling down that car window.

The tinnitus is still there none of those white noise crap things work

My wife loves them cause I don't say "what?" All the time

You also reconnect with the world when you can hear what everyone is saying

So in spite of them being a PITA they're great

And you can shut them off when kids are noisy

That helps. I went to a second audiologist this afternoon, and his approach was completely different than the first one. #1 seems to be concentrating on the tinnitus issue more, recommending a BTE with Zen feature (sounds sort of like random wind chimes.) She was against using an inside the canal type HA. #2 was promoting an snide the canal unit, saying that we needed to concentrate on the hearing loss versus the tinnitus. I'm leaning towards the logic of #2, especially with what you and DNight have testified on the diversion tactic. But good Lord these things are expensive.

[Rocktuna]

I don't know where you live but in Pennsylvania there is financial assistance available through the govt. ask your audiologist

[Armitage]

WHAT?

[DaveH]

WHAT?

The reason you can't seem to hear us, is that nobody was talking to you. WHAT!!!

[DNight]

If your hearing loss is significant concentrating on that rather than the tinnitus seems to make sense. One of the audiologist told me that restoring frequencies where your hearing loss is can help with tinnitus as it can be caused (in part) by your brain trying to fill in the blanks of the missing sound.

Yeah the cost of those things are staggering - that's where a good trial period comes in to play so you can return them and try something else if they are not working for you

[Armitage]

A man was telling his neighbor, 'I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it's state of the art. It's perfect.'

'Really,' answered the neighbor. 'What kind is it?'

'Twelve thirty.'