Are You Happy With Your Hearing Aids?

L

Lon

Well-known Member
Location
Central California
I have become a ADVOCATE for the HEARING IMPAIRED and can offer ideas and suggestions that you will never receive from your Audiologist whose main interest is marketing different brands of Hearing Aids.
 

I may come to you at some point, Lon. It is my husband starting to have some hearing loss. He is being resistant to having his hearing checked. Got advice on encouraging him hearing aids will not be the end of the world?

By the way, how is your implant working out?
 
Marie5656 said:
I may come to you at some point, Lon. It is my husband starting to have some hearing loss. He is being resistant to having his hearing checked. Got advice on encouraging him hearing aids will not be the end of the world?

By the way, how is your implant working out?
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It's working and giving me back a part of my lif​
 

I got my second pair of hearing aids last year. The brand is Oticon. I couldn't afford the top of the line and bought second best and found these work well. The first time I got them I had batteries for life, loss of one would be replaced,free screening and cleaning once a year. This time the warranty was cut in half, batteries for one year only, and they haven't called for my annual testing. I really liked the audiologist but she is also a very good sales person which I think is upper most in her mind. I was able to get her to give me batteries for life and she gave me a discount because she could see I was about to walk out. last time I went to pick up batteries a lady was next to tears because her new hearing aids took a type of battery with a life of about 3 days. She wasn't told of this and wanted to go on vacation and wanted a few more batteries to see her through and they wouldn't give them to her.She was only allowed batteries monthly. I will certainly shop around next time and anyone getting hearing aids should do the same. I learned the hard way. They are extremely expensive and Medicare pays nothing for aids.
 
love mine, had them about a year now, can hear my grandchildren when they talk. received my set from the VA and the batteries last about 5 or 6 days.
 
I got my hearing aids free through the VA and I've had them a couple of years and they work great when I wear them which is only in the evening for a couple of hours when watching the world and local news on TV.....I probably should wear them all the time but I don't.

I started to notice that the hearing in my right ear has seemed to be not quite as good lately and I figured that it might just be the hearing aid so to save the 50 mile round trip drive to the VA I called a hearing aid place in town last week and they said that they would be happy to test and clean them for me free of charge.....I was the only person in the store and it only took her about ten minutes, after she tested and cleaned them I could hear a little bit better in my right ear but not much.

The gal told me that my hearing has apparently gone downhill in my right ear and that I need to go back to the VA and get a new hearing test and that I'll probably need to either have my current hearing aids recalibrated or get new ones.

Mine are behind the ear type and made by Phonak, being curious I ask her how much they would cost if I had to purchase them on my own and she said $3500.00 !!......I'm very thankful that I qualified for hearing aids through the VA.
 
IKE said:
I got my hearing aids free through the VA and I've had them a couple of years and they work great when I wear them which is only in the evening for a couple of hours when watching the world and local news on TV.....I probably should wear them all the time but I don't.

I started to notice that the hearing in my right ear has seemed to be not quite as good lately and I figured that it might just be the hearing aid so to save the 50 mile round trip drive to the VA I called a hearing aid place in town last week and they said that they would be happy to test and clean them for me free of charge.....I was the only person in the store and it only took her about ten minutes, after she tested and cleaned them I could hear a little bit better in my right ear but not much.

The gal told me that my hearing has apparently gone downhill in my right ear and that I need to go back to the VA and get a new hearing test and that I'll probably need to either have my current hearing aids recalibrated or get new ones.

Mine are behind the ear type and made by Phonak, being curious I ask her how much they would cost if I had to purchase them on my own and she said $3500.00 !!......I'm very thankful that I qualified for hearing aids through the VA.
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I went through the same process as you over a 15 year period with the VA supplying me with different expensive hearing aids as required. Finally my hearing deteriorated to the point of needing my present COCHLEAR IMPLANT in order to hear ANYTHING, also supplied by the VA at a cost of close to $100,000. I have been receiving 70% service connected disability.
 
I too need hearing aids I am told mainly because I cannot hear high female voices.
I know nothing about them. Costco sells them for less, though I am not a member.
Does anyone have hearing aids from them? Are you happy with Costco aids?
Are they lower quality?
 
The hearing aids will only be as good as the person fitting them. You will find high pressure sales people only in it for the money. You will also find people who believe if you take care of people and care for their needs the money willl come.
The first don't stay in the business long, the latter usually have a long career based on referrals and repeat business.
Find someone with good references. They should educate you and give you all the information and let you make the decision based on your budget, not their wallet.
 
Lon said:
The bigger the hearing aid processor the shorter the battery duration. Some need to be replaced every 48 hours if you wear the aids every day.
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Also, the smaller the hearing aid the smaller the battery and battery life. A tiny completely in the canal aid uses a size 10 battery which lasts 3-4 days. A large super power behind the ear aid can use a 675 which can last a month. Between those are size 312 with 7-10 days or 13 with 10 days to 2 weeks.
Some aids have chargers now.
 
My batteries are a 312 and will last 7 to 8 days. I sometimes take them out during the day. I prefer the muffled sound especially doing housework or being by myself in my little get away room. The hubby is a man of few words so that's not a problem. I was told that people should wear them all the time because it teaches your brain to hear sounds you haven't been use to hearing. I don't know if it is true or a ploy to wear out your hearing aids faster so you need to shell out another few thousand to buy new ones. I don't know about Costco. Worth looking into. All aids are brutally expensive.
 
Victor said:
I too need hearing aids I am told mainly because I cannot hear high female voices.
I know nothing about them. Costco sells them for less, though I am not a member.
Does anyone have hearing aids from them? Are you happy with Costco aids?
Are they lower quality?
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Victor-----Please get a referral to a AUDIOLOGIST---ARE YOU A VETERAN?
 
Lon, I didn't know you are an advocate for the hearing impaired. Cool. Well, folks, here is all I know about hearing aids. I love mine; I really do. And they were affordable, to my way of thinking. (No I don't sell these contraptions, nor anything else. :)) They cost less than the ones at Costco. A couple of years ago, anyway. Now, just because I like them doesn't mean they are for you, but I do recommend them, for whatever that is worth.


MDHearing Aid LUX is the ones I got. You CAN choose to waive having a doctor's recommendation although they do NOT want you to do that. (I was confident about my hearing problem and also have had my ears checked and tested through the years, so knew what I am dealing with. Also, I used to work in an "hearing-related" field.) When I researched hearing aids, this brand was barely mentioned, for whatever reason.

They were $1000 for the pair. Now this is what we hope for: hearing aids you enjoy so much you regret taking them off at the end of the day! They are small, so I'm not self-conscious. They fit behind the ear, with a piece that rests inside of the ear canal, and they are comfortable. They take batteries and I have a lifetime of batteries promised.

Oh! A couple of years ago, when I did the research, Costco hearing aids were well spoken of and if they are still as good, it sounded like you would do fine with those. But, they were more expensive than the ones I have.

One more thing; I got my MDHearing Aid set completely online.
 
RiverUp, I think those would likely work fine for someone with a mild to moderate sloping sensorineural loss.
One worry I have is someone purchasing those with a moderately severe to severe loss. They may purchase those, they don't work at all and they say " Oh I'm glad I didn't go to an audiologist or hearing specialist and pay all that money because aids don't work." Now they'll not ever benefit from a properly fit pair of hearing aids.
Worse is someone with a medical issue that needs attention and it's missed because they were not seen in person and have an otoscopic inspection.
So, I would definitely see someone first and get a good test before purchasing online especially if you have any of the following:
Drainage from the ears.
Sudden loss in one or both ears.
Acute or chronic dizziness.
Had a test and have a conductive hearing loss.
Asymmetric loss.
Severe tinnitus.
For any of those symptoms see a DR first then a hearing test.
 
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Those of you that use hearing aids: did you go to a specialist or primary doctor
before you purchased them? Or did you go to an audiologist only?
Are primary doctors supposed to know about hearing aids?
 
Victor said:
Those of you that use hearing aids: did you go to a specialist or primary doctor
before you purchased them? Or did you go to an audiologist only?
Are primary doctors supposed to know about hearing aids?
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Unless the Primary Care doctor had a specialty in ENT Ears Nose Throat it's not likely he knows a lot about hearing aids
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
I got my second pair of hearing aids last year. The brand is Oticon. I couldn't afford the top of the line and bought second best and found these work well.
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I got an Oticon in 1998 for $800. I was told the average age would be 5 years, and it is still working pretty good! Of course, things are not made as good as they used to, so don't know how good Oticon is now. I dread finding out how much a replacement will cost.
 
IKE said:
I got my hearing aids free through the VA and I've had them a couple of years and they work great when I wear them which is only in the evening for a couple of hours when watching the world and local news on TV.....I probably should wear them all the time but I don't.
Click to expand...
When watching TV I usually use closed-captioning. My daughter has normal hearing and she told me when she uses closed-captioning sometimes she catches words she didn't hear or understand when hearing the words. Some closed-captioning services are excellent, and some are horrible, they freeze or skip sentences or have garbled wordings.

When hearing suddenly gets worse, it's a good idea to see an ear doctor, sometimes it could be just a wax buildup. I see my ear doctor 3 times a year to keep my one good ear clean of wax buildup.
 
I have actually gone to bed with my aids in they are so comfortable. When I realize what I had done, I took them out. I am on my second pair, first pair were over 5 years old. The VA supplied mine and the make is Resound. Blue tooth included and can be controlled from my I phone.

My wife paid over $2,000 for hers and they are a piece of junk.
 
IKE said:
I got my hearing aids free through the VA and I've had them a couple of years and they work great when I wear them which is only in the evening for a couple of hours when watching the world and local news on TV.....I probably should wear them all the time but I don't.

I started to notice that the hearing in my right ear has seemed to be not quite as good lately and I figured that it might just be the hearing aid so to save the 50 mile round trip drive to the VA I called a hearing aid place in town last week and they said that they would be happy to test and clean them for me free of charge.....I was the only person in the store and it only took her about ten minutes, after she tested and cleaned them I could hear a little bit better in my right ear but not much.

The gal told me that my hearing has apparently gone downhill in my right ear and that I need to go back to the VA and get a new hearing test and that I'll probably need to either have my current hearing aids recalibrated or get new ones.

Mine are behind the ear type and made by Phonak, being curious I ask her how much they would cost if I had to purchase them on my own and she said $3500.00 !!......I'm very thankful that I qualified for hearing aids through the VA.
Click to expand...

I finally got off my rump and just made the call to the VA......I've got a appointment scheduled for Tues. May 8th, hopefully they'll be able figure out what's going on.

Also my constant, in both ears, tinnitus seems to be getting louder but I know that there is no cure for that.....it sure drives me up the wall sometimes.
 

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