Do you wear hearing aids? I could use your recommendation.

I was where you are about a year ago. I got resound (https://www.resound.com/en-us/) hearing aids. They seem alright, but I have nothing to compare to. Cost me about $2k.

Be sure and shop around, since the requirement for a prescription has gone away prices are way down. A lot of folks get them from Costco, they offer decent quality at a low price. And they do have audiologists. I got my through and audiologist, but showed him the Costco prices and he matched them. We don't have a Costco nearby, the audiologist I bought from was very convenient. It was helpful to have a few follow up visits with him to learn how to use them.

My hearing loss is mostly at the higher frequency end, pretty common. With the hearing aids I can hear a lot of sounds for the first time in years. Women's voices are much easier to understand, and music sounds better. I hear a whole lot more birds than before.
 
Alligatorob said:
I was where you are about a year ago. I got resound (https://www.resound.com/en-us/) hearing aids. They seem alright, but I have nothing to compare to. Cost me about $2k.

Be sure and shop around, since the requirement for a prescription has gone away prices are way down. A lot of folks get them from Costco, they offer decent quality at a low price. And they do have audiologists. I got my through and audiologist, but showed him the Costco prices and he matched them. We don't have a Costco nearby, the audiologist I bought from was very convenient. It was helpful to have a few follow up visits with him to learn how to use them.

My hearing loss is mostly at the higher frequency end, pretty common. With the hearing aids I can hear a lot of sounds for the first time in years. Women's voices are much easier to understand, and music sounds better. I hear a whole lot more birds than before.
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My hearing loss is also high end plus I have tinnitus. I haven't heard birds chirping in 50 years. That would be amazing. Thanks for the reply.
 

My hearing is still very good, but several of my friends have hearing aids, and they are doing well with them. I do know they have gone to certified audiologists, who are adjusting the aids as needed.
Good for you to address the hearing problem and not let it get worse. I hope you are happy with your own results.
 
Phonak Virto Paradise 90 custom fitted to my ear canals. Last all day when charged. Batter life supposed to be 6 years per Optum rep. selling me that model. A little pricey but thru my Medicare advantage plan I got a $600.00 reduction in the cost. Best advice I can give is to see if you can try different brands to see what might work best for you.

I like being able to adjust the volume. Tap the volume control on the right aid & the left adjusts also. They work really good I adjust down for some places that blast music. Like Alligatorob hearing sound like when in my 20's is surprising after slowly losing that ability.
 
Knight said:
Phonak Virto Paradise 90 custom fitted to my ear canals. Last all day when charged. Batter life supposed to be 6 years per Optum rep. selling me that model. A little pricey but thru my Medicare advantage plan I got a $600.00 reduction in the cost. Best advice I can give is to see if you can try different brands to see what might work best for you.

I like being able to adjust the volume. Tap the volume control on the right aid & the left adjusts also. They work really good I adjust down for some places that blast music. Like Alligatorob hearing sound like when in my 20's is surprising after slowly losing that ability.
Click to expand...
Did you go through a third party vendor to purchase them?
 
I started losing my hearing back in the early 2000's like 2005 or 2004. I worked for an international company, and I had to attend many overseas video conferences and telephone conferences. I was having trouble hearing what was being said or worse than that I was misunderstanding what was being said. In time I figured out it was my hearing. I went to a medical doctor who specialized in the ear/ hearing. I wanted to make sure I did not have a problem that was going to make me unable to hear anything or even kill me, like a cancer. After going through some tests, he assured me I had hearing loss that is normal for older people. Some caused by not protecting my ears in areas I should have, and some caused just by getting older. So he told me to try hearing aids. I went to a place selling hearing aids and paid over $5,000 for a pair of Phonak hearing aids. At that time in the USA hearing aids could not be made by anyone other than companies that specialized in making hearing aids. They had a captured market and worked together to keep the price high, very high. They told me any other type of hearing devise would not work on my type of hearing loss.

When I first got the it was really scary to wear them. My hearing had been so bad my brain forgot the sound of many things, so when I heard some sounds, they sounded like something I had never heard before, as I did not recognize the sound. Sometimes, it was really scary! e.g. When I started home in my pickup after putting on my new hearing aids, I immediately heard this loud sound that seemed to be coming from under my car or hood. I thought first I have to buy hearing aids and now my truck is falling apart. I found a place to pull over and got under my truck...everything looked fine, I looked under the hood, same thing all looked good. So I started it up and got back under the truck, sound was gone and nothing wrong, same under the hood. So off I went driving home. Immediately, I heard that same awful sound. I watched my gages and drove on home expecting something to break at any time. But again, nothing happened.

So, when I got home, I called my hearing aid guy and ask him if they are somehow reacting to my car engine making funny noises. He started laughing saying he had heard this before. He said, since I had lost some of my hearing, my brain actually forgets some sounds, normal sounds that you hear all the time. He told me that sound was the wind blowing across the car and if my windows were not closed or tight, it would seem even louder. He said not to worry, your brain will figure it out quickly and then you won't have the problem anymore. He said fans and blowers in furnaces can have the same impact, so just be patient. I was and in time, a week or two, they really worked well. I was again able to function in my job and better than before at home.

This year I decided to get new hearing aids as the older ones were beginning to fail. I had to change the batteries on them daily and they cost like $0.50 each. The new ones I got have rechargeable batteries in them. I paid $600 for the pair, if I recall that right, at Costco. They are Phillips brand and so far, I like them more that the original ones. They help my hearing just as well, but they are rechargeable. I know eventually those too will need new batteries, but in the long run it will be a wash.

Good luck....I highly recommend getting hearing aids, you are missing out on more than you can imagine. You don't know, what you don't know....

If you have more questions, feel free to mail me above on the right side of the forum...
 
I have Phonak digital hearing aids. My preference is for batteries because I am concerned about recharge. I buy the batteries on eBay where they are about $14 for 60.
I also got the TV adapter to hear the TV through my hearing aids.
 
Youngster said:
Did you go through a third party vendor to purchase them?
Click to expand...
For free thru my Medicare Advantage plan I had my hearing tested & the audiologist recommended Phonak. He also recommended I see Optum services office near me.

Optum, Inc. is an American healthcare services provider with business interests encompassing technology and related services, pharmacy care services and various direct healthcare services. It has been a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group since 2011.
 
Timewise 60+ said:
I started losing my hearing back in the early 2000's like 2005 or 2004. I worked for an international company, and I had to attend many overseas video conferences and telephone conferences. I was having trouble hearing what was being said or worse than that I was misunderstanding what was being said. In time I figured out it was my hearing. I went to a medical doctor who specialized in the ear/ hearing. I wanted to make sure I did not have a problem that was going to make me unable to hear anything or even kill me, like a cancer. After going through some tests, he assured me I had hearing loss that is normal for older people. Some caused by not protecting my ears in areas I should have, and some caused just by getting older. So he told me to try hearing aids. I went to a place selling hearing aids and paid over $5,000 for a pair of Phonak hearing aids. At that time in the USA hearing aids could not be made by anyone other than companies that specialized in making hearing aids. They had a captured market and worked together to keep the price high, very high. They told me any other type of hearing devise would not work on my type of hearing loss.

When I first got the it was really scary to wear them. My hearing had been so bad my brain forgot the sound of many things, so when I heard some sounds, they sounded like something I had never heard before, as I did not recognize the sound. Sometimes, it was really scary! e.g. When I started home in my pickup after putting on my new hearing aids, I immediately heard this loud sound that seemed to be coming from under my car or hood. I thought first I have to buy hearing aids and now my truck is falling apart. I found a place to pull over and got under my truck...everything looked fine, I looked under the hood, same thing all looked good. So I started it up and got back under the truck, sound was gone and nothing wrong, same under the hood. So off I went driving home. Immediately, I heard that same awful sound. I watched my gages and drove on home expecting something to break at any time. But again, nothing happened.

So, when I got home, I called my hearing aid guy and ask him if they are somehow reacting to my car engine making funny noises. He started laughing saying he had heard this before. He said, since I had lost some of my hearing, my brain actually forgets some sounds, normal sounds that you hear all the time. He told me that sound was the wind blowing across the car and if my windows were not closed or tight, it would seem even louder. He said not to worry, your brain will figure it out quickly and then you won't have the problem anymore. He said fans and blowers in furnaces can have the same impact, so just be patient. I was and in time, a week or two, they really worked well. I was again able to function in my job and better than before at home.

This year I decided to get new hearing aids as the older ones were beginning to fail. I had to change the batteries on them daily and they cost like $0.50 each. The new ones I got have rechargeable batteries in them. I paid $600 for the pair, if I recall that right, at Costco. They are Phillips brand and so far, I like them more that the original ones. They help my hearing just as well, but they are rechargeable. I know eventually those too will need new batteries, but in the long run it will be a wash.

Good luck....I highly recommend getting hearing aids, you are missing out on more than you can imagine. You don't know, what you don't know....

If you have more questions, feel free to mail me above on the right side of the forum...
Click to expand...
Also loss of hearing can lead to dementia which is what happened to my husband. He refused to wear the hearing aids that the VA gave him! He was stubborn.
 
Knight said:
For free thru my Medicare Advantage plan I had my hearing tested & the audiologist recommended Phonak. He also recommended I see Optum services office near me.

Optum, Inc. is an American healthcare services provider with business interests encompassing technology and related services, pharmacy care services and various direct healthcare services. It has been a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group since 2011.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I'll look at Optum.
 
Youngster said:
I can't put it off any longer. I need to get a pair of hearing aids. If you wear them please let me know the brand you wear and if you would recommend them.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Don't know if you're a veteran or not but if you are and you qualify you can get free hearing aids and battires through the VA which is where I got mine......they retest your hearing every three years and give you new / the latest model.

https://www.hearingaids365.com/product/phonak-audeo-p90-13t/


I now have Phonak model Audeo P90 13T (linked above) which would cost me about $2500.00 per ear if I had to pay for them and I do like them.......I was surprised on how much my hearing had deteriorated when I was given my first pair.
 
I'm not quite ready for hearing aids yet, but like everything else that I know will eventually appear in my life I like to research in advance. At this point I'm kind of leaning towards the Bose Lexie B2. Has anyone here had any experience with OTC hearing aids and did they work for you?
 
IKE said:
Don't know if you're a veteran or not but if you are and you qualify you can get free hearing aids and battires through the VA which is where I got mine......they retest your hearing every three years and give you new / the latest model.

https://www.hearingaids365.com/product/phonak-audeo-p90-13t/


I now have Phonak model Audeo P90 13T (linked above) which would cost me about $2500.00 per ear if I had to pay for them and I do like them.......I was surprised on how much my hearing had deteriorated when I was given my first pair.
Click to expand...
I sent you a PM with a question. I am not having any luck with the VA.
 
Jules said:
I guess I’ll have to break down and get some. I’m not as good as faking my way through conversations anymore.

My neighbour paid C$6K recently. Ouch.
Click to expand...
I also need them but will put off for a while because I am not in situations where I would need them. Please note all you who live in Canada, if you have your hearing checked here then go and buy them in the US because of the cost they will not be able to service them here. Service is part of the cost at least here in BC. I don't know about other provinces. I was looking at $6k that is with the deductable from BCAA , full cost $8K plus. Your right Jules Ouch.
 

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