Recommendation for hearing aids?

Ronni

Ronni

Well-known Member
Location
Nashville TN
Ron needs new hearing aids. He’s dissatisfied with the ones he’s had for a few years. He currently has Beltone in-ear. They’ve never been a good fit and they squeal. It seems that they don’t do that great a job adjusting his hearing either, because he still doesn’t hear as clearly as he’d like.

Those of you who wear hearing aids, do you like what you have? Do you have wisdom to share, brand recommendations, stories, anecdotal information?

I always prefer personal recommendations and user information than making choices based on promos or marketing.
 

I recently bought a pair of new design Phonak hearing aids. Each one is programmed to compensate for hearing loss in each ear individually. They are Bluetooth enabled and I can talk on my smartphone or listen to TV with them.
 
T
bowmore said:
I recently bought a pair of new design Phonak hearing aids. Each one is programmed to compensate for hearing loss in each ear individually. They are Bluetooth enabled and I can talk on my smartphone or listen to TV with them.
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Thanks for the info @bowmore. Are they in ear? How do you like them so far?
Lewkat said:
I wear one in my left ear. It is a Belltone and invisible to most folks. Have had it for years with no problems.
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he has Belltones now. The fit is terrible. It’s difficult for him to gauge how good the audio quality is because they’re squealing and slipping out of his ears and need new batteries all the damn time!! 😡
 
@Ronni I have a pair of Oticon hearing aids. They are hardly noticeable, work very well and the service is fantastic. They are pricy, I paid a little over $4000.00 for the pair.
This is my second set. The first set lasted just over 4 years.

They spend a great deal of time getting the setting just right for each ear. I didn't get the top of the line because the more expensive ones would work better in noisy situations or in large groups of people and I'm never exposed to that.
I got free batteries for the life of the aids but not sure they still offer that.

When I purchased the second set I had to fight for them. I was about to walk out and the audiologist didn't want to lose the sale so she wrote the batteries into the contract.
Even though I am happy with them, next time I'm going to shop around a bit. Now that I know what I want in a hearing aid and because it is such a competitive field I may be able to do better on the price.

The one thing I don't like about the company are the constant phone calls and letters asking me to try new aids and turn in the old ones,
If you don't come in on a yearly basis they won't leave you alone.

At my age I like to come in on my terms, not theirs. I know when I need them adjusted. Just being ornery I guess. lol

I hope Ron finds a good pair and is happy with them.
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
@Ronni I have a pair of Oticon hearing aids. They are hardly noticeable, work very well and the service is fantastic. They are pricy, I paid a little over $4000.00 for the pair.
This is my second set. The first set lasted just over 4 years.

They spend a great deal of time getting the setting just right for each ear. I didn't get the top of the line because the more expensive ones would work better in noisy situations or in large groups of people and I'm never exposed to that.
I got free batteries for the life of the aids but not sure they still offer that.

When I purchased the second set I had to fight for them. I was about to walk out and the audiologist didn't want to lose the sale so she wrote the batteries into the contract.
Even though I am happy with them, next time I'm going to shop around a bit. Now that I know what I want in a hearing aid and because it is such a competitive field I may be able to do better on the price.

The one thing I don't like about the company are the constant phone calls and letters asking me to try new aids and turn in the old ones,
If you don't come in on a yearly basis they won't leave you alone.

At my age I like to come in on my terms, not theirs. I know when I need them adjusted. Just being ornery I guess. lol

I hope Ron finds a good pair and is happy with them.
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Great info @Ruth n Jersey thanks!! Are yours in-ear?
 
@Ronni these are what they look like. I'm looing into the ones that can be recharged but right now I don't know of anyone who has them. Sometimes you can't trust the reviews you read online.
I just wish Medicare would pay at least part of the cost.
Photo is of my aids.my aids.JPG
 
Ronni said:
T

Thanks for the info @bowmore. Are they in ear? How do you like them so far?

he has Belltones now. The fit is terrible. It’s difficult for him to gauge how good the audio quality is because they’re squealing and slipping out of his ears and need new batteries all the damn time!! 😡
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They are not in ear. They loop behind the ear and are almost invisible, I would like in ear ones as I would be afraid they would pop out, I buy the batteries on eBay and they are about $16 for 60, which is for a 30 week supply. The ones you see in the drug store or market are priced out of sight!!
I really like them, especially the Bluetooth connections.
 
My closest family member has a pair of Oticon hearing aids, for several years.
Honestly we are both quite disappointed with them, though they are a tiny bit better than nothing. But that's all.

They were very expensive, (I don't remember exactly how much they cost, and I try not to. :LOL::sneaky:)
Which I wouldn't have minded as much, if they helped more than they do. :(
I was even willing, since then,
(and desperate enough to improve the person's comprehension of one speaking voice :rolleyes: ) to pay more to upgrade them to better,
but from studying the graphs and tests, I didn't think they would make any difference, so didn't.
And any adjustments do not improve their function either.

I hope you find ones that work better than that, and then,
let us all know, please!
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
did you get another brand of aids. I'm also open for other options.
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No, we haven't looked into others, as I don't know how we would know, if they'd help any more than those do,
without just making yet another large pricey purchase, to attempt to find out if they would be or not, any better for this person. :(

I had chosen what I thought would be the best source, an audiology practice office with good reputation, for those we got.
I thought they'd be more trustworthy and high quality, than buying from a dealer for a sales profit company, but the result isn't adequate.
 
I assume another company, that sells a different brand, would just tell us, theirs would work better, or that theirs might work better,
but would they actually?:unsure:
How to know if they're any better? :confused:
 
Macfan said:
My wife wants me to get hearing aids but, so far, everything I want to hear, I do. About the only thing I have issues hearing is her 😜! Don...
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Vice versa in this house. If I don’t hear something I can just ask him to repeat it or ignore him. He’s figured that latter one out.
 

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