OT: hearing aids, again

[grayghost4]

I get mine from an online site. have gotten 3 pairs over the last 10 years
Like we adjust our cpap's ... I adjust my hearing aid also ... you get a programmer and the software to adjust them yourself .. or the company will make adjustment over the internet .

https://www.americahears.com//

they use ADRO sound processing :

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16012705

[herefishy]

Check your insurance - mine pays about $2500 each ear every 3 years, I think.

[bwexler]

What about ringing in the ears (Tinnitus), have the hearing aids solve it?

Mine don't do anything for my tinnitus, but they do help to hear other sounds in spite of the background noise.

[chunkyfrog]

Medicare does not care if we can hear, see or chew.

[yaconsult]

I am SSD and have been using a consumer level product (about $299) on one ear since I retired; before that I used CROS or BiCROS ($4000+) for over 20 years.

I've found that subtle hearing changes like this can be the result of earwax, believe it or not. Give your device a really good cleaning, and get your ears checked for wax, too. You never know.

Hi QueSera,

My audiologist told me that hearing aids cost between $2,000- $5,000 and that medical insurance will not cover any of this cost. Can you please tell me the name of the product that you found for $299, or is that price only available to those on SSD?

Thank you

Try looking though the results of this google search to see some of the new consumer hearing stuff that was introduced at this year's Consumer Electronics Show: https://www.google.com/search?q=ces+hearing+aids

[QueSera]

Search Amazon for Sound World Solutions. The product I use has been uograded to something called Sidekick. It comes as a package for both ears, or for one ear only.

This has worked spectacularly well for me, but of course, as they say, your mileage may vary. No hearing aid does well in a crowded, noisy environment.

To my knowledge, there is very little that helps tinnitus. There are devices that mask the sounds, essentially hiding the noise behind other noises. I am grateful that my tinnitus doesn't actually 'ring' but just sounds like rushing water, or white noise.Curuously, I only have it in my deaf ear. The specialist I saw about it years ago said "Huh. Ironic." but that was all.

[avi123]

Is anyone familiar with Miracle Ear?

[chunkyfrog]

Miracle ear; highly advertised, way overpriced.
Very old technology. Pathetic!
AVOID this brand and Beltone, with a vengeance.
Both brands are "drawer aids", as very few owners actually wear them.

[grayghost4]

Pumpkin agrees with the frog

[Huh?]

Am I in the right thread?

[chunkyfrog]

Am I in the right thread?

Cute.

[KarenK]

Chunky - ReSound makes Beltone, so I am guessing they may be a better quality?? Or maybe not.

[avi123]

Consumer Reports guide to Hearing Aids:
as of Sep. 2015

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/hear ... -guide.htm

[chunkyfrog]

Pretty much the same generic "guide" they posted several years ago, somewhat helpful for a beginner.
A comparison of brands would have been nice. Too many people have to learn the hard way.
KarenK; "mass market" brands are lesser trademarks for stripped down budget products
which a company does not wish to have associated with their good name.
In the case of hearing aids, many of the trade-offs render these products quite unpleasant to use.
Mine is programmed to amplify only those frequencies which represent my hearing loss.
It does not amplify any sound that needs no amplification.
My first aid created feedback syndrome in close places and wind chimes were painful.
My newest aid stops feedback before I can hear it, and it even will not amplify bells and nail clippers.
Background noise is squelched; otherwise, many people cannot bear a hearing aid, having not heard it for years.

[QueSera]

The device I use is also the bluetooth receiver for my iPhone. I use its companion app to adjust it for my hearing profile.

Again, this works really well for me. If I were still working (in a high school) I would probably still use an expensive set of digital Bi-CROS hearing aids, because I would still need them. Since I rarely speak or listen to crowds these days, it's become easier to cope with SSD by changing my position relative to the person speaking to me.