CPAPtalk.com

palerider wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 09, 2019 2:37 pm

prodigyplace wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 09, 2019 2:31 pm

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 09, 2019 12:33 pm

See an audiologist for the real cause, then go to Costco for the best prices.

Some Costco Hearing Centers have audiologists. They all do hearing tests with audiologists or licensed hearing instrument Specialists.
The better branches actually do a full test with speech recognition and a full fitting with Real Ear Measurement.

In my personal experience, some of my worst hearing tests & adjustments have been from audiologists. One of the worst also teaches audiologists.

The care & skill of the professional matters more than a degree.

Has a free test with the speech recognition at my local Costco last month...

That "repeat the word" thing is deceptively hard, with no other cues to determine what the word is.

Agreed! I was down to 35% in one ear.
I go for a followup visit with my new aids Saturday. They new aids are an improvement but I would like better results.
The new aids are not locked so self-programming should be possible with the proper hardware & software.
With new aids there is a 180 day return policy - almost 6 months!

Perhaps tinnitus related to Jaw or TMJ.

When I started using CPAP I wasn't taking to it well, and I got a dental appliance that moved my bottom jaw forward to attempt to address sleep apnea. I noticed when using it, and can reproduce sitting here by jutting my bottom jaw forward, that it reduces my tinnitus when I move bottom jaw forward.

davecpap wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 09, 2019 3:35 pm

Perhaps tinnitus related to Jaw or TMJ.

When I started using CPAP I wasn't taking to it well, and I got a dental appliance that moved my bottom jaw forward to attempt to address sleep apnea. I noticed when using it, and can reproduce sitting here by jutting my bottom jaw forward, that it reduces my tinnitus when I move bottom jaw forward.

This is a possibility. I also (used to) grind my teeth at night without knowing I was doing, resulting in TMJ pretty badly. Although, when I jut my lower jaw forward, my tinnitus seems to get worse.

SewTired wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 09, 2019 12:21 pm

Midwest_non_sleeper wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 07, 2019 11:25 am

CPAP use has had zero effect on my tinnitus, for ill or good.

Just because you didn't experience the problem, doesn't mean others did not. He had tinnitus, now he doesn't. Very likely cpap has some influence on some people if his simple solution resulted in ending the tinnitus.

I don't recall saying that he didn't. I simply said that current research cannot link the two, and I do not personally see a marked decrease in my tinnitus due to CPAP. Nothing more, nothing less. Please don't add words to something that wasn't said, as that would imply or infer a motive that does not exist.

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 09, 2019 12:33 pm

SewTired wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 09, 2019 12:21 pm

Midwest_non_sleeper wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 07, 2019 11:25 am

CPAP use has had zero effect on my tinnitus, for ill or good.

Just because you didn't experience the problem, doesn't mean others did not. He had tinnitus, now he doesn't. Very likely cpap has some influence on some people if his simple solution resulted in ending the tinnitus.

I do sympathize as I'm in the same boat. I've had tinnitus since I was 6 and it worsened a few years ago as a side effect of medication. It's always there and just like you, interferes with hearing people as well as sleeping I finally had to get a hearing aid a couple of months ago (saving up for the second, those suckers are expensive!).

FWIW, the newer Miracle Ear hearing aids also provide masking.

It's a miracle if that brand works at all; likewise Beltone.
Twenty years behind REAL hearing aids.
See an audiologist for the real cause, then go to Costco for the best prices.

Costco may have good prices, but the service was horrible. I don't have the time to deal with unprofessional and apparently poorly trained people. Their employee turnover is also high. The Costco that has a good rep is over 30 miles away, but my neighbor also said that he's never had the same tech twice. My hearing aid has been great, service has been great, so maybe your comments are colored by an experience 20 years ago or it's specific to your local shop.

SewTired wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 11, 2019 6:13 pm

Costco may have good prices, but the service was horrible. I don't have the time to deal with unprofessional and apparently poorly trained people. Their employee turnover is also high. The Costco that has a good rep is over 30 miles away, but my neighbor also said that he's never had the same tech twice. My hearing aid has been great, service has been great, so maybe your comments are colored by an experience 20 years ago or it's specific to your local shop.

Perhaps you've confused Sams with Costco.

Costco has some of the lowest employee turnover in the retail industry. They treat their employees very well, and people stay there.

Part of the reason is that Costco management primarily comes up through the ranks. They don't hire MBEs out of business school to run the company, they promote employees.

For example, over 90% of Costco employees qualify for employer-sponsored health insurance; the U.S. retail industry average is just under sixty percent. As a result, Costco has the lowest employee turnover rate in retail.

Speaking personally, I see the same people at the Costco hearing section every time I go in the store. And no, it's not the same one that Chunky goes to, it's not even in the same state.

Ask Tattoedlady what she thinks about Costco employees vs Walmart/Sams employees. (basically, almost universally across the board, Sams employees in the receiving area are bitchy and difficult to deal with, and Costco people are cheerful and seem happy to be there (with one exception)).

I don't know what your problem with Costco is, but it's absolutely atypical.

If I could have worked at a Costco 30 years ago, I might have never gone back to college,
leading to a 24 year career as a county gis tech.
Costco stands out as a model employer--and a distinct contrast to every retailer
I had the misfortune to work for.

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 11, 2019 8:12 pm

If I could have worked at a Costco 30 years ago, I might have never gone back to college,
leading to a 24 year career as a county gis tech.
Costco stands out as a model employer--and a distinct contrast to every retailer
I had the misfortune to work for.

A couple jobs back, I was going to the Costco web page, and somehow blundered into the employee public facing benefits page... and thought "well, SHIT, their insurance is better than mine!" (at a natoinal telecom company).

The previous CEO of Costco started working there as a bagger. (https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/bi ... -1936.html) The current guy started as a manager in 1984. https://www.seattletimes.com/business/c ... to-retire/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... -the-world

https://425business.com/costco-ceo-craig-jelinek/

According to Jelinek, the average Costco worker earns $22 per hour, and 42 percent of the company’s employees have been with Costco for more than 10 years.

Yeah, that sounds like a LOT of turnover at Costco, doesn't it..

SewTired wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 11, 2019 6:13 pm

Costco may have good prices, but the service was horrible. I don't have the time to deal with unprofessional and apparently poorly trained people. Their employee turnover is also high. The Costco that has a good rep is over 30 miles away, but my neighbor also said that he's never had the same tech twice. My hearing aid has been great, service has been great, so maybe your comments are colored by an experience 20 years ago or it's specific to your local shop.

I just got back from a follow-up visit at a different Costco than the 2 I have tried the past few years. They are very thorough & customer-focused.

Their normal policies are (assuming you order aids at 1). You can visit any time is you have issues.

1. Appointment for testing including speech comprehension
2. Appointment for hearing aid fitting including real ear measurement & demonstration of aids set to your fitting target.
3. Appointment for followup after a couple of weeks for adjustment & maintenance instruction.
4. Every 6 months (no appointment) thorough cleaning & vacuuming of your aids.
5. Appointment for hearing test every year. ( I assume this includes hearing aid adjustments)

They do not schedule testing & fitting at the same time because both take a lot of time to do well. The price difference, many times less than half price, the included supplies (domes & filters, not batteries) and the fact you can use any Costco in the country if convenient or if you are not satisfied are big pluses in my opinion.

If you want to view a very wide variety of experiences, including those who self-program, go to https://forums.hearingtracker.com There are many helpful hearing providers in addition to the site owners ready to help & discuss hearing issues & therapies.

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 11, 2019 8:12 pm

If I could have worked at a Costco 30 years ago, I might have never gone back to college,
leading to a 24 year career as a county gis tech.
Costco stands out as a model employer--and a distinct contrast to every retailer
I had the misfortune to work for.

I can only say that my local Cosco does not reflect your experience. I went to Cosco based on recommendations here and did not have a very good experience beginning just with making an appointment. Be that as it may, this is the OP's thread and there is another thread discussing hearing aids.

SewTired wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 12, 2019 1:23 pm

I can only say that my local Cosco does not reflect your experience. I went to Cosco based on recommendations here and did not have a very good experience beginning just with making an appointment. Be that as it may, this is the OP's thread and there is another thread discussing hearing aids.

I had a very bad experience with a newer Costco that is shortest travel time-wise. I started discussing my hearing aid issues with the Audiologist, expecting a minor adjustment. Apparently, while we were talking, he decided to reset the aids to start from scratch because he did not like adjusting based off someone else's work. After a couple of non-productive visits I went back to the other Costco to have them restore their old settings because they worked better.

The latest Costco I am using it totally different & well organized, even though they just have HIS and not degreed Audiologists. The service and care of the individual professionals is most important. With Costco you are free to use a different branch for your free services.

SewTired wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 12, 2019 1:23 pm

I can only say that my local Cosco does not reflect your experience. I went to Cosco based on recommendations here and did not have a very good experience

Some people can't be pleased with anything.

Midwest_non_sleeper wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 07, 2019 11:25 am

CPAP use has no connection or correlation with tinnitus, at least as far as current research goes.

I have tinnitus and have had it for 20 years now. My ringing is specifically in the ranges of 4khz - 7.5khz. If you want a sample of what I hear, 24/7, 365 days a year, then check here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=NMOlA9D29z0

I hear that sound every single waking moment of my life. It is difficult for me to understand people that are speaking to me at a table in a restaurant, or in any situation where there is background noise.

What a test showed was that I was essentially deaf in those ranges, most likely from my time in the military. Further research is beginning to show that tinnitus may be a result of the brain itself implanting sound in those ranges where one is deaf in, as there is supposed to be sound there anyway. They just don't know *why* the brain does this, or how to stop it.

CPAP use has had zero effect on my tinnitus, for ill or good.

My tinnitus is around a frequency that seems to resonate with the air flow from face mask.. I changed the mask type and it is not so much a problem now but I have to sleep in a certain position. Very annoying but I dont want the tinnitus to worsen.