Hearing Aids

[milkman]

Anybody here use them, I've got lots of questions. After years in a corrugated box plant pre OSHA, no hearing protection, farming, chainsaw, lawnmowers, weedeaters, etc. I have lost some of my high frequency hearing. The wife says I now have selective hearing and I have the TV turned up too loud, and a lot of conversation sounds to me like mumbling. I have decided to drop a wad of $$$ and go with the almost invisible BTE digitals, should be fitted in about a week. I will probably get all these questions answered at that time, but wondered about real experience, what about wind noise, will that be a problem, and what about dusty situations? Do you just not wear them when running the tractor? What about getting hot and sweaty, will that ruin them? Will a using a bluetooth be out of the question? Is the benefit going to be worth it?

 

[mikim]

let me know the answers to those questions when you find out. I need to look into getting some as well. Cardboard box plant as well (2 years) ....and USAF -- jet engines are just great -- wearing ear protection is good then .. but after years of it - I am having problems ...Be pretty hard to proove military related though after being out so many years.

 

[milkman]

I've been putting it off for a long time, but I'm tired of trying to understand people on the phone, especially if there's any background noise at all. I can deal with the cell phone because I use the bluetooth headset and it's right in my ear, someone trying to talk to me in a crowd is hard for me to catch what they are saying too so I miss a lot or have to guess at what they are saying, so I just bit the bullet and hope they're not too much of a hassle.

 

[txdon]

About 8 years ago I tried a pair for a month. They were analog but very small. I could hear conversations in the car with no problem and the TV volume could be lowered. My wife was happy that I tried them.

The negatives - and these will depend on the hearing loss - The very high frequency I still could not hear. I still could not hear crickets (that may be good thing). Little noises that I did not hear before, like keys jiggling, were annoying. Conversations in a large area with a lot of people were drowned out by all the background noise. After several hours they are uncomfortable even with the air vent hole.

I ended up returning them and paid for the experience.

I seem to have less of a hearing problem in the quiet country.

I will be following this thread, my Dad is looking for another pair, I think he is looking at Delta, behind the ear with a small tube going in the ear, it looks comfortable. This kind has a blue-tooth option he will not get. They come in different colors and I saw a young girl at the store wearing them. they do not seem to have the stigma (old age) they once had with the cell phone era.

Make sure you check out the return policy, $ (as much as 25%) and time allowed.

 

[milkman]

Thanks Don, I've been looking at these online and the price of these things are all over the place. I decided to go with a local seller, not the cheapest and have seen some online for more. I did get in writing a 100% money back return policy and I will have a local face if I need service.

 

[Inspector507]

milkman,
I have a digital and I just can't see how an internet dealer can fit you correctly and tune the aid to your specific hearing loss. The digitals can be tuned and adjusted, whereas analogs do not have as much flexibility. It's been the best thing I ever did. Mine is is a BTE and has a larger tube going to the earmold. I have to have this type because of the hearing loss I suffer. It was caused from surgery. Two of the inner bones were removed because of a mass growing in there.
Sweat is a killer, just make sure you dehumidify it quite often. They have a little kit for that. Not expensive, mine was included. Yeah I know I paid for it in the end.
Wind noise is somewhat noticible in the car with the windows down or if in high winds.
I don't wear them while on the tractor unless I forget I have it on. I usually use Peltor Worktunes anyway so I don't need it to hear the radio.
I would imagine, with mine anyway, blue tooth headset is a NO. But I have the other ear if needed.
Txdon mentioned that crowd noises were a problem. Mine has an option called Audio Zoom. The remote will turn off one of the microphones and I will hear what's straight ahead instead of combined front and back.
Mine also has an option called Tele-coil. Some phones are compatible with that also some large meeting facilities PA systems accomodate it too. It's a tone that normal people will not hear but an aid will pick it up.
So, for me, an aid is priceless. The digital has so many options including a remote like mine. I can reach in my pocket and turn the volume up or down, turn one mic off, turn the Tele-coil on.........etc

 

[milkman]

Inspector, I was leery of ordering online for the same reason, then there's the shipping and downtime if they had to be sent back for adjustment or repair. Glad to hear that you are happy with yours, and I was reading that there is an adjustment period since it takes about six weeks to get used to the hearing aids as it takes that long for the brain to sort out the new sounds that it hasn't had to deal with for years and figure out which ones to pay attention to and the ones to ignore, such as fans and ac and things that we normally consider as background noise. I'm kinda anxious to try them out and see what I've been missing.

 

[Inspector507]

Inspector, I was leery of ordering online for the same reason, then there's the shipping and downtime if they had to be sent back for adjustment or repair. Glad to hear that you are happy with yours, and I was reading that there is an adjustment period since it takes about six weeks to get used to the hearing aids as it takes that long for the brain to sort out the new sounds that it hasn't had to deal with for years and figure out which ones to pay attention to and the ones to ignore, such as fans and ac and things that we normally consider as background noise. I'm kinda anxious to try them out and see what I've been missing.

Mine's over 8 years old. My audiologist ( the Doctor I can call 5 days a week because she's local) convinced one company to offer me insurance one more year for it for less than $200. The manufacturer would do it for 6 years. It cost $1800 back then, so I can only imagine what it would cost now. It is the strongest aid on the market. But something sticks in my mind that if I "lose it", my homeowners insurance might kick in .

 

[milkman]

Extended warranty is one thing I had not thought of, but will probably come up when I take delivery.

 

[Bird]

Thanks Don, I've been looking at these online and the price of these things are all over the place. I decided to go with a local seller, not the cheapest and have seen some online for more. I did get in writing a 100% money back return policy and I will have a local face if I need service.

I've never used a BTE (assuming you do mean "behind the ear") hearing aid, but I bought a pair of Beltones in Virginia Beach, VA, in April, 1992. They were analog, in the ear, but pretty large. When I first got them, one would start hurting that ear after a couple of hours. The audiologist worked on it a bit, and no more problems for over 4 years. But anything, such as a telephone against the ear would cause feedback (a loud squeal). I paid $1630 for the pair. Beginning in September, 1996, I think each of them were sent in for repair about once a year (fortunately never both at the same time) by a dealer in Waco, TX. The first several times, it was $100 each time, then later went to $150 each time.

In 2001, the dealer in Waco had closed up, and I decided after 9 years to buy new ones. So I bought a pair of smaller Starkey hearing aids in Corsicana, TX, in October, 2001. And I quite simply, got swindled. The audiologist in a doctor's office told me they were programmable, but in fact, they are non-programmable analog. But they were smaller, fit farther into the ear, and did work; not well, but they worked. They did have the advantage of being far enough into the ear, that I could use the bluetooth gadget that hangs on your ear. And they cost $2,000.

In May, 2006, one of them quit working, so I took it to a Beltone dealer in Denton, TX, and got it fixed. But I also had new hearing tests done there and bought two new digital, programmable Beltones. They cost me $4,588. They have two programs and I can switch between the two, and my dealer can pretty easily and quickly re-program them in her office. They're a little larger than the Starkeys, but I use a speaker phone nearly any time I'm on the phone. I can use the bluetooth gadget but just talk on the cell phone so seldom that I no longer carry the bluetooth gadget with me. I can hold my current cell phone to my ear, but it also works pretty well on the speaker. The price of the hearing aids included a two year warranty. And I have been back several times because they would sometimes change programs, sometimes do some weird beeping and shut down, etc. The dealer sent them back, one at a time, a couple of times with instructions to fix a particular problem, such as the volume switch or an internal short. But when they continued to have problems, the dealer finally called Beltone, then sent both of them back to completely re-do and they came back with all new internal working parts a month or so ago and that seems to have fixed the problems.

I'm almost deaf without hearing aids, been wearing them 16 years, so I know I'll be wearing them the rest of my life. A nuisance? Yes, but not as bad as eyeglasses.

And I think you're smart to go with a local dealer myself.