Hearing Aid advice

[BKBrown]

It's my wife that has the hearing loss and we found that the right Audiologist who understands the hearing tests and how to program the aids made all the difference. Robin now has an aid that moves some frequencies she has trouble with into a range she can hear. Sounds are different for her, but she adjusts and learns what she is hearing. Most children have higher pitch (higher frequency) voice range and talk faster. Those high frequencies can be moved to the lower ranges and it will help with understanding.

 

[pacerron]

Subscribing to this thread.

Some 25 years ago I was drugged to a hearing specialist by my family to get a hearing test. End results I was told I needed $4000 worth of hearing aids, I walked out of there and said .....NO way.

Now, at age 72, I'm having trouble carrying on conversations, and even I have come to the realization that I need to do something. We had some family over on the 4th, about 10 people...and I felt 'out of it' since I couldn't follow ANY conservation. My hearing, along with some others there with hearing problems, became the topic of discussions, since the WHAT YOU SAYS was flying fast and furious.

So following this with interest.

You may find that after 25 years of hearing loss, even with the best technology available today, that your brain will have problems, at first, processing sounds and words that have been lost from your memory. There are many functions of our body that are thought to be influenced
negatively from loss of hearing, in addition to social communications.
Starkey Research Series: How Hearing Loss and Hearing Aids Affect Brent Edwards Hearing & Hearing Loss Hearing Aids - Adults Miscellaneous VA Selections 12832

 

[oldpilgrim]

there are 3 main aspects to hearing,

1. volume
2. frequency
3. understanding

1. many people think hard of hearing means that it's not loud enough.....sometimes that's true. That's pretty simple to solve..make the sounds louder.

2. many people can't hear certain frequencies, but may/may not have a volume issue. That's where the higher and higher tones in the 'whistle' test in your test headphones come in.

3. many people may or may not have the above issues but may not have the vibrations in their ears hit their brain in the same manner as they hit the ears. That's why a good audiologist will give you a 'comprehension' test and ask you to repeat a series of words that are fed thru your test headphones.

My Dad was in WWII in France and got badly blown up. He's 90 now and has all of the above conditions. In one ear the comprehension rate is one in 10 words. The other is 40 percent comprehension. His volume issue requires the strongest aids that he can get. Without them he's effectively deaf. He has extreme difficulty in hearing women's' voices and some men's due to the frequencies. The fancy aids help with that a little somehow.

Fortunately he doesn't have tinnitus, for some strange reason. You'd think he would with the action he saw from DDay onward.

i have extreme tinnitus and moderate hearing loss from my time in the Army. My aids help a lot with the volume and moderately with the ringing. They make the ringing tolerable.

You youngsters, take care of your ears. You don't know what you've got until they're gone.

 

[jcummins]

You may find that after 25 years of hearing loss, even with the best technology available today, that your brain will have problems, at first, processing sounds and words that have been lost from your memory. There are many functions of our body that are thought to be influenced
negatively from loss of hearing, in addition to social communications.
Starkey Research Series: How Hearing Loss and Hearing Aids Affect Brent Edwards Hearing & Hearing Loss Hearing Aids - Adults Miscellaneous VA Selections 12832

Speed read that article, I'll go back and read in detail. But I recognize what's in there. Lot of meat to that article.

 

[truckdiagnostics]

It's my wife that has the hearing loss and we found that the right Audiologist who understands the hearing tests and how to program the aids made all the difference. Robin now has an aid that moves some frequencies she has trouble with into a range she can hear. Sounds are different for her, but she adjusts and learns what she is hearing. Most children have higher pitch (higher frequency) voice range and talk faster. Those high frequencies can be moved to the lower ranges and it will help with understanding.

Agree, took my audiologist couple of different programs and ear inserts to get it where it made enough of a difference to make wearing them worth while. Took 6 months to get it right. The whole deal was not cheap. Insurance didn't pick up much either.

 

[txdon]

Arrrgggg. I'm doomed.

Costco lets you try theirs for a month and the exam is free. You will be surprised how better you hear and so will your family. The only time I hear better without my aids is if there is a hard wind blowing around my head the the wind noises drown out everything else. Also check with your insurance - you may have partial coverage. Just the cost of getting old.

 

[jix]

Mine are Starky N0 charge for repairs! They will replace lost ones free once per set. I buy new ones every 5 years My vet benefits pay for them and the batteries Starkey doesn't really fix them..They just replace them. My batteries last 3 days, despite referral to the factory. I keep hem in a UV dryer at night, batteries removed. Back to the audiologist once a month for cleaning and like that. My dog ate two sets of mine..it is the squealing and the scent he likes. 3 seconds, one crunch...bingo..garbage.

They itch my ears, but even so, can't do without them.

jix.

PS: an other OP asked can you get CDN medicare under 65... answer: you must be a CDN citizen, living in Canada or you cannot get CDN medicare at all..and it is free at any age. BUT the docs are too busy and the care ain't the best, if you get a WIERD DISEASE. Long wait times for hospital rooms, surgeries, in some places .And it does not include drugs except while in hospital

 

[QRTRHRS]

Now I'm 75 but I've been wearing two hearing aids since 1992. And even with these 3 program, $4000, hearing aids, there are two situations in which I have a really hard time hearing and understanding. One is small children, even up to their teens, and the other is when 2 or more people are talking at the same time, I probably won't understand what either of them are saying.

I "hear" you Bird. I mentioned this before but will repeat for other, a program we have here in KY called Vocational Rehab paid for mine because I was could not hear the kids on my school bus I drive. Oh', I can hear them alright, I usually turn mine down, lol! I live in a poor area with alot of families moving when they cannot pay the rent. There are always new kids or misplaced kids that are nervous or scared so they speak even less louder than normal. I can crank up the volume as needed but the background noise is rough.

Same in a crowd. I have resigned myself to accepting that there are some situations where I just won't be able to participate.

I have one of those bluetooth devices for my cell phone. It works great at my desk when I need to make calls but not so much in the car. I just get overloaded on background noise.

Thanks to those who responded to my question about insurance. I think I will put my faith in the maker for now since the policy offerred to me does not cover "accidental damage". I have gotten pretty dedicated about removing them to run power tools, mow lawn, work in my dusty barn, work on the vehicles, etc.

While I am at it, who else uses the peroxide cleaner and saline spray to remove or breakdown earwax? I try to do that weekly.

 

[QRTRHRS]

You may find that after 25 years of hearing loss, even with the best technology available today, that your brain will have problems, at first, processing sounds and words that have been lost from your memory. There are many functions of our body that are thought to be influenced
negatively from loss of hearing, in addition to social communications.
Starkey Research Series: How Hearing Loss and Hearing Aids Affect Brent Edwards Hearing & Hearing Loss Hearing Aids - Adults Miscellaneous VA Selections 12832

My wife was born deaf in one ear and severely limited in the other. Her mother tought her to read lips and with an aid (which gave her the ability to hear in terms of vowels but not complete words servered her somewhat for many years. In 2009 at the age of 62 I think it was, she had a coclear implant. After two years of horrible tennitus she was able to learn to process the words which she had never actually ever heard. It has taken some time, it has not been easy for her but she has no regrets.

I offer this story to encourage those who do not think aids will be worth it or are frustrated with the initial results. A good audiologist willl work with you. It took some time to loose your hearing, it will take some time to get at least some of it back.

 

[PILOON]

Piloon, I'm curious, which Seenheiser hearing aid did you have to wait 5 months for?

The 5 month 'wait' was for our free medicare system to test my hearing which IMHO is acceptable for a non urgent non life threatening situation. Part of the delay is that a referral from the GP is required to see a EENT specialist that then refers you to the audio clinic.

The audio clinic technician discouraged me from even considering any brand of hearing aid which I thought was extremely honest of her.
My losses are mainly in the upper ranges and more so at low volume.
The wireless headset (earphones), Sennheiser brand, are very hi-fidelity, comfortable and greatly enhance TV for me as the sound is where I need it without any local interruption.
LOL, an added feature is that I follow TV when I need to use the 'rest room' and not have to wait for a commercial to do so.

I will repeat, she was very professional in that she discouraged me from wasting $$$ on aids and instead suggested other means of improving my situation. That because she was a government paid technician and not a retail business.

Now because of the lab testing I better understand the what and how to better cope with my hearing deficiency.

Sure, all the 'clinics' in shopping malls and medical complexes perform the same tests but they are a business and profit oriented. They have to sell!
Our gov't 'medicare' clinic is not profit oriented.
OK, so I waited a bit, but diminished hearing is not life threatening merely inconvenient.