Hearing Aids?

[Darth_DMack]

I currently use a pair of the ReSound GN One hearing aids. I was given these by the US Army due to excessive over pressure from multiple IED blasts. I'm effectively deaf in my left ear. This is the third set I've been issued. The first was a set of Phonak behind the ear, and this is my second set of ReSound hearing aids. These are rechargable by sticking them in their case.

The app on my iPhone controls the programming fairly well.

I find the small little speakers that fit in the ear cannal, causes excessive wax to be produced. I've tried changing the domes to various sizes and nothing seems to help.

They do give me better conversational hearing, but the background noise causes me to become irritated at times. The app allows me to cut back on the background noise, but I am having to deal with the unequal hearing in both ears due to the overpressure. I had to deal with vertigo issues when the injury first happened but was able to adapt.

Without the hearing aids, the Tinitus is almost overbearing. The lack of sound in my left ear, causes so many issues, that it's just best WITH the hearing aids in.

In time, I'm told, my brain will adapt.

 

[goeduck]

How do the aids behind the ear work with reading glasses? It seems like I use my reading glasses 50 times a day and wonder if they would get tangled up with the hearing aids.

I wear glasses all the time and they tend to hold the hearing aids on. I have to be a little careful when removing my glasses, however. Reading glasses are a different story since you take them on and off more often unless you use half rims and keep them on. Wearing a mask at the Dr's office with glasses and over the ear hearing aids is a real pain.

 

[goeduck]

I don't know if you have this problem, but I've always had a hard time following a conversation in a crowded room. Will a hearing aid help with that?

That is one of the biggest advantages for me, including hearing in a noisy restaurant. I do have ridiculously expensive ones since my insurance covered them fully. I don't know how the over-the-counter ones do in that regard. Mine determine the direction the sound is coming from and prioritize the sound coming from a near source in front of me (that is my lay person understanding anyway).

 

[RalphVa]

Unfortunately, my last hearing test showed bad results and I also need to wear hearing aids now. But I'm thinking about in-ear ones. Are they comfortable? What difficulties I might face?

Any hearing aids I've had have not been comfortable. I now use Neosonics NW10. They come with a mic which is great for listening to the TV or for use near the computer or telephone. There's also a mic in the necklace. Bought 2 sets because the batteries in the little mic only last 10 hours. Ones in the necklace last 20 hours.

 

[workinonit]

That will be my next set. I am sold on Phonak and got the set I have now just before the Audeo line came out. But mine are fully insured so it doesn't make that much difference.

 

[Avenger]

Anyone has Phonak Audeo? Are those good?

These hearing aids changed my life! Not only can I hear people, and other sounds, but they have so many other wonderful features.

I have the Roger Device for crowded rooms with my hearing aids. Its a little puck that sits on the table with directional microphones that my hearing aids connect to. It amplifies the voices at the table, and drowns out the ambient noise.
These hearing aids are self-adjusting to the environment, which typically takes a second or two when changing environments like walking into a crowded room from a quiet one, but that process is fully automatic.
The battery life lasts all day. I occasionally run them out after a day of listening to an audio book while at work, they will be dead by 10pm or so. No batteries, just drop them into the charger and they are good to go!
Mine are behind the ear (the only kind I've ever used) and are very comfortable.
I have the waterproof ones, which is good, because I've accidently worn them into the shower a few times forgetting I was wearing them!
My Roger device also has a cradle that is plugged into my TV. So I can hear the TV without the volume turned way up. Often times, late at night when I get to watch the shows I want to watch, I have the tv muted, but all the audio is piped directly into my hearing aids.
One of the drawbacks (probably the only one) is the mics are not noise cancelling when connected to a call. Yes, I use my hearing aids to have phone conversations! But since the mics are not noise cancelling, everything you hear is transmitted to whomever you're talking to. So attempting to have a conversation in a noisy environment means holding my phone up to my hearing aids like normal.
Along with using them with phone conversations, you can use taps to answer and hang up. Nothing like someone watching you smack the side of your head randomly and then start talking to someone who is not there!

I recommend these hearing aids to anyone who can get them. I know that they are expensive. Fortunately, I didn't have to pay for mine. The VA provided mine. But if you can get them, get them. You won't be disappointed.

 

[workinonit]

The Roger device is interesting. My aids do all of that without the Roger device but I'm sure it has it's uses. As for the phone, when I'm connected to my phone via Bluetooth I can answer and have phone convos just as I would if I was tethered to a headset. I use mine hands free all the time. As well as listening to music or watching a movie on a flight. My Phonaks are the third pair of Phonaks I've owned and these are truly amazing. My loss is severe and these aids make me 20 years old again from a hearing perspective.