WHAT DID YOU SAY!?

[Turbys_1700]

My dad had hearing aids the last 20 years of his life. Darn things went through batteries like a sieve. They did help him but were always finicky. He had them replaced several times. Back when he ran heavy equipment and tractors hearing protection was not used. I've tried to keep my hearing protected but who knows. Seems like more men need hearing aids than women in my experiences. Don't know if that is a genetic or environmental thing. Perhaps both?

 

[Bird]

Costco has an option device that connects to the tv and you can get the tv sound directly to your hearing aids wirelessly.

I got that with my Beltones, too. It works great, if all you're going to do is sit there and watch the TV, but . . . if I had that thing on, I wouldn't hear my wife when she said something to me. And I'm not very good at staying seated in one place very long at a time. So it didn't get used hardly at all.

 

[Bird]

My dad had hearing aids the last 20 years of his life. Darn things went through batteries like a sieve.

My current hearing aids use size 13 batteries. They will last 7 to 8 days, but since it's a nuisance to have them go dead at the wrong time, I just replace them first thing every Sunday morning.

 

[txdon]

Bird, right about hearing wife AND TV at the same time. I also got the "wife mike". It's a tiny clip on mic that you can give a speaker (or your wife) to clip on a lapel and it bluetooths their voice directly to your hearing aids. The range is about 50 ft. In the grocery store she can whisper a few isles over and I can hear her.

My batteries also last a week.

 

[Bird]

Not sure what the difference is between a hearing "aid" and a hearing "amplifier". I suppose either one could work. I would also suspect that there is one Heck of a mark-up in hearing aids. The audiologist did not charge for appointment or testing, only for the "aids".

Newer aids, they can filter and amp different frequencies to match your loss.

The cheap amazon one amps everything, kind of like early hearing aids.

Also, the new ones have wires and speaker in the ear, not a mold with a sound tube.

I may have paid more for my Beltones than some pay at Costco, but mine have 4 programs for different conditions: "All-around" for general use, "Noise" works a bit better in restaurants to cancel out some other sounds, "Church" for places such as rooms that have an echo, "Music" the one I actually like best because it gets all the frequencies. I can change programs and/or volume with my finger on the individual aids, and they have a system where you can use your cell phone, etc., but I just carry a small remote in my shirt pocket that lets me adjust one or both to change programs or volume. So, yep, I gave $4k for them with 5 year warranty and lifetime follow-up care. Free hearing tests, program changes, etc. anytime I want. In fact, my Beltone lady wants me to come in about every 3 months just for a checkup.

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^^
It sounds like they've come a long ways from the "good old days" when it looked like somebody had a transistor radio under their shirt and a wire going to their ear.

 

[turnkey4099]

I was sitting in the "soundproof booth" and couldn't tell if the tone I heard was the test, or the backup alarm on a piece of equipment outside. I've had ringing in my ears for as long as I can remember.

It's too bad that we hadn't heard of hearing protection 45 years ago. I now wear plugs and muffs when I'm running a chainsaw for any length of time.

I started wearing muffs way too late. Now I won't run any power equipment without them. All high frequencies are gone and almost deaf in right ear...that's the side the saws were on.

 

[goeduck]

Whats her name and I went out to eat last night and to say the restaurant was loud is an understatement. One lady behind us had to cackle at everything she heard. I told whats her name to wait until we left to talk. :laughing:

 

[QRTRHRS]

When I had my Oticon's serviced, they had the stabilizers wrong and I could not figure out why they were harder to put in and easy to loose. I did exactly that with one in my barn. I had been back to the audiologist to complain but they said that they were fine, yeah right. So I went to the VA and got approved due to my tinnitus. They gave me a set of Signia brand aids. Batteries in the Oticon's would last a week but I only get about four days with the Signia's. But then the VA pays for the batteries.

 

[PILOON]

Chain saws, outboards, aircraft and working in a tin can factory (as a teen) have taken the toil on my ears.
In my case it is the highs that are affected and lower ranges still OK.
The audiologist that tested me confirmed all my observations and did not prescribe any cures but suggested Steinhauser earphones for TV.
In fact (as a gov't audiologist) she deterred me from any hearing aids saying that I'd simply waste my $$'s.
Had I gone to a commercial one for sure they would have recommended a very pricy solution.
Great suggestion! I can watch TV with the volume set for my wife and still capture everything.
If folks look at me when speaking I generally capture 95% as you learn to lip read to some extent, or at least fill in the gaps.
But then I celebrated my 80 th last November so I expected some shortfalls, fortunately hearing is about the only one I have to live with.
Well COPD, but that's my fault.
The odd time I have tinnitus (usually if tired) but fortunately that's limited.
On my cabbed tractor I wisely installed padded sound absorbing material in my roof when I built my cab and that really helps.

What bugger coined that phrase 'the golden years'!
I have a few nice words for him, LOL, but then I plan to live to 100 and so far so good!

Mother made it to 98, dad to 85 and an uncle to 102 so I might have to right genes.

While I accuse my past I must admit that there is a lot of hearing difficulties on the sides of both my parents so perhaps I inherited those genes (as well as adding some abuse).