Hearing aids, what would you buy next time?

I have needed hearing aids for some time. I can function quite well alone (hear the radio, talk to guys etc). But in crowds or noisy places or soft women's voices or children I miss a lot.

Took the test, lots of loss in the higher ranges.

I plan to use the hearing aids about 5 hours a day, for lunch and dinner and to watch TV and on weekends for social occasions.

Hearing aids run from $500 to $10,000. What should I buy? I am not a techy, don't need the latest gadget, if it works, that is good enough for me.

Computer is 6 years old, stereo is older and never turned on, rarely listen to music in the car, haven't bought a CD or an I-tune in years.

What did your real hearing aid experience teach you ? Please share.

Got it from the VA...tiny thing over the ear with a tiny tube going to a tiny in ear transmitter. Half the time I forget it's there. Real comfortable....adjustable by computer. I picked up the high tones. Only have one....probably cost the VA/taxpayer 1k or more. It helps.

I have had HA's for years.Feel you would be better of if you could talk them into a test run. Buy only if you are satisfied. I now have 2 pr. not just to happy with either. Not sure it will work but try my suggestion .Leej

I have a pair from VA and absolutely love them. Like the other fellow, I forget they are even in my ear and I can hear my wife's soft voice (sometimes that's a plus, sometimes a minus) but going to church and hearing the sermon, or talking on the phone, it is such an improvement. I wear mine from the time I get up to the time I go to bed.

I wish there was a cure for ringing in my ears. DR's say there isn't anything that can be done for the floating crystals in my inner ear. Dr's laugh using lipoflavonoid for ringing in the ears. So, welcome to old age.

leej,

Re-hearing aids - the ones I have adjust all noise up, I was hoping for a miracle, where low tones would boost and other noise would diminish no luck there. $4000

Mine has 3 programs with a remote none are great at suppressing unwanted background noise.
Example . . . Movies, low voices are low, the SOUND EFFECTS are deafening. I don't know how they get away with it.

Regardless what they cost you they only amplify the sound.

When watching TV my wife was at me to get aids, so as joke I fashioned 2 medium coffee cups to fit my ears, I think that was more natural than the aids

4-5 years on mine now but my hearing has declined so that I need a new, more powerful set. I don't think any of them work as well as they claim. I still do a good deal of lip reading and background noise or dinner table conversation makes it hard to understand words. New set will have a sender for the TV so I won't need the TV ears. My former employer covers one so the cost will not kill me. The ringing never goes away but having the hearing aids masks some of it.

Fortunately for me, I don't need a hearing aid as of yet and hope that I never do. However, a few years ago I did the telephones for a worldwide manufacturer and supplier of hearing aids, said to be the who's who, a company called "Phonak" out of Naperville, IL. Might give them a try. At the time, their telephone system interacted with cutomer computers real time. Don't know what they have these days or who maintains it.

Good luck.

Mark
Phonak

I Have Had hearing Aids for 20 + Years Now. Have Found that Costco is Less expensive & Better Than The 5 to 10 K Ones. Still Not as Good Hearing as When I Was Younger. But That Is The Price we pay For Getting Old. I Guess. Costco one Are Digital, so no volume To Mess With. Just Mt 2 Cents Worth.

Dads got ones that go down the canal and have a little "hair" that you use to pull hem out. He loves them as they do a good job of canceling out background but bring close voices up. I want to say his were $6000. He can adjust the volume using his phone somehow.

I have a set from the V.A. service connected hearing loss due to noise. I do not wear them much since I mess with a lot of things that make lots of noise and was told not to have them in when I did that. If I where you I would go with the behind the ear ones. That is what I have and you can mute them when needed. As for cost I have no clue since the V.A. provides them

Go to a good independent audiologist that has several brands,types and can best match the hearing aid that you need to your type of hearing loss. One size does not fit all and some only sell one brand.

I guess the best answer, for any young guys on this forum who might be reading this, is hearing protection when you are young.


I hope everyone preaches to the young guys out there to put the ear plugs in, turn down the loud booming radio in the car, and don't pretend it won't catch up at some point.

I did autobody work for many years and if for anything else, just so you couldn't hear the guy next to you complaining about his girl problems, or wild night out, or nagging wife, I always kept the ear muffs on. I am glad I did. I made it a habit like safety glasses(after too many trips to have an eye doctor take a metal bur drill to my eye to remove rust) and respirators. Ever see someone shiver and vomit uncontrollably into a trash can after getting sensitized to isocyanates? Between that and decades of playing drums(marching drum line to heavy metal cover bands to country cover bands) I know my ears are doomed.


For some things, I know it was too late. I wish I had roll models who also wore the safety equipment. Make it heroic, like seeing a football player put on a helmet. Give it that hero status and it becomes attractive to younger guys who want to be just like dad. Knowing that getting to put on those safety glasses and ear plugs is a sign of being a man doing work. Like a uniform of a firefighter, or football player.

I get sad knowing a day will come soon when I need to know what hearing aids are the best. That is why I am reading this post.


My dad always wished for peace and quiet in his golden years, but I don't think he wanted the quiet to be a dead silence because of hearing loss.

Completely off the line of actual hearing aids. I have seen audio amplifiers sold for recording artists, that filter noise, and coupled with the big bulky bose noise-cancelling headsets, actually produce clear crisp sound with no distortion caused by multiple sources overlapping. They actually stop loud noises from outside of the headphones, so nothing can disrupt what you are listening to through them.

It's just a thought for someone who really would like to enjoy a movie, or TV, and not feel like they are being bombarded by unexpected noises.

This might be of interest on the progress of hearing aids

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/04/23/hearing-restoration-with-gene-therapy-i-knew-this-day-would-come/

There are some that frequency shift the higher frequencies into the range that you have left. Not cheap.

I saw an audiologist in Madison, Wis who suggested I get the better ones which cost me $6000. out of pocket. She said I wouldn't be satisfied with the two lower priced hearing aids. She set these with the computer to block wind and background noise, control volume. The better ones will correct more frequencies to improve my hearing deficits. Best advice is to protect your hearing when you are young.

I am suspicious about loud noises being the main source of hearing loss. I think genes and just plain age is a big culprit on some of us. I had a great aunt that was pretty deaf and her life was following the south end of a horse, and I am not aware of horses being very noisy.
I had two different sets of completely in the ear aids that was easy to live with, but wanted something more adjustable and amped with less skull sounds like chewing, so I put out $4500 for a pair of Starkeys, supposedly blu-tooth equipped. These fit over the ears with little wire like connections to a small thing with a rubber tip that stuck in the ear. The blu tooth made it easy for the Dr. to change/boost the sensitivity, but the feature never has been connectable to my computer or other broadcaster, except if you buy Starkey's $300 tv broadcaster and then you would need one for each TV set (I use two or three, depending on my tasks about the house).
These over the ear ones are always getting dislodged by stocking caps, scarves, caps with ear flaps, pullover shirts, etc. One feature that my Starkeys have is a small rocker button on the top edge that can adjust the volume up or down depending on what the ambient situation is. Mighty useful when in a McDonald's play place with screaming kids and glass walls. Or speed talking TV heads needing amplication.
I tried a cigarette pack sized blu ray broadcaster that you lay in front of the TV or folks around the coffee table and hear a lot better. It came with a neck chain and wife could talk to me easily even at highway speeds in the noisy Corolla, but battery life was short and recharge time long, so it went back.
I regret (or have learned more)that I did not shop around for units like Costco. And there is a new outfit out of Chicago that sells programmable aids for WAY less money, but I don't know how they can be set up for the volume/response one needs.
Hearing loss is easily measured, doesn't take long but is shrouded in Doctor-settings but shouldn't be much more involved that, say a Dr Scholls foot thingy at the Walmart, IMHO.
You can't sleep with them, showers wreck them, they get brushed out if you carry a grandchild around with them riding on your shoulders, they are NEVER set at the right levels for where you happen to be, you can hear birds again but also silverware clinking from across the cafe.
My advice: pick a Dr. convenient to your area because they and you will be seeing each often.
Choke down the money and make room in the budget for another old age maintenance expense.
Leo

I was at a COSTCO store in the Gilbert AZ. First and foremost the intensive NO charge hearing evaluation by a licensed fully trained hearing specialist was my first concern....she was great! After the hearing evaluation all information was placed onto a "CD" and explained in basic good old fashion ENGLISH with no sales pitch. I asked to try on a pair of hearing aids computer set to meet the need of each individual (left ear / right ear) hearing loss and left the building for one hour and shared with the hearing specialist I would be getting back to her. After a week I called and purchased a set of hearing aids from Costco. I'm satisfied and can share that the batteries (type 312) last 5 days per hearing aid. There is a warranty on the HEARING AIDS I PURCHASED .36 months warranty on HEARING AID DAMAGE....21 months warranty on HEARING AID LOSS...36 month warranty on HEARING AID FAILURE. Total Cost $1899.99 US DOLLARS.An electronic controller is supplied with the hearing aids if you require it. The same controllers are also on the foundation piece of the hearing Aid. The controller allows a choice of RESTURANT,MUSIC-TV, and regular conversation. As I still do AIR CRAFT POWER PLANT repairs and test running I find them to be something I remove when I'm working on the above mentioned. The model is "KIRKLAND SIGNATURE 5.0 PREMIUM HEARING AIDS"
This is not a sales pitch my own observation.
Bob...

The hearing aid guy I go to told me any hearing aid company that claims they can block out background noise is lying. Hearing through these aids I have is a little like listening through a small PA system. The sounds have that kind of quality but I got used to it fairly quickly.

Mine cost $5000 so I suppose I could say they are mid range. I have 50% flat line hearing loss which is easy to fix with an aid. Background noise does affect my ability to hear the person who is talking to me. Setting a coffee cup down on a hard table makes a sharp noise through the hearing aids. Crumpling a potato chip bag makes a sharp noise. I do have a remote control for them but I haven't used it for several months. One big benefit to them is I can now hear my own voice when I sing along with other people, like singing in church. Now I can sing in a chorus and feel confident I'm on key. First time I wore them to church all I listened to was the creeking of the pews and rustling of papers. Hadn't heard those sounds for years.

had hearing aids from VA; kept going bad, send'em back & forth, finally just lost or parked'em. The hunters ear type aid from Sportsmans Guide or similar catalogs worked for me at $40.00 a pair. Fits behind the ear with a tube into the ear just like regular aids. Wouldn't even need those if people would learn to speak up but they never do.

I've been through 4 sets over the years and got the best available. My hearing tested -90 dB from normal and the best aids could only recover 30 dB. My losses were worse in the 2-4 kHz range, the range of the female voice.....convenient for selective hearing on "honey do's" but caused by employment, not my wife.

They did help some but were a PIA. They are really good at picking up background noise even on the $4000 units that had background noise cancelers......now how does the aid know what is talk and what is background??????????

One of the problems in hearing loss is the running together of words. The space disappears and they just run together. You have to get the whole sentence and digest it some times to understand the contents of the sentence. So someone says something, you give them a blank look, your mental computer goes over what came in and if it recognizes a key word you get the general idea of the communication and respond. Otherwise the blank look remains.

On the TV, the best thing I found was the Sony MDR-IF245R Cordless Stereo Headphones. Even at my critically low hearing level, I can listen to what I want and the quality is unbelievable. I never have to put the volume all the way up. They sit on a recharge cradle next to your TV and you plug your sound source into the back of the cradle which houses the transmitter that transmits to the headsets. Line of sight range is about 15' or more if you are looking at the cradle rather than walking away.You need to give them some serious consideration.

Wind and road noises are a horrible nuisance and attempting to wear them in either situation is useless for me. So, I just keep them in my pocket when I think I am going to be where I need to hear or go without them and tell whomever is talking to me that I am deaf, speak up.....seldom have a problem with that.

Other thing is ensure that your batteries are within the date code. Trying to use older batteries are iffy. I checked about a dozen one day that were just over a year out and got all sorts of answers with none even equalling the posted voltage. A new one will register several tents of a volt over the posted voltage. Don't expect more than a day's usage out of a set. Dollar General has the best prices around here.

HTH,
Mark

I have seen a swab device in the Dr. Leonard's mail order catalogs that is supposed to treat the muscles in you're ears that cause ringing and other noises. I hear low level rumblings some times like a pump trying to push a liquid through a large pipe line. Just do a google search inputting his name and you will get a listing of the mail order service. Can order online.

I haven't tried his product, but it's not very expensive and I have used several of his products and have had good results with most. Even if you puke your money you haven't lost much and may have gained a solution to your problem. One thing he sells that works is a bottle of Watkin's Liniment for $14, back by popular demand, the 100 year old "snake oil" that retailers used to sell from the back of a wagon in the old west to treat muscle and arthritis aches and pains. It works on my hip and lower back every bit as good as Absorbine Jr. , a long time over the counter liquid which works great too.

I have had hearing aids for 20 years. I got one from Hearing Help Express on the internet about 7 years ago for $800 and it was pretty good. It was a behind the ear one with volume control and a background noise setting and a telephone setting. The background noise setting didn't do anything except cut the total volume as far as I could tell, but the telephone setting was good once you figured out where to hold the phone in relation to the aid, as in about two inches away and up at a certain angle from your ear. It broke from old age and I got another one from them, the HE 33. It is a piece of junk, I wish I had sent it back in the allotted 45 days. It sounds like a cheap speaker and the telephone setting doesn't work at all. Loud sounds are amplified well and quiet sounds not at all. I have an appointment with an audiologist tomorrow and will be looking at new aids. If you google hearing aids there are lots of cheap ones on the market. I plan to use the info from my visit to help me pick a new cheaper aid. I can't spent $5000 on something unless it is going to make me money in return. Heck I spent less than that on my last truck.
If I'm wearing a hearing aid I must have control over the volume, not some far away computer. I have had them try to sell me something "that will let me hear like a teenager again" The noise is unbelievable! We don't need to hear like teenagers, just some better than what we do now. I tell them, "Nothing goes in to my head that I can't control" Be sure to tell them if you don't like it in any way.

What I'd do if I could do it again would be to use hearing protection from day one. We are all too late. I found the behind the ear to work the best for me. Still a hassle. Stay in great most of the time but seems to pop out at the most inconvenient time. Like when you are under a tractor or have 5lbs of grease on your hands. My plan to was to use them part of the day. Didn't work. Now I put them in when I get assembled in the morning and take them out for bed. Just too much hassle getting them in when you need them. There are those special occasions when I don't wear them. Baling hay and some family functions for sure.