FIL needs a hearing aid.

Will you guys tell me the Do´s and Don´ts and the basic things to check before a purchase.

Thnk you very much.

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quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:
FIL needs a hearing aid.

Will you guys tell me the Do´s and Don´ts and the basic things to check before a purchase.

Thnk you very much.

0-0

How old is he?
under 70 I would get a higher-end Seimans
I used Hear USA, as they provide free batteries and anytime Free service/cleaning.
Over 75 there are do it yourself products out. there for $500, that use a smartphone for self-programming (which are that bad) We looked at them for our Medical business and tried them for a month. Are they as good as Seimans? No, but they are 20% of the cost of Seimans.

FIL is 77, very active, independant and hard headed. Not techwise or inclined.

He loves to go walkabout but can't hear his cell phone or have a normal conversation.

Getting a bit stiff too,mobility getting compromised so there is our concern. Him getting isolated and in trouble.

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Costco has good stuff with cell phone capability (bluetooth puts it in your ear) for about 2k. Stay away from the big companies like Bel-Tone and such. They get to 10 k for the same units.

There are really only 4 manufacturers anyway, just different labels.

Make sure he goes to a good audiologist for a hearing test to determine what frequencies he has lost and whether or not hearing aids will even work for him. Sometimes the area of the brain where audio signals comes in atrophies to the point that even hearing aids are useless. If he is good to go but still stubborn explain that he needs to preserve what he has now or forever hold his peace. I currently wear oticon and am very happy with them.

Yep, start with a hearing test

AFAIK, he's past the test part of the equation. Do not know the frequency details or specs required. He's very reserved about that.
He's been fighting the idea a long time but since his deafer brothers got devices (another country) now he wants one, no longer ashamed.

Any advise regarding type or material of the buds (?).

Things are expensive and i bet parts are even harder to find. Country is headed down the tubes again, we better spend on this before SHTF and the dealers vanish.

No Costco or easy available HA , just specialized dealers.

If you could provide safe bet / quality brands...

We are all newbies at this.

Thanks again.

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Like Dave7378 said, make sure he sees a good audiologist. My Dad had top of the line hearing aids from Miracle Ear. There were 2 places in his state both over an hour away that he went to & he always had issues. He told me that he wanted to go to the one close to where I live when he visited me (I live 1,000+ miles away). We made an appointment & the audiologist there was so helpful. He could hear so much better after that 1 visit than he could in the several years he had had the hearing aids, all because the lady set them up properly for him. Sadly he passed away 4 months later but at least he could hear during that time.

I'm 75 and I got them this year. I had the advantage of a local Costco, they tested me and I decided to go with rechargeable Phillips Hearlink. I like them, can program with my IPhone. Can turn off when wife annoys me.

The issue with some of these will be maintenance. With mine you need to change the filters and the buds periodically. Easy enough but you would need access to the parts.

Hope you can get someone in country to help, it'll be well worth it for him.

Is he a Veteran? VA takes good care with hearing.

I have had good luck with Resound brand hearing aids, and Phonak make good hearing aids as well.

The Resound brand have gone in the shower with me a couple times and gotten wet (I forgot to take them off), and after shaking them good and letting them dry they worked just fine.

The OP lives in Venezuela.

Unfortunately Costco isn’t an option, as he has stated.

Nicky, the hearing test will help determine what frequencies need improvement and what ones are adequate. A good audiologist is an essential part of the process of buying hearing aids.

Miracle Ear is a well known brand in the US, I don’t know if they’re available in Venezuela.

Here’s a link to some info on Miracle Ear.

https://www.consumeraffairs.co...ing/miracle_ear.html

Nicky (0-0) lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, fortunately, not Venezuela.

Nicky, what I did to do research before getting mine was to get this E-book from Amazon. "Little Book of Hearing Aids"

It is a very quick read, and is updated annually with specific model/brand details and comparisons. It was great, and when I made my call last year (wound up with Costco's Phonaks at about $2K for two) I felt I knew what I was doing.

They have a print version and a Kindle version. If you can receive either, let me know and I'll get a copy en route to you.

I just got my hearing aids last month and I got Phonak rechargeable hearing aids. I felt that rechargeable was the way to go, as replaceable batteries don't last very long and are a nuisance as they are small and hard to handle. You want to get hearing aids that offer, at a minimum, a 45-day return option and free periodic checkups for the first year.

Hearing aids are grossly overpriced so do your research. I originally went to Miracle Ear but their pricing and sales presentation reminded me of used car salesmen. I don't know if you have insurance to help cover the the cost but check around as insurance can cut the cost by 50% or better.

Not Venezuela but getting there soon. Mine is a bananaless republic.

Joel, had I known you use one i would have started buggering you first.

Just checked that a couple of brands mentioned already are distributed locally. Prices start around $500 and the sky is the limit. Both distributors are walking distance from my place.

The prescription is provided by Social Services and likely they will hand him a horn with a LED light. We will pay for the decent stuff ourselves, as a present.

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quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:
Joel, had I known you use one i would have started buggering you first.

I'm going to go ahead and blame spell-check on that one.

Sorry about that Argentina/Venezuela thing, Nicky.

You said he is hard headed.

Does he want hearing aids? It would be a shame to spend a lot of $$ and have the aids setting in a case all the time. It take a commitment to go through the small problems of fitting and adjusting. Aids help but they are not perfect, just ask anyone that wears aids.

My $0.02.

Yes, he is stubborn BUT on his last family reunion in Paraguay, he realized his brothers, who were hard of hearing since long ago, had adopted hearing devicesxand could now hear better than him.

His own family had been telling him to get one to no avail for years. Monkey sees... now he's ready and willing.

We'll see about the practical side of it...

Yes Joel, I know exactly what i typed. My command of your language is that good.
Thought you gringos and the brits were divided by the same language

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quote:

Originally posted by rexles:
Is he a Veteran? VA takes good care with hearing.

The VA has been good to me for hearing aids. They gave me Resound hearing aids and they work with my Iphone. And they give me batteries about every 6 months.