Last week I got my first set of hearing aids. I had needed them for a few years, but couldn't afford, them until my employer added hearing aids to the healthcare plan 30 days ago. When I pulled into the driveway at home and got out of the truck, I heard leaves rustling in the tree over the end of the driveway. It was surprising, because I had pretty much forgotten about that kind of sound. The audiologist who fitted me said the brain will need to re-learn how to hear the frequencies that I've been missing out on the last few years. I'm not really aware of any "re-learning" of sound going on between my ears, but that fact is very interesting. Anyway, the brand I received was Phonak, I think it's a Sweedish company. Apparently the best hearing aids in the world are manufactured in the Scandinavian countries. Apparently US hearing aid companies are not in the top tiers.

Anyway I'm having fun hearing stuff better, like the radio in my Truck, the television in the living room. The real test will be the next meeting at work with a dozen or so people around the table. That has been a sore spot for me in terms of hearing people clearly, because not everyone speaks loudly and clearly, which is (was) a requirement for me to hear anybody clearly.

What is your experience with hearing aids, and do you have any advice along these lines ?

No experience, but will be watching this thread closely, as I too am in the market.

I'm going to be getting mine this week and looking forward to it. My only problem with the test set they put on me was the volume of my own voice. It sounded like I was hollering.

Just make sure you take your time getting used to them. It is a long process (at least it hasa been for me).

I'm in my fifth month. Some days I forget I have them on. Other days, I can't wait to yank them out.

Too many years in the cockpit, jet engines, etc finally caused me to need hearing aids. Don't wear them every day but when I'm with the wife or out in town I wear them to avoid the "HUH" or "what was that?"

Good Luck with yours!

Been wearing them for probably 10 years now. Started out with Miracle Ear. They were pretty good, but DAMN they were expensive.

Came to the point that the Miracle Ear salesman wanted some $7000 for a new pair. Second time around. Decided to check at Costco here since they have a hearing aid center.

Got a pair of Phonak aids for less than half what Miracle ear wanted for one aid.

Costco tunes, adjusts, etc at no cost, and they also provide all supplies except batteries at no cost. Batteries are not expensive and last about 4 days per set.

I got mine with the remote device so I can change channels (aids have 3 channels) adjust volume etc. The remote cost about $160 as I recall, but worth it in my mind. Only "problem" I have with the aids is if I sweat much the sweat collects in the hair above my ears and tends to drown the batteries. No big deal, just wipe them dry and they are good to go.

I suspect that is a problem with any aids, tho. Altho, there may be some models that don't have that problem.

Costco recently came out with a "house brand" of aids. The woman at the center here told me that a set of those was about $1600. Something to consider, if you have access to a costco.

I really should get them. My problem is the tinnitus. I have a constant whine (kind of a cross between a jet engine and electrical type buzzing) I hear all the time. I have always wondered if hearing aids would help with that.
Good luck and curious how it progresses.

quote:

Originally posted by dusty3030:
I really should get them. My problem is the tinnitus. I have a constant whine (kind of a cross between a jet engine and electrical type buzzing) I hear all the time. I have always wondered if hearing aids would help with that.
Good luck and curious how it progresses.

If you have hearing loss and they've been recommended, you definitely should the hearing aids. The Costco tech I worked with told me that over time your brain "forgets" sounds if it doesn't hear them. So, the sooner you get the hearing aids, the better.

Re tinnitus ... I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it won't help. In my case, it was worse as the hearing aids "enhanced" the "sound" of the tinnitus just as they enhance the sound of everything else.

The good news is that didn't last long and the tinnitus resumed it's usual "place" in my head.

Of course, ymmv. Best of luck.

I did not realize how expensive hearing aids were. That's a chunk of change.

I hope you see...er....hear an improvement in your quality of life!

The Costco Kirkland Signature hearing aids are re-branded Siemens. I have them.

Costco sells several types and brands. I tried a few different ones in their top tier. The house brand gave me crisper sound so that's what I got.

My hearing loss is significant enough that even the best hearing aids won't restore everything.

It is money well spent if you need them. Costco is the place to go to get them, as their prices can't be beat in my opinion.

Has made a YUGE improvement for me!

While the pricing is very good at Costco, researching them for my Dad indicated the fitting itself can make a big difference. I could be wrong, but I don't believe the hearing aid fitters at Costco are audiologists, so the experience can be hit or miss. That seems to have been the case for my Dad, although it's hard to tell. It's possible he's reached the point hearing aids just can't help very much.

I'm also curious to know if improperly fitted hearing aids can cause further hearing damage if they are set too loud, wrong frequency, etc.? Do we have an audiologist on the board?

I don't have them, but my dad got a pair a few years ago. It made a huge difference in his ability to have a conversation.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
The Costco Kirkland Signature hearing aids are re-branded Siemens. I have them.

Costco sells several types and brands. I tried a few different ones in their top tier. The house brand gave me crisper sound so that's what I got.

My hearing loss is significant enough that even the best hearing aids won't restore everything.

Costco Kirkland brands are from various manufacturers. I have KS6 which are made by Resound the new KS7 are made by a different manufacturer. I just had my aids adjusted a couple weeks ago and asked about the new ones.

For the OP. Be advised that resturants can seem like chaos until you get used to it. It you have a choice sit with your back to a wall.

Also the cheapest batteries I have found are at Costco.

Excellent thread! Why? I'm just home after getting fitted with my new hearing aids! Until yesterday, I relied on the issue National Health versions - 20-year-old technology...

These new ones are computer-programmable and adjust in every way to my life-style, such as it is these days.......

I have never, in my entire life, spent so much on what appear to be so little, but I'm very glad to have done so. My hearing had reduced to 58% and 56% - it's now just north of 85% in both ears.

Problem is, the honey-do's are now a lot more detectable.

tac

quote:

I'm also curious to know if improperly fitted hearing aids can cause further hearing damage if they are set too loud, wrong frequency, etc.? Do we have an audiologist on the board?

I am strongly convinced that any reasonably new hearing aids are fully adjustable by the wearer. Mine have 3 programmed options, and the volume can be adjusted at wearer's discretion.

Plus, I spent a little more and got a remote control for my aids which makes it easier. Having said that, even using the controls on the aids themselves is not difficult, either.

As the guy said when I got my first set (miracle ear) when I needed to hit the latrine: "do not be surprised by the sound of Niagara falls when you get there.

Do I wish I did not need them? Absolutely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But given the choice of being really hard of hearing in the higher frequency ranges or wearing them, I choose to wear them.

No idea how good the VA provided aids might be. Way back when I got mine, the ones from the VA were relative crap. Might be much better now.

In any case, it pays to do the research before choosing.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bushpilot:
when I'm with the wife /QUOTE]

Thats the reason my dad refuses to get them my mom calls it selective hearing, he says it's from growing up with big block muscle cars and motorcycles.

I've struggled with worsening hearing loss for quite some time now. The ringing/tinnitus is terrible, at times debilitating. I've started and gave up/stopped the VA process several times now. I purchased some cheap hearing aids about 2 years ago, but just couldn't get used to them. I had to turn them up so high for them to work that they would feedback easily which would seem to trigger a bad bout of tinnitus. In public, for me...it made hearing people worse. Even worse than the indistinguishable mob of sounds was the quick realization that it made me on edge constantly. Hearing too much was just too hard for me to get used to. I gave up on them. They were in my truck for a while, and now I have no idea where they are.

I'd be interested in some better quality versions, especially with bluetooth pairing. They'd need to have some noiseproofing capability ideally for motorcycle riding.

The kind of money that gets spent on these things astounds me though. I was $800 into the ones I had, which felt like throwing it into the wind. I read lips well, and I don't have a job that required me to hear well in crowded spaces. I utilize my wife when I need to. I've found that my stress levels are significantly lower when she filters the message first anyway...

30 years of wearing hearing aids here. One thing that I noticed when I first started to wear the aids was an increase in irritability as the battery began to lose power even before the tone would go off.

If you find yourself getting a bit irritable because you can not seem to hear quite as well, change to new batteries and see if that helps.

Good luck

quote:

Originally posted by jigray3:
While the pricing is very good at Costco, researching them for my Dad indicated the fitting itself can make a big difference. I could be wrong, but I don't believe the hearing aid fitters at Costco are audiologists, so the experience can be hit or miss. That seems to have been the case for my Dad, although it's hard to tell. It's possible he's reached the point hearing aids just can't help very much.

I'm also curious to know if improperly fitted hearing aids can cause further hearing damage if they are set too loud, wrong frequency, etc.? Do we have an audiologist on the board?

My fitter at Costco seemed as competent as one of the audiologists I saw and more competent than the other. The hearing test and voice recognition tests at Costco were the same tests the audiologists ran. The recs for what I needed and what would help me the most were the same. The only difference between Costco and the audiologist was $5,000 extra for the same hearing aids.

My hearing aids are set so that they won't amplify any sound over a certain level. The Costco guy set levels as part of the fitting. I went back for adjustments after a few weeks. A gunshot won't be louder. If someone were to wear my hearing aids it's possible they would hear things too loudly. I control the volume with an app on my phone.