I have Oticon. They get pretty good reviews for music, but you do need to have the audiologist substantially adjust the factory music setting. Phonak seem to get generally better r3views from musicians for the factory programming. There's a third brand that I forget the name of which also had some positive reviews.

The Oticon and Phonak programming can be adjusted at home if you have the correct gizmo. For Oticon it requires Windows. I'm in the Apple system so I haven't pursued it. This is what the audiologist does, so it gets into the guts. The cell phone app is nice (especially turning them way down when little kids are shrieking).

My Dr. could probably give you some good advice on your situation and is probably not too far form you.

https://spacecityaudiology.com/

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:

I am picking up my Philips aids today at Costco. They do a Real Ear test, where a small microphone is inserted behind the receiver in the canal and actually measures the sound being produced in your ear canal.

More later.

This is what I wound up with as well. As for the thoroughness of the exam, WOW!. My oldest child is hearing impaired and went to school at Bill Wilkerson Institute in Nashville. The mecca of hearing knowledge. The hearing exam I got at COSTCO was light years from what she got in the old day.

RMD

I got hearing aids about 2 years ago and it changed my life. They are not perfect and I purposefully chose non BT ones because I know several people that have those style and are continually playing with them. I wish I had not waited so long .

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
I also found out that the Philips 9050 sold for $1600 a pair at Costco are from the DeMant Company in Denmark that also makes Oticons--and these MAY be equivalent to top-of-the-line Oticons.

I am picking up my Philips aids today at Costco. They do a Real Ear test, where a small microphone is inserted behind the receiver in the canal and actually measures the sound being produced in your ear canal.

The Phillips/Oticons are very good. That was the set I just replaced

I'm now using the Jabra, which offer a bit more adjustability in ranges...my hearing is pretty bad with weird dips in sensitivity...and they were only $100 more.

My hearing tech had a lot of experience from owning his own businesses...in San Diego...and was a musician. It was easier to explain when I thought I was hearing than to a non-musician (since I was using stereo equipment terms)

What I found that make the experience even better was having custom plugs made for the receivers (mine are also power boosted). The best after purchase feature is that they will clean them for you whenever you're in Costco shopping

My experience is no, hearing aids don’t help. If you think about the mechanics of a hearing aid, they increase the volume for each frequency to make up for the hearing loss in that frequency. It’s like you were a wine connoisseur before, then you start losing your taste. Then to make up for it, they increase the loudness of the flavor in the notes that you are more dull in.

I don’t recall what you call the side harmonics (?) that result from two main frequencies mixing together but if the volumes of the primary frequencies are distorted (to make them sound even in volume to you via the hearing aid) then the side harmonics are going to be distorted and different than when you were listening to them before the volume adjustments for each frequency range. And range also denotes that the can’t adjust to the exact frequency in the music.

If you look at it that way, you’re not going to hear the songs anywhere near the same.

Another way to explain is when I got my quieter Lexus, I was surprised to hear notes I never heard before in some music. That’s because in my previous cars, the road noise drowned those frequencies. Now, you have the road noise of tinnitus (which I also have).

Here’s a third explanation from my experience: I used to think I had really sensitive hearing because I could hear “faraway” background noise. But as I got older, the harder I could hear people talking at me while the volume of the background noise started getting louder. That’s when I figured the background noise was tinnitus.


Sorry, I can’t be more encouraging. Enjoy what you can enjoy hearing at this point.

I have tinnitus in both and an extra pitch in my right, and my left ear has hearing loss. The Va gave me one (L) aid. It’s by Phonak and I can manipulate it on the app on my phone. It just helps with the pitches I’m losing out on. I can and have set it to other settings and I’ve used Mrs. MIkes AirPods as hearing aides during Tv or movies. But just plain amplification doesn’t help the missing levels of pitch. I wear the Phonak aid when we watch movies together but I still have to turn the volume up.

I imagine e I probably need to go back to the VA and have another test. But I absolutely detest the place.