Hearing is bad in right ear. Will game ear work ?

[redrockranger]

Hearing impaired here. I have a constant ringing in my ears and hearing is FUBAR.. been that way since I came home from the land of sun n fun in 1970.. I just live with it.. If I need eyes and ears I bring my grandson along. Kid can spot a flea on rabbits ass at 300 yards..

If i understand you correctly and you are a veteran,go to the V A they do hearing aids for you people.You have already paid for them.

 

[JRS]

The transmitter is actually pretty handy to have available, Jerry. I can adjust the volume on our stereo system/televisions to my liking, via my "working hearing aid", without affecting the lower volume my wife and others enjoy. They don't have to wear hearing protection

Edit: My working ear uses the Phonak Nadia Q, and my non-working ear uses the Phonak CROS. I also use the Phonak ComPilot, along with the TVLink S. All part of a package deal.

 

[carlsbad]

Indeed, I agree the transmitter is a good thing and I plan to get it. As I understand the iphone system. There is "MFI" technology proprietary to iphone that builds the transmitter and also maybe the ComPilot features, into your phone. --Jerry

 

[5spd]

I am a vet and did not know I could get hearing aids from the VA until I finally got fed up with my self for always saying "what" or "repeat that". I went in and had the tests done, yup my ears are fairly bad. That was about 10 yrs ago (for my ears). I have gone through 2 sets, you get new ones every few years when they upgrade them and have different styles. In the 70s we only wore basic head sets and under jet engines they didn't help much for protection.
I went to the VA veteran services people that are all for getting you what you need.
Listed under Dept of Veteran Services in your locality.
I would go back and talk to those people ASAP.

 

[JRS]

I gave up on the VA many years ago

 

[spclark]

Here is a link to the NRA member benefits for hearing aids. I used this when I got my aids.
http://www.nrahearingbenefits.com/

Thanks for the link!

Dad took me shooting (.38, .357mag, various 22's...) when I was a kid, we never wore hearing protection. I always wondered why my ears were ringing 24/7/365 when I started high school.

OF COURSE I wear hearing protection NOW, have since I got back into shooting ~ 2001. Ears still ring though.

Finally got hearing aids in 2007, tested again last year but costs for new ones put me off going there. I'll see what this NRA program might have to offer.

 

[JRS]

Will I have been steadily loosing my hearing in both ears. Just gotten worse in the last few months. No relation to detached retina or anything else I don't believe. Going to ear dr Tuesday. Marty

Update?

 

[normmatzen]

I have been reading all the above comments. Now it's time for some factual data.

First, Costco employs some very good hearing aid specialists. Especially in California where the hearing aid dispenser's license requires nearly the information Audiologists have. This I know as I did the masters program in Audiology and I had a California hearing aid dispenser's license. That is in addition to designing both analog and digital hearing aids.
Many "hearing aid specialist" get even better at fitting hearing aids than audiologists do.
Another dirty truth is that the $5000 to $7000 hearing aid is the exact same aids Costco sells for around $2000! When digital aids first came out in mid 90's, they were VERY expensive due to the cost of designing the chip, fabricating the chip then writing code for the chip. Now,the processor used in hearing aids cost $10 and down! That is way cheaper than the old analog aid electronics package which was around $50. I have a pair of 3 year old analog aids that cost me $700 which means the retail value is about $1400. Why do digital aids now cost $5000-7000? Simple greed! I also fitted my sister-in-law with a digital aid a few years ago that I thought was a very competent aid. The pair cost me $500! This was a set normally sold by dispensers for $5000!
Another fact, you cannot wear a hearing aid around the store for a few minutes and determine if it is good for you! A fellow named Dr. Gatehouse in Scotland did some research on adapting to different physiological effects. He found that if you start wearing a hearing aid for the first time or get a new different aid, it will take 6-8 weeks of 8 hr per day use before it sounds "normal" to you! This is now called the Gatehouse effect. And, it does take some discipline and the coaching of a patient dispenser to get one to the 6-8 week adaptation. Any new aid you try will sound "wrong" till you get used to it. Not only do I preach this, I found out first hand how it works. Back a few years we were developing a new digital aid and I was responsible for determining the attack and decay time of the compressor amplifier. So, I had to wear these aids full time to do this. And, it took me 6-8 weeks to get to were they sounded "normal" to me.

This is true also for hearing protection. You cannot tell if a new muff or plug is working till you have worn it for a time. Or have mfg. data proving what it will do.

 

[JRS]

Rely on expertise…. not lowest cost. I went the Costco route at one time. Won't do that again. They tried to sell to me a hearing aid to me for my deaf ear Costco provides products, and are big time salesmen. Audiologists provide service and hearing healthcare. What appears to be a lower cost alternative, comes with many disadvantages. Do your homework, then decide. You can negotiate price with your audiologist, as you would when buying an automobile. They also accept insurance, and many of them have a VA membership program Costco doesn't, doesn't and doesn't. Your audiologist does not require a membership, along with a membership fee. Look at the advantages and disadvantages when making your decision.

 

[spclark]

Norm that's the kind of post that keeps me glued to (and contributing!) to this forum!

I had a hunch all the 'middle-men' in between me and the digital aids I got fitted with 10 years ago siphoned quite a large percentage of their 'real-world' $$$ price tag. I had decent coverage with a BCBS group plan where I worked but still the out-of-pocket cost was as much as a new custom rifle runs, w/o sights.

I'll be talking Friday to the guy who got back to me after I filled out that NRA program request for info.

 

[bsekf]

I got my DD-214 in 1986 and did not sigh up for VA benefits (I just wanted to go home). I do not qualify now, too much money. There is a huge mark up in hearing aids and I have a lot of friends who don't wear their $5K+ aids, couldn't get used to them. I tried The BEAN® Quiet Sound Amplifier®, use them like Walmart reading glasses and they work for me. Consumer Reports just did a review on "sound amplifiers" and the Beans were well reviewed. I do not wear them all the time.

Anybody else using them?

Ears are like eyes.... you only get one pair, protect them!

Bill

 

[Brians356]

Rely on expertise…. not lowest cost. I went the Costco route at one time. Won't do that again. Costco provides products, and are big time salesmen. Audiologists provide service and hearing healthcare. What appears to be a lower cost alternative, comes with many disadvantages. Do your homework, then decide.

I'm quite sure there is a wide range of expertise, service and dedication to customer satisfaction across the Costco dispenser landscape. Like finding a great dentist or other health provider, you need to ask around and seek advice from locals you trust. In my city there's only one Costco, whereas in larger cities there will likely be several within easy driving distance. Probably California has more stringent qualifications for dispensers than many states.
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[gary0529]

You need to see an ENT. Sudden hearing loss in one ear needs looking into medically, it can be a side effect of something much more serious. Likelihood is low, not trying to scare you, but do the smart thing and get it checked out by a physician.
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[gary0529]

Like Brian said--Not to scare you but I went through workup for hearing loss and it really should involve an MRI or CT scan for a specific type of neural tumor - mostly benign but it still must be dealt with- involving the auditory nerve, esp. if deafness is in only one ear. Also, if you are right handed (or shoot from the right side) the Left ear is most often affected- it took me by surprise when the ENT doc said "you must be a shooter and are right handed" he said "think about it, right ear more protected when shooting a rifle because it is down on the right shoulder and protected from muzzle blast" guy was obviously a shooter or ex-military doc.
I then went to Costco for the first set of aids and it was literally less than half of that quoted by ENT's office.
Also, surprised to learn that most all hearing aids last only about 5 years so start saving because they will crap out and not covered by ANY Warranty by ANY make for more than a year or two.

Get checked out and you will be better for it.

Gary

 

[JRS]

Like Brian said--Not to scare you but I went through workup for hearing loss and it really should involve an MRI or CT scan for a specific type of neural tumor - mostly benign but it still must be dealt with- involving the auditory nerve, esp. if deafness is in only one ear. Also, if you are right handed (or shoot from the right side) the Left ear is most often affected- it took me by surprise when the ENT doc said "you must be a shooter and are right handed" he said "think about it, right ear more protected when shooting a rifle because it is down on the right shoulder and protected from muzzle blast" guy was obviously a shooter or ex-military doc.
I then went to Costco for the first set of aids and it was literally less than half of that quoted by ENT's office.
Also, surprised to learn that most all hearing aids last only about 5 years so start saving because they will crap out and not covered by ANY Warranty by ANY make for more than a year or two.

Get checked out and you will be better for it.

Gary

I was always curious about why I had no hearing in my left ear. Later in life, the ABR testing was available. After the extensive testing process, I found out it was due to nerve damage. I now wear the CROS in my left ear. Although I am deaf in that ear, I can now hear and understand someone to the left of me via modern technology. Due to my ability to lip read, I got away like a bandit. The U.S. Army had no clue I was deaf in one ear. I used my eyes to overcome many obstacles.

 

[Brians356]

Like Brian said--Not to scare you but I went through workup for hearing loss and it really should involve an MRI or CT scan for a specific type of neural tumor - mostly benign but it still must be dealt with- involving the auditory nerve,

The first test they did on me was a "Brain Stem Invoked Response" (BSER) which is tedious but only involves wearing headphones and some electrodes on the skin (like for an EEG) to analyze nerve response to specific auditory stimuli - woodpecker-like pulse patterns. This can suggest the presence of a tumor in a specific area, mine came back negative. After that I had an MRI, also negative. These were just precautionary, I knew all along my problem was caused by exposure to auditory insults, especially a recent incident involving a stage monitor (speaker) a few feet from my right ear and excruciatingly loud. I could have filed a workplace injury claim, or probably even a wrongful injury lawsuit against the establishment, but didn't want to risk opportunities to continue being hired as a freelance musician in the region's casino showrooms.
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