Got my latest pair from Costco (again). Cost $2800 and they are a good upgrade from my most recent pair (5yr old also from Costco). My most recent pair, the right ear aid had stopped working. Only needed a new ear extension (wire/speaker) which Costco provided at no cost. They are now my back-up pair. We discussed the new/improved features of the latest aids (all mine have been Resound brand) and I chose to upgrade (also Resound) At my Costco they check your hearing extensively, adjust a demo pair for your hearing and have you "test drive" them during your appointment. Then you can decide your path forward.
Hearing test
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Raythemanroe
Bullet Whisperer
A Dr. could make a killing in this sport..
Ray
Ray
I have been wearing hearing aids for a long time. The hearing aid business is worse the used car business. Make sure and get hearing aids that any audiologist can warranty. Phonak has been terrible for me and if I transfer the warranty to another audiologist, it costs over $700 per ear. The Mfr. will not even talk to you except through the audiologist. The only reason I use Phonak is because they have the best Bluetooth connection for my phone. Resound is a better hearing aid. Your best bet is to check with a university near you to see if they have an audiologist program. The cost will be a lot less there. You do not need all of the programs that come with some hearing aids. Six programs is a lot. Four programs is more than enough.
My findings agree. The ear, nose, throat doctor checked for wax in my ears- 5 minutes tops -then sent me to a hearing aid shop (conveniently just across the street) to get his kickback from an $8000 pair of hearing aids that are only warranted for 3 years, have a useful life of 6 years (if lucky) and require a fortune in batteries that only last 1 week, and require routine maintenance to keep wax out of the damn things.
Albany Mountain
Silver $$ Contributor
Do yourself a favor and get another opinion. Yes your hearing is not what it was. Your ears are such a truly precise instrument. But any enhancement will be benefical to you and you will learn to pick up the sounds. I wear hearing aids every day and without it, it can be a quiet, meaningless existance when you stay away from conversations with the ones you love and even the ones you hate. They have come a long way with digital designs and now you can link up your cell phone direct to the hearing aids and hear on the phone etc.
I had a dear shooting friend who refused to wear aids and subjected his family and friends to none stop compliance in writing notes and listening to blasting TV.
You owe it to yourself and family to get the right kind of assistance, and continue to protect what you have left in hearing with good protection.
DirtySteve
Gold $$ Contributor
I have tinnitus as well. Had it for a long time. Needless to say I have hearing loss as well. Luckily I don't care what most people say. I do find myself staring at peoples mouths as they speak and try to guess what the words are that I miss by the context of the conversation and the direction it was going. I sure wish suppressors were more available in this country.
joshb
Gold $$ Contributor
- Mine is about half gone. I accept that, given my history of construction, shooting and 30 years of marriage. I use what I have to my advantage. My wife is "blah, blah blah" in the kitchen with the tv on. I'm not really paying attention until she gets right in my face and says "Did you hear what I said?" I say "Huh?"
Now, I have to listen... and she starts about her friend Nancy and how she's having problems with her big toe and she thinks it might be because her new sneakers are too tight and she likes the style and she's trying to find a new pair...........
Geronimo Jim
Gold $$ Contributor
joshb............I can relate! Love it.
I have always said the reason I have a good marriage is I cant hear any thing.
You guys have gotten me interested again.
First, your general practitioner is NOT an expert in hearing or problems with the ear. You must go to
what used to be called Eye, Ear Nose and Throat Specialists which are now called Otolaringologists!
These folks flat out know the ear and problems with them.
However, if you go to one with a hearing problem, the Otolaryngologist will not treat you, they will send you to either an Audiologist on their staff or an Audiologist in private practice. The professional education used to be a masters in audiology but has increased a bit to the Aud, or Doctor of audiology. They also will hold the CCC-A mentioned above which is a national certificate showing competence in audiology. These folks are highly trained in your hearing system as well as some things you may not be aware of. Such as balance disorders and some specialists take part in difficult surgeries where then can measure indications of how close the surgeon gets to nerves so as not to make any damage.
When you need hearing aids, most hearing aid dispensers now are audiologists with many still are certified hearing aid specialists.
In California where I had my hearing aid dispensing license, you must essentially have studied audiology to the masters level to pass the written test!
My recommendation as to where to get hearing aids is the VA if you are a veteran, they hire the cream of the crop in audiology and take part in a lot of research. If not a vet, I would go to Costco! I can't say enough about them. They hire very competent hearing aid specialists and sell you premium hearing aids for bargain prices and have the knowledge and experience to correctly fit them. I recommend the bog standard Kirkland brand with the addition of directional microphones. You will note that these aids look very similar to some of their name brand aids they sell. You guessed it, they are made by the same companies! The reason to have directional microphones is that even with a competent hearing aid with proper loudness, a hard of hearing person sill has a deficit in hearing speech in noise. The directional microphone erases that deficit in difficult situations.
I learned about Costco as a dispenser when my then 95 yr old father appeared with a new pair of Costco hearing aids. I had been fitting his aids up till then. I asked him why he went to Costco and he said,"I thought you weren't dispensing anymore since you retired!" Anyway, I was concerned so I went with him to the next appointment to tweak his aids and I met his hearing aid specialist, who turned out to be VERY competent and caring. He took very good care of my father's hearing needs!
Costco aids would cost $6000 to $8000 at most private practices!
First, your general practitioner is NOT an expert in hearing or problems with the ear. You must go to
what used to be called Eye, Ear Nose and Throat Specialists which are now called Otolaringologists!
These folks flat out know the ear and problems with them.
However, if you go to one with a hearing problem, the Otolaryngologist will not treat you, they will send you to either an Audiologist on their staff or an Audiologist in private practice. The professional education used to be a masters in audiology but has increased a bit to the Aud, or Doctor of audiology. They also will hold the CCC-A mentioned above which is a national certificate showing competence in audiology. These folks are highly trained in your hearing system as well as some things you may not be aware of. Such as balance disorders and some specialists take part in difficult surgeries where then can measure indications of how close the surgeon gets to nerves so as not to make any damage.
When you need hearing aids, most hearing aid dispensers now are audiologists with many still are certified hearing aid specialists.
In California where I had my hearing aid dispensing license, you must essentially have studied audiology to the masters level to pass the written test!
My recommendation as to where to get hearing aids is the VA if you are a veteran, they hire the cream of the crop in audiology and take part in a lot of research. If not a vet, I would go to Costco! I can't say enough about them. They hire very competent hearing aid specialists and sell you premium hearing aids for bargain prices and have the knowledge and experience to correctly fit them. I recommend the bog standard Kirkland brand with the addition of directional microphones. You will note that these aids look very similar to some of their name brand aids they sell. You guessed it, they are made by the same companies! The reason to have directional microphones is that even with a competent hearing aid with proper loudness, a hard of hearing person sill has a deficit in hearing speech in noise. The directional microphone erases that deficit in difficult situations.
I learned about Costco as a dispenser when my then 95 yr old father appeared with a new pair of Costco hearing aids. I had been fitting his aids up till then. I asked him why he went to Costco and he said,"I thought you weren't dispensing anymore since you retired!" Anyway, I was concerned so I went with him to the next appointment to tweak his aids and I met his hearing aid specialist, who turned out to be VERY competent and caring. He took very good care of my father's hearing needs!
Costco aids would cost $6000 to $8000 at most private practices!
Dave Berg
What doesn't kill us makes us bitter.
Lloyd, in my experience it's really pretty simple to address your problem without much risk.
If you're a vet go to the VA. I know several who have done this and they're the happiest of the bunch.
If you're not a vet, go to Costco if there's one fairly close (you'll have to make more than one trip). Guys I know who went there are far more satisfied than others (except the VA). The Costco Hearing Aid Center is owned and operated by Costco. The Sam's Club version is just space they rent out.
If neither of those options are available I'd consider the outfit I used on Ebay. The company name is Fix Your Ears, a California company, and they're the worlds largest hearing aid distributor. Send them a message thru Ebay to talk directly before you buy. Their Ebay name is "bidbybid". I'd go with a moderately priced Siemens without all the extra bells and whistles and a $2,300 pair should work fine. They'll ship them pre-programmed to your hearing loss. They will encourage you to compare prices for the same thing from local dispensers. You may have to change the piece that fits in your ear as I did but it's a two minute job and they cover the cost of exchange. There are only three sizes and size 2 fits 85% of people.
Last option is to go to a local dispenser but be prepared to spend a whole lot more money for a little bit of hand holding.
Whichever way you go you'll be a bit disappointed in the sound quality but amazed at what you can hear that you had forgotten about. I hadn't heard the birds outside for years - a bit annoying at first actually. I had also gotten in the habit of asking everyone to repeat what they said and I kept doing it after I got the HA's. Took me a couple months to stop asking when I knew perfectly well what had been said. As far as my bride goes, I can always turn them off when I want some quiet time.
Kevin Taylor
Gold $$ Contributor
While I seriously need hearing aids I do get help through the VA. Excellent docs, I have always have had Phonaks, and the blue tooth accessories that do the TV and phone hook ups. L8ke them a lot.
The last set I received had a “invoice”. For 335.00 for the pair. You figure out the mark up.
The last set I received had a “invoice”. For 335.00 for the pair. You figure out the mark up.
UPDATE
Just had my visit with the audiologist. The first this she did was check to see if there were any wax blockage in my ears. The right side was clear, however the left has what was described as an impacted wax plug. I was told this is very common with people that use ear plugs a lot. When she removed the plug, I learned something about myself I never new. It is humanly possible to propel yourself off of a chair using nothing but your a$$ muscles! When the plug was removed, so were fine hairs and a layer of skin!
After that the test went normally, but was told that the finding were abnormal. I had two distinct tone levels that were much worse that the rest. Regardless, she had me try on a trial set of Phonak aude'o B hearing aids for the lowly price of $3,810.00 for the pair.
In short, I hated them! It sounded like I had my ear pressed against the speakers in my truck.
I'm hoping that some of you will chime in and recommend some other brands, otherwise I'll just march forward.
Thanks,
Lloyd
Just had my visit with the audiologist. The first this she did was check to see if there were any wax blockage in my ears. The right side was clear, however the left has what was described as an impacted wax plug. I was told this is very common with people that use ear plugs a lot. When she removed the plug, I learned something about myself I never new. It is humanly possible to propel yourself off of a chair using nothing but your a$$ muscles! When the plug was removed, so were fine hairs and a layer of skin!
After that the test went normally, but was told that the finding were abnormal. I had two distinct tone levels that were much worse that the rest. Regardless, she had me try on a trial set of Phonak aude'o B hearing aids for the lowly price of $3,810.00 for the pair.
In short, I hated them! It sounded like I had my ear pressed against the speakers in my truck.
I'm hoping that some of you will chime in and recommend some other brands, otherwise I'll just march forward.
Thanks,
Lloyd
My experience also (my visit was 3 years ago), except I had no wax build up and the price you listed was for one - I need two I was told. The fact that they have a usable life of 7 years max. and batteries last about a week and the money comes out of my pocket, and EVERY one of my friends that have them (mostly vets) claim what a PITA they are -other than they claim it's nice to actually converse with their grandchildren, and I'm at that stage where it's just another item to misplace ........I decided in the end it's less aggravation to just do without and live with hearing loss.
You are right, during the trial fitting, even with the "computer generated fine tuning" it was not the improvement I expected. If I avoid situations where there is multiple conversations, I can endure it.
when you start wearing hearing aids,you hear sounds,noices,etc.takes time to get used to.lot of mine is from driving piling at work.having to be by piling to get blowcount and hammer right by you.i wear ear muff now late shut off high noice but goes back to normal .there are a bitch in summer time when its 100 plus but its better than losing what hearing i have left
powderbrake
Gold $$ Contributor
I have a set of Starkey hearing aids, and they are very good. Of course, noisy enviorments make it difficult to discriminate sounds, so wedding receptions with loud band and a large circular table can lead to difficulties.
I can adjust them with my iPhone, and set up different hearing settings for home, work and car (the iPhone knows you are moving and switches to car setting) I paid $5000 for them with the NRA program. I have had other brands and I recommend the Starkey, which is supposedly the brand that some of our Presidents have worn.
NOTE!!!! If you are a NRA member, hearing aid discount benefits are part of your membership. http://www.nrahearingbenefits.com/
I can adjust them with my iPhone, and set up different hearing settings for home, work and car (the iPhone knows you are moving and switches to car setting) I paid $5000 for them with the NRA program. I have had other brands and I recommend the Starkey, which is supposedly the brand that some of our Presidents have worn.
NOTE!!!! If you are a NRA member, hearing aid discount benefits are part of your membership. http://www.nrahearingbenefits.com/
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