Hearing Aids?

[MossRoad]

I was repairing my in-law's vacuum cleaner and found a hearing aid in it's dust bin.

Couple thousand there.

 

[oldnslo]

I went the audiologist route since was offering free testing. It took trying three different sets of aides to get a pair that worked for me so strongly recommend getting a place that offers minimum 30 days free trial and better if 60 days.

My loss is higher frequencies and almost equal loss in both ears. I have worn both oticon and widex. Currently have widex with custom ear molds which cost around $3800 for both 4 years ago and batteries last around 5 or 6 days. The custom ear molds greatly improved comfort level and I believe also improves hearing quality

Suggest doing a google search for a company called hearing helpers. I believe they are an independent company that works with audiologist to provide lower cost aides and batteries. I get 120 batteries for $39 through them.

hearing aides are like glasses, they require time to get adjusted properly so that you will wear them. Neither do any good sitting on the shelf.

best wishes on a tough decision

 

[Bird]

I went to see a doctor about the ringing in my ears about 1989; first time I ever heard of tinnitus. At that time, he told me, "You don't need hearing aids NOW, but you will before long." 1992, I got my first Beltones for $1,630. 2001, I got Starkey's for $1,800 (audiologist in a doctor's office and both she and the doctor were later determined to be crooks and the so called "programmable" Starkey's were nothing more than a little volume). 2006, back to Beltones for $4,588 and I've stayed with Beltones. 2012, programmable 4 program Beltones for $4,000 with remote control that were reprogrammed in 2014. And unfortunately, no insurance that paid for any of them.

My hearing loss is now classified as "profound". I don't watch TV that isn't closed captioned and I hate telephones that are not speaker phones.

 

[Sigarms]

I'm curious to your decision as my hearing as well as my wife's is going. After experiencing this, I now know why many older couples get terse with each other.... they have no idea what the other one is saying. Sometimes that's good, I suppose.

For 17 years my wife has dealt with having to keep repeating herself. More than I can count, if I look at my wife and asked her why she's asking if an Elephant borrowed my hammer" she would just roll her eyes (thanks to Fuddy for that good example). Don't get me wrong, sometimes we have had some good laughs over what I thought she said, but more than often, she's getting exasperated and I'm learning if I wondering why she's asking me a dumb question, I should just keep my mouth shut

Throw in the fact that my 89 year old father has had hearing aids for a couple of decades and has better hearing than myself, and he's telling me I need them as well. Add in my wife and I share a home office when I'm not on the road, and sometimes I use my headset, and sometimes I don't (it's not charged) and at the end of the day I'm not being fair to her. Also started a new job about 16 months ago and some of the guys I work with the closest in the office I can tell are getting tired at times having to repeat themselves sometimes when we're together talking about something. Even in my early 20's, when I was in a car with a bunch of buddies driving around, I was asking guys to repeat themselves.

Do I think I need hearing aids? Eh, I really don't care. However, I am noticing that it's slowly driving my wife up the wall.

I was talking with my mother in law the other day, and she has the newer digital ones with bluetooth, and she tells me they are worth every penny as she didn't realize how much she was missing per her hearing. My wife had told me that when she just spent a couple of days with her last week, her mom was complaining to her about keeping the TV so loud because my MIL forgot to put her hearing aids in and when she did put them in, she noticed how loud the TV was.

I'm rationalizing that with the bluetooth option, it could help me immensely with work as I'm on my phone a huge amount of time during the day.

 

[Sigarms]

I went to see a doctor about the ringing in my ears about 1989; first time I ever heard of tinnitus. At that time, he told me, "You don't need hearing aids NOW, but you will before long." 1992, I got my first Beltones for $1,630. 2001, I got Starkey's for $1,800 (audiologist in a doctor's office and both she and the doctor were later determined to be crooks and the so called "programmable" Starkey's were nothing more than a little volume). 2006, back to Beltones for $4,588 and I've stayed with Beltones. 2012, programmable 4 program Beltones for $4,000 with remote control that were reprogrammed in 2014. And unfortunately, no insurance that paid for any of them.

My hearing loss is now classified as "profound". I don't watch TV that isn't closed captioned and I hate telephones that are not speaker phones.

I have to laugh, just like you, I tend to only watch TV with closed captioned (which drives my dad up the wall if I'm downstairs watching a movie with him), and when the boys were younger with a 8:30 bedtime, every once in a while if my wife and I wanted to watch TV and it didn't have closed captioned, I'd grab my electronic shooting earmuffs and turn the volume up on them so we didn't have to blast the TV.

Your comment about the telephone is spot on as well. If I don't have my headset, I'm generally on speaker phone and that can drive my wife up the wall as well as no matter where I'm at on the first floor, she can pretty much hear the conversation.

When we go out on our early morning or late night walks and I was talking about what was going on with work, generally she already new because she has heard the "fires" I was putting out when talking on my phone.

Don't get me wrong, I still think I can live with it as I can still get by, but I am noticing it becoming more aggrivating to others around me.

My father has always had the Belltones and loves them as well.

 

[Hay Dude]

Huh?

 

[Frankenkubota]

I was diagnosed with profound hearing loss at the Portland blues fest years ago, i always thought that was funny.

I'm single so that helps. My dogs can smell what i'm thinking.

I was in the radar business, defense related. There is a technical term called discrimination.

Not that kind of discrimination.

It's the ability to "single out" one tone....one frequency in the presence of many other signals, all at about the same amplitude or.....loudness. That's why you and i can hear each other fine if we are alone but go to a noisy restaurant and try the same conversation.

Years ago I read that the loss of discrimination in human hearing is due to tissue damage. Neil Young is responsible for mine, that and lots of pre osha factory work. While the defense industry can address the discrimination issue, i don't believe they can fit their solution in your ear! Stem cells might offer a better solution?

Almost everyone i know try's them, loves them for awhile, then they get put in the dresser drawer.

If they work for you then....good on ya.

Truth.....i told a guy interviewing me for a job late in my career that i didn't have hearing aids because 95% of what i hear is BS.

I got the job anyway.

 

[Hay Dude]

Yeah a Neil Young concert can but a hurtin on the ears. Saw him a few times

 

[MoKelly]

Best concerts I’ve ever been to is Toby Keith.

He has a zillion drinking songs!

I have Phonak hearing aids. Makes a ton of difference. To me, hearing is close to eyesight in criticality so it’s worth the money.

As a foolish youth, I never wore hearing protection. Now, all the time while working.

MoKelly

 

[plowhog]

Do I think I need hearing aids? Eh, I really don't care.

Ask your wife to wear earplugs for about a week when she is around you so you can get a sense of what others around you go through.

You'll learn how much effort it takes to constantly repeat yourself at near-yelling. And learn how many things no longer get said because maybe it won't be heard at all and for sure I will have to yell it again.

Poor hearing affects relationships in ways that are near invisible to the one with impaired hearing.