Hearing Aids?
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Sigarms
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I agree with you. Being cheap, just wondering the best route
MossRoad
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So am I getting it straight that the bluetooth on the hearing aids isn't just for controlling the hearing aids, but also will allow syncing with a smartphone and be used like earbuds for phone calls/playing music?
If so, man, that would be a nice option.
When my father in-law first got his hearing aids, we'd be sitting at dinner and all of a sudden he'd say "My battery died" (hoped it wasn't his pacemaker!) and he'd hand my mother in-law his hearing aids and she'd change the batteries for him. I always wondered if he just realized it died because things went silent, but eventually found out it had a little voice that would tell him the battery level and when to replace. I just thought he was paying attention to his surroundings.
MossRoad
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Well, if that's the case....I agree with you. Being cheap, just wondering the best route
"I mean, there's just nothing like it on the market today"
plowhog
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I bought my mom special hearing aids that worked with a TV loop device. It was a very good investment-- she could again watch TV without having the volume so high the neighbors could hear it.
I'd suggest you consider adding that to your shopping list. The loop device was inexpensive-- under $200. But you need hearing aids that are compatible with its signal.
OP
Sigarms
Super Star Member
BINGO!
Thing is, what takes up more space on my phone is documents to access, as I have no music on my phone.
That said, just to have hearing aids in and be able to use them to communicate via my cell phone is a VERY nice option which really pushes me over the edge on getting them that I still probably have another 10 years of work in me (my wife prays I'm not like my dad and will want to work into my 70's to keep busy LOL).
Slowpoke Slim
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I lost over 80% of my hearing while in the service, pretty much across all frequencies. Also got tinnitus to go with it. It's a pretty cool combo to have. If it's dead quiet, like hunting alone in the woods, I can hear pretty good. But *any* machinery, motor, background or fan noises and I'm deaf as a post. I also will not be able to hear you in a noisy bar or restaurant. Hearing loss/deafness is a physical disability just like any other, with the exception that you can't visually see the person's disability. So if you don't know them, you don't know they can't hear you.
I will usually tell someone when I meet them that I'm almost deaf, and they'll have to speak up, and actually ENUNCIATE their words or I can't hear them. Most folks take it in stride and do their best to accommodate. New coworkers I let know that if they walk by and say something or greeting or similar and I don't respond, it's probably because I can't hear them and not that I'm mad or don't like them or something like that. The random people that I interact with during the day that make no effort to accommodate only get reminded a few times and then they get set to "ignore". I'm only going to be somewhat apologetic for my disability. If they're being a tool about it, I ask them if they'd give some blind guy crap for being blind, or some guy in a wheel chair crap for not walking. I heard Rush Limbaugh say one time about his deafness that no one would walk up to Ray Charles and tell him to try harder to see.
Some folks like to blame the disabled person for not hearing, saying things like "Pay attention" or "listen up". They then will get the "Ray Charles" analogy from me and it usually makes them stop and think about what they just said to me.
My wife of almost 35 years knows me and knows my condition well. She knows that if she asks me something or says something and I don't respond or react it means I didn't hear her. She's very understanding and forgiving. She's also been around since before I went nearly deaf, and she knows the circumstances of how-why, so it's no big deal to her. She'll still tease me about it sometimes, which is fine, calling me "deaf old man" or similar, and we chuckle about it. I love that woman. Rest of my family knows I'm hard of hearing too and they also do their best to accommodate. Only one I had a permanent problem with was my (now ex) Sister-in-Law. That woman spoke nothing but "A's". Every word, every syllable out of her mouth was just the letter "A". No consonants, and no other vowels, no attempt at annunciation at all. It was impossible to understand her, especially on the phone. I would just ask "Is my brother there, and can you put him on the phone?" I don't have to talk to her anymore, so it's "fixed" now. Lol.
Amplification would do very little for me. I would need improved clarity. I can usually (not always) tell that someone spoke, unless they're faced away from me, but I would have to say "I can tell some words just went by me, but I didn't understand any of them. Can you repeat that?" I'm not really interested in getting hearing aids, at least not for now. Maybe once it gets so bad I can't communicate. But I'm not really interested in spending $6-8K for high end hearing aids to hear random strangers speak to me about things I may not be interested in anyway. I know they're trying to reach me about my car's warranty, but at least right now I don't have to hear it.
I will usually tell someone when I meet them that I'm almost deaf, and they'll have to speak up, and actually ENUNCIATE their words or I can't hear them. Most folks take it in stride and do their best to accommodate. New coworkers I let know that if they walk by and say something or greeting or similar and I don't respond, it's probably because I can't hear them and not that I'm mad or don't like them or something like that. The random people that I interact with during the day that make no effort to accommodate only get reminded a few times and then they get set to "ignore". I'm only going to be somewhat apologetic for my disability. If they're being a tool about it, I ask them if they'd give some blind guy crap for being blind, or some guy in a wheel chair crap for not walking. I heard Rush Limbaugh say one time about his deafness that no one would walk up to Ray Charles and tell him to try harder to see.
Some folks like to blame the disabled person for not hearing, saying things like "Pay attention" or "listen up". They then will get the "Ray Charles" analogy from me and it usually makes them stop and think about what they just said to me.
My wife of almost 35 years knows me and knows my condition well. She knows that if she asks me something or says something and I don't respond or react it means I didn't hear her. She's very understanding and forgiving. She's also been around since before I went nearly deaf, and she knows the circumstances of how-why, so it's no big deal to her. She'll still tease me about it sometimes, which is fine, calling me "deaf old man" or similar, and we chuckle about it. I love that woman. Rest of my family knows I'm hard of hearing too and they also do their best to accommodate. Only one I had a permanent problem with was my (now ex) Sister-in-Law. That woman spoke nothing but "A's". Every word, every syllable out of her mouth was just the letter "A". No consonants, and no other vowels, no attempt at annunciation at all. It was impossible to understand her, especially on the phone. I would just ask "Is my brother there, and can you put him on the phone?" I don't have to talk to her anymore, so it's "fixed" now. Lol.
Amplification would do very little for me. I would need improved clarity. I can usually (not always) tell that someone spoke, unless they're faced away from me, but I would have to say "I can tell some words just went by me, but I didn't understand any of them. Can you repeat that?" I'm not really interested in getting hearing aids, at least not for now. Maybe once it gets so bad I can't communicate. But I'm not really interested in spending $6-8K for high end hearing aids to hear random strangers speak to me about things I may not be interested in anyway. I know they're trying to reach me about my car's warranty, but at least right now I don't have to hear it.
That’s so true. You may think you get along fine but in reality your friends and family stop trying to interact with you as much because it’s so difficult. Whether it’s your wife or grand kid or fishing buddy, that can quickly leave you isolated and alone.
Bird
Rest in Peace
Mossroad said, "When my father in-law first got his hearing aids, we'd be sitting at dinner and all of a sudden he'd say "My battery died" (hoped it wasn't his pacemaker!) and he'd hand my mother in-law his hearing aids and she'd change the batteries for him. I always wondered if he just realized it died because things went silent, but eventually found out it had a little voice that would tell him the battery level and when to replace. I just thought he was paying attention to his surroundings."
My current hearing aids sound a "dida da ding" sound that no one else will hear to tell me the battery is about to go down. And they'll repeat that sound about once every 30 minutes for a couple of hours before they actually die. My last hearing aids did the same sound, but only once and died within 30 seconds. Now I don't know how long batteries last for others, but mine will go 8 days, so if I'm going out and they're a week old, I go ahead and replace them.
My current hearing aids sound a "dida da ding" sound that no one else will hear to tell me the battery is about to go down. And they'll repeat that sound about once every 30 minutes for a couple of hours before they actually die. My last hearing aids did the same sound, but only once and died within 30 seconds.
Now I don't know how long batteries last for others, but mine will go 8 days, so if I'm going out and they're a week old, I go ahead and replace them.
First, the choice of the hardware i.e. the actual hearing aids is the least important factor. There really are no "bad" hearing aids. The most important factor is the Audiologist that can interpret your hearing test and the program the aids to your situation. Then selecting the appropriate hardware/aids and features (bluetooth) for your lifestyle.
Pricing is all over the place mostly due to perceived value and cost of doing business. A fancy Audiologist Practice in a high rest medical building will need to charge more than a Practice in a strip mall or Costco in a warehouse.
I have been in the Hearing Protection business for over 25 years and usually recommend Costco to my customers. Costco sells the same name brand hearing aids and appears to do a good job in selecting and hiring their audiologist's. Being located in the warehouse the their cost of overhead and their purchasing power allows them to sell for less.
Pricing is all over the place mostly due to perceived value and cost of doing business. A fancy Audiologist Practice in a high rest medical building will need to charge more than a Practice in a strip mall or Costco in a warehouse.
I have been in the Hearing Protection business for over 25 years and usually recommend Costco to my customers. Costco sells the same name brand hearing aids and appears to do a good job in selecting and hiring their audiologist's. Being located in the warehouse the their cost of overhead and their purchasing power allows them to sell for less.
cqaigy2
Super Member
I remember reading someplace that lose of hearing was a statistical factor in suicide in older males. Meaning, they didn't identify the specific cause, but that the numbers indicated a connection. I'm assuming because as PuffC mentioned, social isolation.
Fuddy1952
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Years ago my Dad worked for Sears in plumbing department. This old deaf guy comes in and after about the fifth "what?" Dad started assembling plumbing pipe. A co-worker asked what the heck Dad was doing. He had the fellow hold one end to his ear while Dad yelled in other end.
Dad was a hoot.
Dad said that same co-worker went to a water park on vacation which they had to shut down the water slide for a while as the guy lost his dentures, hearing aids and toupee on the way down.
Dad was a hoot.
Dad said that same co-worker went to a water park on vacation which they had to shut down the water slide for a while as the guy lost his dentures, hearing aids and toupee on the way down.
ruffdog
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My dad doesn't want to let on that he can't hear. Either he misunderstands what I'm talking about and takes off on some tangent or he just blankly stares at me. Yelling would be better because at least we would be communicating. It was exactly like his dad when he was still alive. We didn't communicate very well when both of us could hear and now it is much worse if he has a hard time hearing. I always longed for great father/son conversations but we never really went there.
lman
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I noticed that I had a harder time understanding people that were wearing masks. I suffer from tinnitus and I thought they were mumbling. I now believe that I understand people better if I watch their lips while they're talking.
k0ua
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Yep, noticed that too.
RalphVa
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I was kept from going completely deaf with otosclerosis about 40 years ago by getting a stapedectomy in my right ear at that time. Had like Superman hearing for a week or so until my brain turned the volume down. About 20 years later the left ear developed it as well but also had some nerve damage. The stapedectomy didn't bring the Superman hearing like the right ear.
Finally about 15 years ago, I got Starkey hearing aids from the medical people at $2,000 each programmed for each ear. I don't wear them outside at home nor in the house. The wife talks to me like a computer, and I hear her. If she doesn't, I don't.
Need captions to watch TV. No captions: tune in something else.
I'm getting some relief at last from tinnitus via acupuncture. Hooray! Two years in a row, creeping charlie tea stopped it, but only for about 2 weeks about mid May. My tinnitus was volume and frequency matched via my audiologist's work. Was 85 dB. She was looking to use a cancelling background noise. Try screaming.
Finally about 15 years ago, I got Starkey hearing aids from the medical people at $2,000 each programmed for each ear. I don't wear them outside at home nor in the house. The wife talks to me like a computer, and I hear her. If she doesn't, I don't.
Need captions to watch TV. No captions: tune in something else.
I'm getting some relief at last from tinnitus via acupuncture. Hooray! Two years in a row, creeping charlie tea stopped it, but only for about 2 weeks about mid May. My tinnitus was volume and frequency matched via my audiologist's work. Was 85 dB. She was looking to use a cancelling background noise. Try screaming.
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dadiehl
Gold Member
My dad passed away about two years ago from Alzheimers. Prior to him being diagnosed we got him hearing aids to the tune of about 4K dollars after insurance kicked in. He hated them n never used them. His doctor told us there is a correlation between lack of hearing and Alzheimers. There is a lot of research out there connecting the two. If you never walked the Alzheimer’s walk with a family member it sucks. The only good side is when they pass away there are no tears. Just relief for the patient and the family left behind.
MossRoad
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Make that 3. You don't realize you're a lip reader until you can't see lips.
MossRoad
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I work with a guy that is hearing impaired. He knows it, as he tells us he's hearing impaired. However, he knows it, but won't do anything about it. He gets things wrong, argues a lot, and is generally a **** a couple times a week. We make sure to face him when we're talking, send emails, etc... so he can read it. Working with him during the pandemic was very hard. We keep suggesting hearing aids, but he's the kind of guy that says we should make sure he hears us. It gets to the point you don't want to work with him.
goeduck
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Yesterday I needed to pound in 4 metal T posts on one of my remote properties. I did not have hearing protection in the vehicle that I was in, but I pounded the posts in anyway. It is unlike me to be without hearing protection, but I needed to get the posts in. Today I have muffled hearing a bit which usually will go away. I know these losses are slight but the law of diminishing returns is in play. I ordered a set of 3M 101 dB muffs to keep in that vehicle so I do not get caught again. Cheap insurance, they will be here tomorrow thanks to Jeff Bezos.
