What to look for...and avoid...in a hearing aid.

@dlowan,

Make sure you get a hearing aid that works well and buy the best that you can afford.
My brother wears two. They are the big over the ear type not so attractive but he can hear and to me that is most important.

1 Reply

@Marsilly,

You would be surprised how long even a short haired man can wear them before someone notices.

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I just tested my low frequency hearing here: http://www.freesound.org/tagsViewSingle.php?id=6790

First I used no hearing aids and then I used the hearing aids. I started hearing the tone at the same frequency either way. Confused

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@littlek,

I may be off base in my wondering, but you went to a purveyor of one brand of hearing aid? Did you see an ENT and audiologist first? Not that I know that is any better. Anyway, an unbiased hearing expert?

1 Reply

@ossobuco,

Yes, Osso, multiple hearing tests of 2 decades.

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@littlek,

'k, good.

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@littlek,

Not the most joyful discovery, was it?

I'm really thinking it's time to consider recovering the cost, and maybe trying a different shop with different personnel and hearing aids. This obviously isn't working.

1 Reply

@roger,

I'm kind of with you on that. On the other hand, family members have said I do hear them better. So, something has changed. And I am notoriously horrible at confrontations.

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@littlek,

Not sure why it'd be a confrontation if you are within the agreed 30 day period?

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@littlek,

So am I, but that's a lot of money, and she should have been aware of possible problems from the exam. I'm assuming she didn't mention the aids might not be of much benefit.

As to family, it might be possible they talk in a range where there is some actual improvement. I don't know much about it, but I'm stunned at how little good they are doing. We expect a period of adaptation, and it just doesn't sound like it's happening.

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@littlek,

littlek wrote:

On the other hand, family members have said I do hear them better. So, something has changed.

I think go with this a bit more. This really is familiar to me, the feeling of the hearing aids not being useful but having evidence (people around me, how I was doing in school), that they actually were helping.

When is your 30 days up?

Also, the lowest ranges just aren't used in speech that much. That is, if you aren't getting help in the lowest ranges, but you ARE getting help in the speech banana, then it's still generally a help.

Edit: I just looked at your numbers again and they don't start at 125, so it's a bigger chunk of speech than I was originally thinking.

Speech banana:

http://www.firstyears.org/lib/banfamily.gif

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Deb, I think (don't know for sure) that the miracle ear employee I deal with earns a commission on aids. My guess is that she'll try to sell me the in-ear style instead of what I have now. If I get another 30 days on that I may be interested in trying it out.

So, here's my thinking:
Cons
1) They don't seem to be helping tremendously, though as Soz points out, that may or may truly be the case.
2) They cost a lot of money!
3) I was doing OK, not great, understanding people without the aids.
4) I found out just after I got these aids that my medical group is now offering aids and it would probably be easier to have one through them.
5) There seems to be change happening at state level to include hearing aids under health care insurance plans. MA doesn't offer any help with them now, but maybe they will soon.
6) Hard of hearing forum peeps are gossiping about aids for low-frequency hearing loss coming out in the near future.

Pros
1) Use-it-or-lose-it applies to hearing loss. Potentially, the longer I wait the harder it is to get hearing back with aids.
2) I had a coupon which may have lowered price below comparable brands.
3) The person I bought them from is nice and I don't want to upset her.

I have until 8/24 or so. But, I was planning to be away for the last 2 weeks of August. This Friday is a follow up meeting.

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@littlek,

littlek wrote:

If this were a nasty political discussion, I would say we've found the central issue.

3) The person I bought them from is nice and I don't want to upset her.

If she's really that nice, though, I'm sure she will be understanding of your decision.

Here's another con; you will probably still have to pay for the molded ear pieces. If you pay for them, make sure you keep them for the future.

I'm not sure it's 'a use-it-or-lose-it' proposition. It may take longer to fully adapt to them, but I don't believe your hearing will be the worse for waiting.

If it seems likely there will be insurance help in the future and/or a possibility that the technology will improve in the low frequency range, waiting might be the better option for you. On the other hand, if they help some now, we know they won't last forever and the advantages of waiting will be there in 5 to 7 years.

1 Reply

@littlek,

Quote:

1) Use-it-or-lose-it applies to hearing loss. Potentially, the longer I wait the harder it is to get hearing back with aids.

Huh?

I don't understand it that way at all. It may take longer for your brain to re-jig itself to deal with the newness is all, as I understand it.

It was a doddle for me, and I'm way older than you.

Have you actually checked re hw much your medical group will offer?

Mine only does 1,100 per five years..

Do the forums have any concrete evidence about low range loss hearing aids coming out "soon" and how these would be different?

I think you might need to get over the nice thing if the evidence truly points away from these aids.

1 Reply

@roger,

I just searched info re: insurance coverage. Apparently advocates have been trying to get some coverage since at least 2009. They are starting with, and having some success with, hearing aid coverage for children. Because everyone has some hearing damage, it seems providing coverage would be a pandora's box.

Use-it-or-lose-it: from what I understood, it's more than a "getting used to" thing. The amplification stimulates the hair follicles, or some such....? Don't remember well, though.

Now I'm off to research low-frequency aids.....

1 Reply

@dlowan,

By medical group I mean the multi-plex of doctors offices I go to - not insurers.

The 'nice thing' is a life-long issue..... I know I need to get over it.

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@littlek,

Haven't found anything about low-frequency hearing aids. I guess I'll have to consider the in-the-ear mold.

1 Reply

@littlek,

If it works for you, it works for you. I know with a behind the ear model I don't have problems with feedback from the phone receiver.

I think we're all waiting for sozobe.

1 Reply

@littlek,

The behind the ear model might not be the best choice for your particular type of hearing loss, if your hearing aids are an open fit.

Quote:

Behind the ear
Behind-the-ear hearing aids hook over the top of your ear and rest behind the ear. The hearing aid picks up sound, amplifies it and carries the amplified sound to an ear mold that fits inside your ear canal. This type of aid is appropriate for almost all types of hearing loss and for people of all ages.

A behind-the-ear hearing aid:

Is the largest, most visible type of hearing aid, though some new versions are smaller, streamlined and barely visible
Is capable of more amplification than are other hearing aid styles

Open fit
These are usually very small behind-the-ear-style devices, although larger behind-the-ear devices can be modified for a more "open" fit. Sound travels from the instrument through a small tube or wire to a tiny dome or speaker in the ear canal. These aids leave the ear canal open, so they're best for mild to moderate high-frequency losses where low-frequency hearing is still normal or near normal.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hearing-aids/HQ00812

Quote:

Open-fit devices"Open-fit" or "Over-the-Ear" OTE hearing aids are small behind-the-ear type devices. This type is characterized by a minimal amount of effect on the ear canal resonances, as it traditionally leaves the ear canal as open as possible, often only being plugged up by a small speaker resting in the middle of the ear canal space. Traditionally, these hearing aids have a small plastic case behind the ear and a small clear tube running into the ear canal. Inside the ear canal, a small soft silicone dome or a molded, highly vented acrylic tip holds the tube in place. This design is intended to reduce the occlusion effect. Conversely, because of the increased possibility of feedback, and because an open fit allows low frequency sounds to leak out of the ear canal, they are limited to moderately severe high frequency losses.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearing_aid

One possibility is to try another style that Miracle Ear makes--an in the ear model. Or, you might want to consult another audiologist, at a different place, for a second opinion about the style of hearing aid that might be best for your type of hearing loss. But you do have to watch that 30 day trial deadline. And I would stick with a hearing aid from one of the better known manufacturers, like Miracle Ear, or several others, that have been around a long time.

This article is a little dated, it's from 2005, but the info still seems useful regarding the trial period.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090300228.html[/quote]

1 Reply

@firefly,

Firefly - miracle ear may be well-known, but it doesn't seem to rank highly with hearing aid buyers. I don't have a good sense as to why that is, but maybe it's expense. The sales person there already mentioned that I may need to move to an in-the-ear model or have an ear mold attached to the behind-the-ear model I have to compensate for my type of loss. It'd be most cost-effective for them, I imagine, to set me up with the ear mold on the BTE model. I'm not sure what's best of those two options for me.

2 Replies

What to look for...and avoid...in a hearing aid.

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