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

I got the new earmolds a couple of hours ago. I think they are much better for me than the domes were, but they're still pretty new.

Crossing stuff for you that they work really well for you.

Thanks for the updates. Hope they work out better for you. (What did you think of the earmold-making process? I had 'em made maybe 6 times and never really got used to that feeling.)

Thanks ladies. They are a big improvement. I still have a small 'warble' in certain frequencies, but I am at a loss as to why and the woman who sold these to me also seems to be at a loss. I am her first low-frequency hearing loss client.

I haven't had extensive conversations with anyone yet, but music is fun to get reacquainted to. Everything is much louder and somewhat clearer, it seems.

The earmold process was interesting. I kind of liked it. I definitely liked looking at the mold when it came out.

Still annoyed. The cons definitely out weigh the pros. I will be going back tomorrow to either get an extended trial period and a larger vent opening or to return the HAs.

Aw... hope you can get that extended trial period.

I've never read of anyone getting an extended period. We'll see. I still have to call the damned place to try and set up the appt.

How many trial periods can you get? The earmold should be yours now -- it only fits your ear. Can you just return the hearing aid and then start all over again with a new trial period (same hearing aid, just put the earmold back on)?

I think that's what we did to drag things out when I was trying hearing aids back in the day.

Right. The idea is to give her an ultimatum, which I hate. She either extends my trial period another 2 weeks and I may or may not keep them, or I return them right now and start over.

I've had the one 30 day trial - that's up Wednesday this week.

I just got off the phone with her. I told her I could be at her place at 2:30 tomorrow. She moved an appt to make room for me. She then said, "we'll get it right!" I pointed out how that in the office I always leave feeling things are better only to realize in the real (loud and chaotic) world, things aren't better. And that it takes me a few days to be able to decipher what is wrong. And that I am running out of time...... we'll see.

I never heard of anyone getting an extended period, either. On the other hand, I never heard of anyone trying.

Sounds like you've got a good position. Extending the period costs them nothing. Not extending it costs them a four thousand dollar sale - less cost of molds and maybe initial exam.

I have another 30 days in writing! Go me (and my dad's voice echoing in my ear)! The regional manager is coming to my next visit next week.

Go you! That's great!

Nice going.

Well done!

Cheering the K..

Good for you!

Sometimes an ultimatum is the only way to go. But it also sounds like they are trying to give you good customer service, and that's an important consideration in terms of where to purchase a hearing aid. Wanting to get things right for you should be their primary concern, and it sounds like they are trying.

Before reading this thread, I never realized how difficult it can be to find the right hearing aid, and make all the proper adjustments, given the variety of factors that enter into hearing losses, and how individual this is for each person. I really have a new found appreciation for how complex this can be, and I'm always happy when I learn something that way.

But, given how complex all of this can be, a 30 day trial period is way too short--and your case seems to be a perfect example of that. It's not fair to the consumer, and I'm not even sure its that fair to the distributor/seller either. I suppose some people can have all the adjustments done, and the problems sorted out, in 30 days, but that might not be the case for a great many people--it is a process that does involve trial and error and time to live with the hearing aids.

So, why on earth does this 30 day trial period seem to be sort of an industry-wide standard? Is there a way of addressing this issue to effect some sort of change--like consumers demanding at least a 60 day trial period on all hearing aids sold? That would even give the seller more time to try alternatives, make changes, make adjustments, etc. rather than to have to take the hearing aids back, or leave an unhappy consumer with expensive hearing aids that don't do the job properly or which might wind up unused in a drawer.

So, I'm very happy for you, littlek, that you will have more time to try to get things worked out. The important thing is that they do everything possible to resolve the problems you're having. And I really do hope that they can resolve all the problems.

Firefly - I am an unusual case. Only 1 in every 12,000 patients have my type of hearing loss. It's called reverse-slope hearing loss. Where most people lose their high-frequency hearing, my loss is in the low-frequencies. Moreover, we are usually born this way and have had a lifetime of learning how to compensate for it. So, HA dispensers have beautiful HAs for high-freq loss which are ill-suited for those of us with low-freq loss. AND we feel like we're doing ok without help. It's a bad combo. We're infamously hard to manage.

That's what my teachers used to say about me, too. I'm pretty sure they weren't talking about my hearing.

Yes, Roger, I'm sure that they were.

Had my appointment today and the aids are so much better! The changes are still new, so I am trying not to get too excited. It turns out that the there are settings called compression ratios which needed tinkering with. It took a while to figure that out. My ratios were too high (9:1) and he lowered them all, more so for the high frequencies and less so for the lower frequencies. So, my low end was around 4:1, maybe and at one frequency it was 1:1. What all does that mean? I'm not entirely sure. And I am keeping the small tips instead of the ear molds.

Phew! Now I can fine tune.