Liberty Hearing Aids

I don't own one, but did look into them. They seemed okay, but you were at the mercy of the dispersor at Sam's, and had to hope they knew what they were doing in terms of evaluation, selection, and programing. All in all, they had some pretty fair reviews.

If you put Liberty Hearing Aids into the search box at the upper right, you might even turn up my own similar question.

Hey, I found it for you. Hope it helps.

http://able2know.org/topic/196115-1

Are you using hearing aids? Are you promoting the product?

Doesn't sound like promotion to me, but it's often a judgement call.

I have recently been told it is time for a hearing aid so I'm just checking out a few. Liberty, Phonak and Sharkey so far. I want to look into Seimens too.

Sharkey! It's Starkey, but I think of it as Sharkey, too.

At this point, it might be best to get a professional hearing evaluation, especially if it's covered by insurance or Medicare. Medicare won't touch the hearing aid, but if you are referred by a doctor (MD) the will help with the evaluation. It's not always a good idea to be evaluated by the same outfit that is selling the device, and you sound like you may be able to get good results with a lower end aid. Your Liberty is going to start at something below $1000.00, and believe it or not, that is pretty good.

Hi, the LIberty Hearing Aids are made by America Hears, Bristol, PA. I've had a pair for about 5 1/2-6 years and they have done me well. They are inexpensive because they do cut the middle man out. You can have a hearing test, fax the results into them and then they will decide which instrument is the best for your loss. Right now they are having some very good sales - and I've never seen them do that before.

The brand is not as well known as some others in the industry because they use a different sound processing technology than the rest of the hearing aid industry, and do not publish in scientific and engineering journals in order to preserve their technological distinctiveness. Every other manufacturer of digital hearing aids uses the WDRC platform, which is compression based processing. The problem with compression is how drastically it changes the linear curve of the sound inputs when presenting the output to the user...this is why so many hearing aid users complain about the "metallic" quality of speech and/or the discordant sound that accompanies music listening. Liberty uses the ADRO processing platform, which relies on fuzzy logic algorithms to preserve much of the linear curve of the input while optimizing the user's dynamic range. This is why most patients, that have worn or tried hearing aids previously, are blown away by the difference in sound quality with Liberty's 64 channel technology. Because more of the linear curve of the sound input is preserved, a more natural sound output is observed by the user. This makes adaptation to the aids and background noise easier for the user to deal with, as a whole. ADRO is the primary platform for sound processing in the cochlear implant industry and Liberty is the only company in the hearing aid industry that has the right to use that tech. Liberty is also an American owned and operated company that manufactures 100% of its products in the United States. As far as quality is concerned, the Liberty brand is just as good, if not better, than the rest of the hearing aid industry. They actually are the U.S. based manufacturer of custom aids for 4 of the largest hearing aid companies, based in Europe. ~Jason West, Hearing Aid Specialist in Pensacola, Florida

I never heard that before, and am not sure what it all means, but it does sound interesting.

have used aids for 10 years, will have testing next week at Sam's. Any more info available about Liberty or their technology, reliability would be appreciated.

I've really nothing to add. If you get more than five years out of any of them, you are doing well. How well you will like the Liberty from Sam's depends almost entirely on how well the distrubutor is able to program them.

I have had my liberty hearing aids less than a week and wish as a first time user would of known about them. Clear sound direction music all have been improved in my life . The audiologist at SAMs told me to stop by and I am grateful I did , I can hear again.

I have had 2 hearing aids from Liberty now for 10 days. The 7-day checkup adjusted the high tones down because I complained of high pitch. Tech turned them way down but said I would be back because some TV words may appear to not be annunciated. He was right; I need to adjust up just a little for fast talking TV commercials, albeit unnecessary but good practice. The batteries are only .22 each. Warning of low battery was at 9 days.

So, I'll go back for a "I told you so" adjustment. Sam's club is convenient and so far the hearing specialist has been right on - although I haven't been. Patience.

BTW, neighbor has Miracle Ear, paid well over $5,000.00 for 2 compared to my 3,997.00, rebait 200. 90 days, and experienced same learning curve I am. Uses a remote to control volume, etc. I just hit a button if necessary but I was told that Liberty automaticallyl adjust themselves in most cases. Dunno yet.

I find it difficult to adjust to ordinary, every day sounds but when I remove them, I miss phone calls and I'm back to asking folks to repeat. Good friends with good hearing are helpful for questioning "what do you hear" so I know if I'm on track with normal and thank me for my softer voice and no longer shouting.

Bottom line: Need to keep on keeping on. Long way to the 90 day return policy. So far, can't imagine returning. And, TV ballgames are projecting fine. No feedback or tinny sound.

Thanks.

When I checked them out at Sam's when I started this thread, their Speaker in the Ear model worked very well in the background noise of the store, and better than the GN Metrix that I'm using now. I'm impressed that they are doing so well with the ball games, which I'm sure are televised.

Too bad we can't get someone with more time than conscience to run around and check the five or ten most popular aids for their entire free trial period, and report back.

I wish I could believe five or ten people seriously in the market were following along.

Your remark about "running around" was interesting because I thought of doing just that before my 90 day return policy expires.

However, after testing twice with my hospital hearing aid department -2009/3013 - I just went back today for my 3rd review with the Liberty audiologist. I also spent time with another Hearing Specialist, not an audiologist. He monitors for wax buildup. Hearing aids were initially installed by the hospital 2009 but returned/refunded as inappropriate and not user friendly. Actually, horrible.

In the event I'm approached with a "free test" offer, I might still take the time to investigate. Lots of money involved here.

Today, we compared the hospital graphs and they were almost identical to Liberty, albeit an additional loss in one ear. Large problem for me has been not hearing consonants, only vowels. This seems to no long be an issue.

I like that I can be programed for the Loop system and telephones, and the easy noisy backgrounds button comes in handy in restaurants. In addition, I was concerned about the hot day moisture while working outside. It appears the Nano technology is doing it's job.

I'm still enjoying the ball games, no feedback or exaggerated screeching. I am carefully checking off the proclamations in the following website, addressing each one I feel I may not be receiving, and hanging in with my 90 day return policy. So far, so good. One year, same as cash is a nice benefit. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
http://libertyhearingaids.com/lh_products_3.html

Just simply a fyi and most people don't know this. The person at Sam's is most likely a Hearing Aid Specialist NOT an audiologist. There is a BIG difference by definition. An audiologist has a doctor's degree in audiology (8 years of college and then some) while a specialist only has some correspondence courses in hearing related areas. Internet research will help you learn the difference between the two.

They are definitely not the samd, d7, but a Doctor of Audiology is not a medical doctor. I will say that I've had better luck with an audiologist, especially the one at our hospital.

While Hearing Aid Dispensers (or Specialists) do not have advanced degrees, Many such as myself have Bachelor's degrees in the sciences needed to have the ability to become licensed by the state and be quite proficient in dispensing hearing aids. I personally have dispensed over 1500 hearing instruments, and I'll match that up against an advanced degree.

Fair enough. Some dispensers age going to be better than some Audiologists. Still, if you have to choose with nothing to on other than certification, Audiologist is the way to bet.

By the way, in one particular Alzheimer's facility, I know one LPN who is better than any of the RNs in the facility. It happens, but it's rare.