Hearing Aids

The Sandbox General
1

tl, dr: eh?

Well, this is it. I’ve lived long enough to admit that I have a hearing problem and need some help with this. Part of it is old age, part of it is plain stupidity as I’d blast music in my headphones. RIP to the follicles that had to die for the benefit of me listening to Weird Al and other musical greats. Brings back memories of when I was listening to music in the supermarket and some nosy lady tells me that I’ll be deaf by the time I’m 50. Thankfully she wasn’t quite right there, but on the right track.

I can still have conversations with people in typical settings, listen to music at a normal volume, no problem speaking on the phone. The hearing loss is mainly high frequencies, so while I can hear the alpha bros just fine (though wish I couldn’t), it’s the lovely female voices and low talkers that give me trouble, especially in crowded and noisy places, so the longer I wait on this, the more likely I’ll end up wearing a pirate shirt on the Today show. OK, enough with the deaf comedy jam, time to talk hearing aids.

Of course, first stop was the ENT office, took a hearing test, then the audiolologist tried to sell me a pair of hearing aids for >$5k. Next!

Went to Costco yesterday, took another hearing test with probably the same voices and words as the first one, essentially the same results, then looked at 2 possibilities: Philips HearLink or Jabra Enhance Pro 10. Both are <$2k, behind the ear models, use AI to make adjustments, I’m told they handle music well (I sing in 2 choruses so important). I tried on the Philips, tough to say how well they work since Costco is pretty quiet on weekday afternoons, weird that I could hear my footsteps, plus my own voice was amplified, but I could see that normal sounds were not amplified which is how it is designed to work. Jabra is a bit pricier, reviews say the sound quality is not quite as good as Philips but still great, their big advantage is a much better iPhone app.

I’ll keep shopping around, our insurance plan gives discounts with Ampliphon so working on setting up an appointment with them.

Any advice from people who are dealing with hearing aids or know someone who is would be very much appreciated. I’d also appreciate any advice on herring aids for anyone who thinks this thread is fishy.

1 Like
2

I don’t know much, not quite there yet although my hearing (especially high freqs) has been bad since I was a child. I do recall seeing this news from last year, maybe the Sony are worth a look. They are less expensive, but since they are OTC… does insurance typically cover hearing aids? I’ve no idea how any of that works.

3

Our insurance doesn’t cover them.

4

Tangent:
We were in Costco with the kid and a lady came up to us and asked to talk to the kid. She was testing out hearing aids since she’d been struggling to hear her grandkids, so wanted to hear a kid’s voice while wearing them.

3 Likes
5

As a first timer definitely want the support of a professional. As I get more experienced I would be open to more self-service type. And I don’t see any point in buying batteries when there are plenty of rechargeable models out there.

1 Like
6

This is the nice thing about GoActuary . . . don’t need hearing aids to understand what’s going on or what’s not going on

1 Like
7

NO BUT SOMETIMES I NEED TO WRITE A BIT LOUDER FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND ME

3 Likes
8

Or so that you can hear what you are saying?

9

Looked at this place called Nu Ear. Thought I’d be happy with a punny name, but sadly it was wasted by some guy with a combover who asked me how I could have survived all this time with such a significant hearing loss. Why should I even have to explain? Someone with good customer service would understand that people who can hear conversation in normal settings are likely to feel that it’s not a big enough problem to spend thousands of dollars, not to mention the psychological impact of yet more proof of being an old fart.

He then went on to say that since price was my most important consideration, I should just try Costco, then went on to say that I won’t like it and I could come back to him when I want something of better quality. :crazy_face:

Yeah, as if you’re really going to be my second choice, or even my 42nd choice. If I’m going to trust my ears to someone, it certainly won’t be with a douchenozzle.

Costco it is!

1 Like
10

IFYP

1 Like
11

RN!

I’m missing certain frequencies, like crickets. I mean actual crickets: my wife will ask me if I can hear that cricket. I say no. She will record the cricket on her iPhone, play it back and THAT I can hear! Weird. Sometimes songs sound a little different due to the missing frequencies.
There is some high-pitched ring in my ears that I can ignore, caused by concerts and a high-powered “Whistle!!” that I occasionally tweet on Saturdays. Thinking about switching to an electronic whistle soon.
I don’t think any of this warrants hearing aids. Yet.

12

Many, if not most people wait until they have severe hearing loss before using hearing aids. What I’m told is that if you are missing certain frequencies and you wait too long to restore them, the brain loses its ability to recognize these frequencies, thus limiting the effectiveness of hearing aids. Definitely worth getting a hearing test - you can usually get them for free at a place like Costco if you tell them you’re shopping around.

1 Like