Do You Know Hearing Aid Options to Consider Prior to Purchase?

@lacy2 I don't know what brand or model you recently bought but just for your information Costco Hearing Centers, at least in the U.S., sell high quality hearing aids for just under $2,000. Costco sells hearing aids made by "The Big Five" global manufacturers but under a different name.

For example, the Oticons Intent 1 hearing aids are sold under the Philips 9050 name. They are the same hearing aids. Likewise the ReSound brand is sold under the Jabra name. And the Signia hearing aids are sold under the Rexton name.

After I bought Oticon Real 3 hearing aids ($5,000 at a private audiologist) two years after the fact, I found out I could have bought a higher tier model under the Philips brand at Costco for under $2,000.

Also, recommend the Hearing Tracker Forum website. Contributors throughout the world comment on all things in regard to hearing aids.

@lacy2 Good luck to you with these new hearing aids. It's important to understand the brain needs time to adjust to hearing with technology. That trial time is important.

Yes, $6000 is a lot of $. If they help it's worth the price.

Julie

I am having good luck with my SoundBright behind-the-ear hearing aids. I think the behind-the-ear hearing aids are better for me anyway. They're more secure.

Behind the ear hearing aids are more helpful because they have more options. Tiny hearing aids that are so small they may not have all the options you need for your hearing loss. I was diagnosed with hearing loss at age 4. I started wearing hearing aids in college. I joined the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) is a non-profit organization for people who speak but have a hearing loss. Most do not know sign language. I retired 30 years ago as a microbiologist and am now age 90. Movies and TV are now captioned and this helps folks with hearing loss and the Deaf. You can find the website and phone numbers of hearing loss groups on the internet. Thanks for listening. Hermine Willey.

I have been wearing bte hearing aids since 2010. I currently have a Phonak in my left ear, my other ear has a cochlear implant. I have had a telecoil system put into my home for all three of the televisions. I think the Phonak is okay. My hearing loss is probably moderate to severe in that ear.

I am wondering is there anyone out there with moderate to severe hearing loss that could recommend a hearing aid?

@hedy Thanks Hermine. HLAA has made life so much better for so many people, but they must be open to talking about hearing loss and learning from one another. Like you, my hearing loss started in childhood, but wasn't diagnosed until I was in college. Then I was told that hearing aids would not help me, so I didn't get them until I was in my mid-30s. Learned about HLAA in my early 40s and it was life changing to be able to talk to people who understood my challenges. Hearing loss is definitely a challenge; was then and still is now. One of the main reasons for that is that it is stigmatized. It's also invisible, so people can hide it. (Or think they can) Signes of hearing loss are quite visible and obvious. We misunderstand. We respond out of context. We start avoiding social situations. We stop doing other things we once enjoyed. Our friends and family members can't figure out what on earth is happening to us. They know we say 'what' a lot and ask for repeats. You know that drill.

Education from others who have gone through this is very helpful. Hearing aids do not correct hearing loss regardless of what the advertisements say. They do help but people need to learn how to use them. And those who sell them need to take the time needed to tell their clients what can help them.

It is frustrating to continuously hear stories that focus on frustrations. Sharing our success stories is so important.

It is time to stop trying to hide hearing help. Those tiny hearing aids are often lacking some of the most important options. How do we change that?

Julie Olson

@gvg If you have a cochlear implant in one ear you should probably get the hearing aid brand that is compatible with that CI processor. It is so important to make sure that the person who fits that hearing aid understands the CI processor's capabilities. It keeps getting better and better, BUT it takes some training to learn how to make it all work well.

Some of us who are 'bimodal' (people using both a CI and a hearing aid), find it difficult to adjust to a different brand of hearing aid if we've been using something specific for many years. I am one of them. I have a Cochlear America's CI N8 processor (Freedom implant), and have used a Widex aid for decades. I had bad results when I tried the compatible ReSound HA a few years ago. I plan to try a newer ReSound model in the coming year, and hope for better results.

From a consumer perspective, I think it's a shame that the three CI manufacturers decided to work only with one HA brand for their newer processors. I use the telecoils a lot in both devices so am able to pull them together when a hearing loop is in use.

Julieo4

Julie04 gave two excellent resources to review BEFORE getting hearing aids to educate yourself about them, http://www.CenterForHearingAccess.org (CHA) and http://www.hearingloss.org. The first one, CHA, IMO, has more readily available information with drop down tabs. One thing to insist on in getting hearing aids is that they have BOTH a teleocoil AND Auracast capability for assistive listening systems. What is a telecoil and Auracast, visit the CHA site for great, unbiased information.

Julie
Great info, not just for me shopping for new hearing aids, but also for my Continuing Care Community planning upgrades to its shared facilities.
Thanks,
jutkele

Julie
Great info, not just for me shopping for new hearing aids, but also for my Continuing Care Community planning upgrades to its shared facilities.
Thanks,