Two references: I love my Sound Advice Hearing Center which does testing and sells all the top brands plus devices such as TV adaptor. I have also joined HLAA which has local clubs around the country and they sponsor local hearing technology expositions. I wen to last one here in Tampa Bay area and it was great to see all the vendors as well as idologist proving information and demonstrating devices. It was also great to attend sessions and meet others with full spectrum of hearing loss issues and learn about how they are coping.

Hi,
There are terrible audiologists and hearing aid techs out there as there are great ones. Can’t imagine any Audi who wouldn’t let you at least try BTEs (Behind the ears) . I have been wearing BTEs for too many years to count. My last ten years have been with Phonak BTEs. My current ones are very powerful and use a 675 battery which lasts almost a month.

BTEs generally have less repair problems since those delicate electronics are behind , not in the ear. My Phonaks accommodate many types of programs, like speech in noise, wind, music etc. I narrowed it down to 3 since all the bells and whistles don’t work or are not necessary. I have learned how to retube them myself, my Audi gave me extra tubing and I bought the tool online. I also store them every night in the Dry and Store dehumidifier.

My Audi let me trial 5 pairs of aids about 6 months ago, Starkey and Widex were 2 good brands and it was a tossup between Widex and Phonak. She’s a great patient programmer. There was no upfront charge for the trials. She also let me trial the accessory that you can buy for Phonak called the Icom which I did not like.

Most aids come with a 2-4 year warranty. Any adjustments by an Audi are included in the price, no matter how many. It helps to write down exactly what you are experiencing and describe the sounds you are hearing...tinny, shrill for example before you go back for adjustments ( I had at least 6 or 7 this last time). People with the exact same audiograms will experience things differently and only you know what you need. Don’t get swayed by what the Audi thinks and don’t be rushed into anything. You’ll know if an Audi is trying to rush you or is impatient so run from them.

Noisy situations will always be difficult. You can go to movies that are captioned but you will probably have to wear the caption glasses which can get heavy. Do you have a Hearing loss club in your area? I belong to such a club and if we get 10 or more people at one of the theaters that has captions, we get the whole theater to ourselves with on screen captions.

I rely on captions for TV,. I have a landline captioned phone and use Innocaption on my cell phone. There are free apps in the play store that you can download and try for using in noisey places.

Goggle around on the internet and you’ll be surprised at what you find....you may come across an HHLA chapter in your area or have a Deaf and Hard of Hearing agency nearby. Search for listening strategies and coping mechanisms , deaf clubs, captioned theaters (try Caption fish)
and be upfront and advocate for yourself. Above all, find a good Audi or hearing aid tech and see if you can get more than a 30 day trial for new aids.
The hearing aid company wants you to buy them so they will be accommodating.

@catladyde9 Hi catlady, and welcome to Connect. I understand your problems totally, I have the same. When the clarity issues got bad my audiologist switched me from the Phonaks I had, which had been great prior to the clarity issues, to Oticon Opn1 hearing aids. The Opn was at the time -- about two years ago -- the best for clarity. The other manufacturers may have caught up by now. They had a different way of handling the transmission of sound. They are a definite improvement, before I could never hear in a situation with a speaker, as at church, but now I can usually.
The Opn is not perfect, I still have problems in noisy situations, but they are better than what I had. I would find a different audiologist. I don't understand why she did not want to prescribe BHE aids. My audiologist has said for a number of years now that my loss is too severe to use anything except behind the ear aids.
Are Rexton hearing aids available from regular audiologists or just through Costco? I have dealt with two different audiologists, one local here in NH, and one in NYC, and never heard of that brand.
I hope you find something that meets your needs. I am interested in any information that you find about this, since I have such a similar problem. They are coming up with new technology all of the time but the cost of hearing aids is so high that a person cannot just switch easily, unless they have a surplus of money. My daughter who also wears hearing aids but for a totally different type of loss, thinks if there is something new and better that it would be worth the money to get it. She is extremely happy with her new hearing aids, ReSounds, but she does not have the clarity issues that I have.

@johntm Hi John, and welcome to Connect. I think many of us share the same frustrations that you have, I certainly do. My aids are Bluetooth so my phone does stream to my aids, which is hugely helpful. I don't even bother to answer our landline phone now. I have Oticon Opn hearing aids and also purchased the "Connect Clip" which allows me to put a little microphone on someone who is speaking so they can be streamed to my aids.
JK