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Mentor

When to replace hearing aids

Posted by Don Higgins, Volunteer Mentor @dsh33782, Aug 27, 2019

Possible reasons to buy new hearing aides:
1. Lost or broken
2. Out of warranty
3. Improved performance and features of new hearing aids
a. Now can connect to any cell phone or bluetooth device with both ears.
b. Rechargeable batteries that last 6 years (recharge daily)
c. Improvement of noise reduction in group settings

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Hearing Loss Support Group.

imallears | @imallears | Aug 28, 2019
In reply to @lioness "@bobbyboomer I agree someone else suggested Taurine I don't know how expensive this is but may..." + (show)
@lioness

@bobbyboomer I agree someone else suggested Taurine I don't know how expensive this is but may try it. Anything to quiet the sound.

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@lioness
Hi,

I may have suggested it....have been taking daily for almost a month now and the last few days or so I noticed I didn’t have any or when it came back it was a different lower sound and didn’t last. I am only taking 500 mg but you can take larger doses. It’s funny that I just realized a couple nights ago (when aids are out and I’m in bed) that something was missing.

Lord only knows if that’s the reason but I will keep on with it. This particular sound was a very annoying beep and chirping sound. I do have a slight head noise but that just disappears during the day and is not a real problem.

It’s very affordable....I don’t know if a particular brand is better.

FL Mary

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bobbyboomer | @bobbyboomer | Aug 28, 2019
In reply to @lioness "@bobbyboomer I agree someone else suggested Taurine I don't know how expensive this is but may..." + (show)
@lioness

@bobbyboomer I agree someone else suggested Taurine I don't know how expensive this is but may try it. Anything to quiet the sound.

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$10 for 180 capsules here https://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-l-taurine

If I did the math right it's less than 16 cents per day.

I haven't tried this brand at Amazon but it's even cheaper:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=taurine+1000mg+capsules&crid=30FBV136OHTO2&sprefix=taurine%2Caps%2C178&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_7
If I did the math right it's less than 12 cents per day.

Remember, they work gradually. A year later and it went from hissing at best to wailing at worse and it's now quiet at best and hissing at worst.

I take two on an empty stomach with a glass of water when I wake up, and another sometime in the afternoon. I don't know if that's the best way or not, it's just the easiest for me.

I probably found out about Taurine in this article https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2013/6/The-Forgotten-Longevity-Benefits-of-Taurine/Page-01

And from the NIH https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2997922/ which is where I always end up because they are papers published in peer reviewed medical journals. Not that it makes them iron-clad, but it's the best source available IMHO.

Bob

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lioness | @lioness | Aug 28, 2019

@imallears Hi Yes I think it was you come to think of it . I'm going to try them @bobbyboomers has found them at Vitacost . I order most of my supplements from Vitacost for years.

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joangela | @joangela | Aug 29, 2019

I get new hearing aids every two years. They are always an improvement. Enough time goes by and technology continues to move forward. It is then that I continue to keep up with technology in obtaining new hearing aids.
JoAngela

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ellen307 | @ellen307 | Dec 18, 2019

Thanks for your information on hearing aids I do go to neurmors senior care, they are reasonable for lower income people only draw back not pair
With Bluetooth white guard needs to be replaced often have Arthur’s often it falls on floor difficult to replace I need to use needle nose pliers to insert new
Guard n remove old one. Costco sells hearing aids for 1700.00 if you can afford them which I cannot. Ellen

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ner | @ner | Dec 24, 2019
In reply to @nurseheadakes "Replacing Hearing aids....Response. 1. Lost of broken - can be fixed or traded in for another..." + (show)
@nurseheadakes

Replacing Hearing aids....Response.
1. Lost of broken - can be fixed or traded in for another pair that is like the first
2. Even though the warranty is over, the hearing aids still work and you can still use them. As long as your audiologist can work with you and the hearing aids, they can be programmed to work with your hearing loss. This is on the assumption that your hearing loss hasn't changed over those 3 yrs.
3. Hearing aids have been improving and so have the various assistive listening devices that are on the market. You can use you hearing aids and have the audiologist show you the different devices that you may be able to use with your aids to augment what you don't have.
a. Live Streaming: from hearing aid to cell phone via t-coil - if your hearing aid doesn't have the t-coil in it, then a neck loop or headset could be used to hear through your bluetooth/induction hearing loop. New FCC rules just passed now require all telephones must be hearing aid compatible. Not all hearing aids have the telecoils in them because the copper wired is too big to put in the very small aids (especially the ones that go in the ear). All cochlear implants have telecoils and all behind-the-ear hearing aids have telecoils. These devices can hear in the hearing loop and are beginning to have the opportunity to live stream on cell phones. [I have been able to stream on my iphone/Resound LinX hearing aids for the last 4 yrs]
b. rechargeable batteries - good and bad depending on type of hearing aids you have. I have powerful hearing aids with many programs and requirements / demands on the iphone and hearing aids. The iphone has the app for the hearing aid. I would not be able to have enough power in rechargeable batteries for the hearing aids since I go often more than 10 hours in a day - wearing them and need my iphone to work them - so need a fully charged iPhone to have them working properly. It's a song/dance routine with the two of them I don't look forward to any 5g program coming up at the end of the year and I am speaking up about that.
c. again sounds, noises and working with your audiologist is the best bet because this continues to be a thorn in the side of all manufacturers. Researchers continue to refine and define and upgrade all of the hearing aids to dampen the amount of perceived noise that we hear. There are tools that we can use to help us hear near and far from us depending on what we specifically want and need. Remember, these devices will not replace our natural ears. We have lost that and will never get them back. They will never replace them to what we had but they are providing something that extraordinary at best. I have and there are mini microphones and devices you can use to help you hear around here. These are assistive listening devices. Ask your hearing aid stores and they can show you the various devices and tell you what you can use with your aids. All those people who have CIs are given their selection of devices to complement their implants so that they can hear around them. We need to do the same because we have to remember, our hearing aids can only really hear are few feet around us, if that. We need additional help with anything more. That's why we need to speak up about this !

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Please elaborate about using a neck loop or headset if one's hearing aids don't have a t-coil.

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1 reply
tonyinmi | @tonyinmi | Dec 24, 2019
In reply to @ner "Please elaborate about using a neck loop or headset if one's hearing aids don't have a..." + (show)
@ner

Please elaborate about using a neck loop or headset if one's hearing aids don't have a t-coil.

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@ner, if a hearing aid does not have a telecoil, a neckloop is useless. The telecoil is just another input to the hearing aid that can be used in conjunction with the microphone. A neckloop gets the sound source into a hearing aid via the telecoil. It's sometimes difficult to use a headset when you wear hearing aids due to the increased chances of hearing aid feedback. Plus, it may be painful to wear a headset because of the pressure put on the hearing aid. We may have to remove the hearing aid if we want to use other technology that requires the use of a headset.
Tony in Michigan

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ellen307 | @ellen307 | Jan 14, 2020
In reply to @bobbyboomer "Sadly for me it's "When I can afford to". Personally I think these helpful devices are..." + (show)
@bobbyboomer

Sadly for me it's "When I can afford to". Personally I think these helpful devices are way too expensive for many of the people who need them most.

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Feel many of us are in the same place, can not afford better hearing aids. My one drawback is replacing the white part called wax guard, with arthritis in my hands need to use needle nose pliers to hold part to remove old guard n insert new one. Many time fall out of pliers. The loose tiny part. Never can find it. I do go to neumours senior care specialist in hearing, vision n dental need to apply. Cost is low. Just purchasec glasses 130.00 not bad price plus affordable for me. Pick them up next week.

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lindabro | @lindabro | Mar 29, 2022
In reply to @mikepa "@hearingpeg You are correct - not all BTE's have a telecoil. My Starkey Halo does not..." + (show)
@mikepa

@hearingpeg You are correct - not all BTE's have a telecoil. My Starkey Halo does not even though I told my audi that a telecoil was important to me 3 years ago! I am in the process of getting new ones and have researched the major brands. Many times there will be a model without the telecoil but it will have a similar model with all the same bells and whistles but also a telecoil. The only difference in the Model numbers is the letter T at the end. So look for that.

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What does BTE stand for? Urban dictionary says "Breach of Toilet Etiquette"

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1 reply
Mentor
Julie, Volunteer Mentor | @julieo4 | Mar 29, 2022
In reply to @lindabro "What does BTE stand for? Urban dictionary says "Breach of Toilet Etiquette"" + (show)
@lindabro

What does BTE stand for? Urban dictionary says "Breach of Toilet Etiquette"

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Behind The Ear (BTE) In The Ear (ITE) In The Canal (ITC)

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