How do I chose the right Hearing Aids for hearing loss & tinnitus?

Adapting to hearing aids is different for each person.
For me I remember thinking these things suck. I hated them. Everything was so loud.
I could not understand anything better everything was just loud.
So I had an agreement with my wife. I would try them and if I didn't like them I wouldn't wear them. So after a couple months I decided I was done. About six months later the tinnitus got the better of me. I've been wearing them ever since.
Very important point about hearing aids. They are not glasses. You don't put them on and wala you can hear.
Aids have to be adjusted.
Usually multiple times.
In my case two years later I'm still having them adjusted.
The problem for me was I didn't know what I wanted. I just knew that the sound wasn't right.
I read the Hearing Aid Tracker forum everyday.
The forum is how I learned about my aids and everything else I know. I didn't think of the glasses thing I read that on the site.
Because of them I knew what to ask the audiologist to do. I had a warbling sound since I got the aids did not no why. Read about feed back manager. Went to the audiologist I got her to turn it off. Warbling disappeared. Other adjustments I've had is the result of the site.
The only way to adapt to hearing aids is you have to wear them everyday.
They're are a lot of smart people on the forum.
They tell you your brain has got to adapt to the aids. You haven't heard things for however long you've needed them. It takes a while for your brain to begin to recognize the sounds.
I laughed at this. I thought they were nuts.
They're not. It's real.
The thing is there are pieces to the puzzle.
Do you need open are closed domes.
Maybe you need moulds.
Each person is different.
No matter what do not be afraid to ask questions.
Advocate for yourself.
Audiologist use computer programs that fit your loss. They may are may not be correct.
It's up to you to educate yourself about your loss and what aids may be best for you.
The Hearing Aid Tracker
site is a good place yup start.

Hi @joyces, you said you have one almost totally deaf ear that's not aidable due to recruitment. Are you wearing CROS hearing aid? What is your word recognition score? I have single-side hearing loss and only 20% in word recognition. Because word recognition is so low, they said it's not aidable. Do you have distortion in both ears? Does the hearing aid help a little bit in speech clarity, any help at all?

Answering btpanda: My right ear was lost to Meniere's over 35 years ago, was not aidable due to lack of hearing, distortion, and recruitment (the last two "special" features of Meniere's). My left ear had increasing age-related deafness, but I had gotten by with speech reading and guessing until my left ear went bilateral, starting months ago, but becoming completely involved with distortion and recruitment last May. I've worn an aid in my left ear for about a year and a half. Meniere's also has a fun little feature where it fluctuates from hour to hour, so one day I can puzzle things out fairly well, but the next day (or hour) I hear sound but it's horribly distorted. For example, earlier today my husband was watching a discussion show on TV and it went to commercial--and the muffled whispery sounds of the voices were exactly the same as the music of the commercial. On a really good day, in a sound booth, I was able to puzzle out 55% of the simple sentences spoken by the one speaker, but (a) it was a really good day, and (b) there were no distractions, and (c) the sentences were easy to figure out, like "it's time for lunch." No numbers or names or technical terms...totally unreal. Today, a client called to ask me to make changes on a sales sheet, but I couldn't make out much at all, so handed the phone off to my husband, who used to work for the client. Unfortunately, he's not at all pleased at having to translate for me, so only gave me a very general idea of what was wanted. AARGH! Imagine the phone issuing sound that has no discernable words! I have a terrible time during technical meetings, even on good days. On bad days, the whole thing's a mystery. I've not found that people are very patient with being asked to repeat or understanding at all. One technical team that I meet with at least once a month agreed, when I flat demanded, to move the "O" setup of tables much closer together as there are only a dozen or so people in attendance...but the first of this month I met total resistance and refusal to allow the tables to be moved. Really hard, as it's three hours of intense discussion of tech stuff.

Before Meniere's became a big problem 35 years ago, I was an amateur musician, but I had to quit playing, both because the sound around me was downright painful (recruitment) and because I couldn't hear well enough to be part of an ensemble or orchestra. Now, I can't listen to music at all as it's too distorted, even on good days. On bad days, it's just more environmental noise in the background...could be a fan running, or the dishwasher, or a sonata. All the same to me! Environmental sounds are another problem, as I don't know where sound is coming from and can't ID what's making it. It's often much like the eternal tinnitus I have on both sides, just a lot of annoying senseless noise.

Most days, I'd qualify for a CI, but I'm not sure it wouldn't just bring in more confusion, that it would somehow end the distortion.

@freezerman504
Hello,
Everything you posted are things I've learned over my 45 years of wearing aids.
What you have learned is valuable to other new users and even those who hear fine but don't understand what hearing loss is all about.
Our hearing fluctuates due to many things like stress
,caffeine and climate changes. I have always needed many adjustments and fine tuning.
You can help others and be an advocate for yourself.
Good for you for giving aids a second chance and finding a website that can help you.
If you have any questions or new info to impart, I would love to hear from you .

FL Mary

I just received my hearing aid for my left ear r/t tinnitus. I have only had it for about a week but have not noticed any reduction in the tinnitus. Does anyone know how long it takes to see/hear results?

Unfortunately tinnitus usually doesn't go away unless you try to not notice it. Using devices to muffle it helps or trying to not hear it is the best way to learn how not to deal with it. Research is discovering the W's of what it is and the hows to treating it but there is no magic wand to get rid of it. A symptom of phantom noise your brain is tell you there is sound there when there is none. Just like when you have a amputated foot and you feel like you still have the foot but it's not there any longer. Check this out... https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tinnitus/symptoms-causes/syc-20350156

Seeking information on tinnitus? Tinnitus was the research symposium topic at the 2020 national HLAA convention, which was held virtually. There was a lot of information shared at the event besides on tinnitus. Attendance was open to anyone interested, and over 2000 people did participate. The link of the proceedings is now posted on the HLAA website. You'll find the information here: https://www.hearingloss.org/programs-events/convention/experience-hlaa/ The annual convention is always amazing and well worth attending. A bit different when held online, as meeting these amazing people in person is so special. Thanks to HLAA for making it open to anyone with interest. We hope the 2021 national HLAA convention will be held in San Diego as planned.

My audiologist advised me that over-the-ear hearing aids were rechargeable whereas in-the-ear types required changing batteries often. This was a deciding factor for me. There may other advantages to over-the-ear types that I don't recall. I wonder if others know other benefits of over-the-ear aids?

@tarheel, I'm not certain but I do not believe your audiologist is giving you the right information. I say this only because I've seen the ads for Eargo, an in-the-ear, product that is rechargeable. However, I have not researched how long these can be worn before needing a recharge.
Tony in Michigan

Hmmm...it would seem that in-the-ear aids provide more direct sound. When my hearing took a big downturn, the woman I see at Costco replaced the dome (in the ear) with a larger one that sent more sound directly into my ear...and it worked extremely well. Further, I only need to change batteries about once a week. There are many warnings over a period of two hours, so I'm never caught short. In addition, you can buy six packs of eight batteries (48 total) at Costco for $8.99--that's almost a year's supply!