Hi again. Happy March! Regarding cochlear implants, I strongly recommend that you go to a cochlear implant center for testing and candidacy determination. While the criteria for candidacy has been lowered recently, CIs are still primarily for people whose hearing loss is severe enough that hearing aids are not working for them. You will want to find out more about what your hearing aids can do.

I do not understand audiologists or hearing instrument dispensers who don't share, explain and demonstrate how telecoils work. Same for BlueTooth. Sad to say, but it's kind of like not selling you the 'whole package'. We pay a lot for quality hearing instruments. If we don't know all they are capable of doing, we're not getting our money's worth. FYI, a telecoil in a hearing aid adds little or no cost. $15 at the most. Bluetooth (BT) adds substantially more ($1000) and is a more recent technology. A lot of providers diss telecoils and push BT. That validates the high price, right? I highly recommend having both.

Telecoils work in venues that have installed hearing loops, FM systems or infrared systems. They also work well with laptop computers, iPads, tablets, portable radios and any audio device that a headset can be plugged into. You use a device that goes around your neck (neckloop), plug it in and turn on the telecoil. Eurika you hear only the sound you want to hear very clearly. If a hearing loop is installed in a venue, all you have to do is turn on the telecoil to get sound right from the sound source you want to hear. While hearing loops are not installed everywhere, they are in many place. And, will be installed in many more if people will get out and advocate for them. Telecoils were developed originally for phone use. They still work with phones, but have so many other possibilities. Those who learn can also become 'teachers'.

Your provider needs education on this. Are you willing to ask questions of him/her?