Cookie Bite Hearing Loss: What is the best hearing aid?

Thank you for your feedback and especially for sharing your experiences. We can all learn a lot from each other. I look forward to hearing more!

I am 70yrs old & diagnosed by a local AuD with CB hearing loss. My high & low frequencies are close to normal and middle freq loss is borderline moderate/severe. I'm told this loss is most likely genetic, as both my Dad/Mom had unknown late-in-life hearing loss, as well as several aunts/uncles. It's possible I made have had this hearing loss going back to my younger life. I'm told the younger brain can compensate so it's hard to realize you have a hearing loss but it becomes more and more evident to "others" as one ages. My wife and kids have been on me about 10 years while I have been scratching my head saying, "I'm not that bad". My left ear was found to be worse than my right ear. I had a wax build up that blocked my right ear for several weeks while on a whole summer RV adventure. That was my eye (or ear) opener. I was just about deaf to human speech without my right ear function, which returned to my normal when my right ear was cleared. Hearing test resulted in the "CB" graph. I think I lucked out in that the local AuD is a member of the Dr Cliff best practice, "Hearing Up" association and seemed very knowledgeable. She asked me to begin watching the many informational videos prior to my next visit. My next appointment is set to discuss treatment options, I believe. In doing my own research on aids, my primary concern is I live in FL and sweat readily. That alone is pushing me toward Phonac Audeo Life as it seems they are the best water resistant model, made to date. They also have an impressive list of other high tech features that look suited to handle a "CB" hearing loss. I like to be prepared with a starting point at the first treatment discussion, so I guess I'm ready to go! Still need to know more about "custom fit" and ITE vs BTE. I suspect custom fit may be necessary in any model as CB is a challenging problem from what I have read.

I am wondering which kind of domes you got for your phonac? I just got the audeo 90 and have cookie bite and still have problems in noise environment. Thanks

I have had a cookie bite hearing loss since, diagnosed almost 45 years ago, but it's only been in the last 5 to 10 years that I've begun to have improvement in my hearing with the use of hearing aids. I too experienced hearing aids amplifying sounds I didn't need, and didn't really get a good fit until the last 5 to 7 years. I currently wear Phonak Audio. One of this things that I learned was that the size of your ear canal can also impact the effectiveness of the hearing aids. I work with an audiologist that AuD. I had molds done of my ear canal, and that helped the audiologist to guide me towards the correct domes. The Phonak hearing aids allow the volume to be turned down in the low and high frequencies where it is not needed for the CB type loss, and increased in the speech frequencies. I had no idea what I was missing. The ear molds attached to replace the domes have been most effective for me. One of the things that was shared with me was that the domes need to fit in your ear to allow the sound in, but also to prevent the sound from going out. If you have a larger ear canal, the domes may work better, but my AuD worked to have me try several and took molds to find the best fit for my ear. Also, it does take several adjustments to get the settings to work. If you can find someone who will do a check in after two weeks, a month, and three months after the initial fit, it is worth going through that process to get the best hearing experience.

I have one Phonak hearing aid along with my Cochlear Implant. I have been very satisfied with them over the years. I also got ear molds with this new one I got recently and like it much better than the domes.

At least 35 years I have had hearing aids. Two months ago, I bought the Phonak RT-90 and for the first time was fitted with ear molds.
The ear molds are a big jump in allowing me to understand a conversation.

Thanks for your suggestion of earmolds, i read that they are not as comfortable as domes.
I got new domes for my phonac audeo life and they seem to work much better. my ear canal is very small, I got the phonac open dome 4.0S
the only problem is when I am in a very noisy environment. I am wondering how th earmolds do in noisy situations?

Everything I have read is that almost everyone with hearing aids has problems in noisy situations. I find this to be true whether a noisy restaurant or gatherings where everyone is chatting. There does not seem to be an answer to this from all I gather in my reading. It is something I guess we will have to live with. I have great difficulty in these situations.

Background noise is the most common barrier for people with hearing loss. Social settings create noise. So do fans, heat registers, audio devices, etc. One of the first signs of hearing loss is not being able to understand conversation if there is any kind of noise in the area. Often the person with hearing loss thinks others are not 'speaking up', or that they are mumbling. It's not the speaker; it's the listener.

There are some solutions, but you have to be willing to use them. Streamers that are directional can connect to hearing aids and will pick up desired sound while minimizing background noise. Small microphones can be handheld or put on a table or even a companion's lapel to bring sound direct to hearing aids. Many people refuse to use these devices because they show. (That's a whole other discussion.)

For many hard of hearing people add on technology that works with good quality hearing aids is positively life changing.

Did your hearing aid provider tell you about any of those add on technologies?

I have a Rodgers mic that is directional and handheld. I don't find it works all that well for me. I have tried it in noisy settings. It is directional also. I need to try it again now that I have a new hearing aid along with my CI.