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Looking for pros/cons experiences w/ OTC hearing aids for news article

Posted by garyguthrie @garyguthrie, Mar 27 10:09am

I'm writing an update on OTC hearing aids and looking for consumers who have purchased them. What are the pro/con experiences and what does the hearing aid industry need to do to make OTCs more attractive and useful?

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

bunnybear | @bunnybear | Mar 28 11:17am

Have a way to make ear molds that are individually fitted. Sending the mold material for use by individual who lets it dry and sends back for the final ear mold.
I have a Bose and although I can’t tell the difference between it and my old $5,000 hearing aid, I was recently told by an audiologist that if they fit me for new, expensive hearing aids, they will make an individual mold as well.
I have conductive hearing loss and continually blocked Eustachian tubes.

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1 reply
Mentor
Julie, Volunteer Mentor | @julieo4 | Mar 28 11:20am
https://www.hearingtracker.com/paying-for-hearing-aids?utm_source=Hearing+Tracker+Updates&utm_campaign=02268d2499-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_05_07_02_42_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_790a5b8263-02268d2499-184861593

This link may help you learn more about OTC products. Be sure to scroll down to the information on OTC products. Cost of hearing aids is one of the reasons OTC aids have become available. They are ONLY for people with mild to moderate hearing loss.

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1 reply
garyguthrie | @garyguthrie | Mar 29 9:45am
In reply to @julieo4 "https://www.hearingtracker.com/paying-for-hearing-aids?utm_source=Hearing+Tracker+Updates&utm_campaign=02268d2499-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_05_07_02_42_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_790a5b8263-02268d2499-184861593 This link may help you learn more about OTC products. Be sure to scroll down..." + (show)
@julieo4
https://www.hearingtracker.com/paying-for-hearing-aids?utm_source=Hearing+Tracker+Updates&utm_campaign=02268d2499-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_05_07_02_42_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_790a5b8263-02268d2499-184861593

This link may help you learn more about OTC products. Be sure to scroll down to the information on OTC products. Cost of hearing aids is one of the reasons OTC aids have become available. They are ONLY for people with mild to moderate hearing loss.

Jump to this post

Thank you, Julie. Is there any way I could get a comment from you as moderator for this group? Btw, I don't know how to send a private message, but if you could let me know, I'll ping you that way.

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1 reply
daveshaw | @daveshaw | Mar 30 12:53pm

I have been buying high end hearing aids from Signia with the AX platform. I have severe hearing loss. Has anyone in my situation had any luck with OTC hearing aids?
I would love to hear from you.

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anniebanannie | @anniebanannie | Mar 30 5:46pm

Clarity of discussions or one on one conversations. Clarity is so very important. I hear very well with my hearing aids but do not find I am able to follow conversations nor tv conversations. It is beyond frustrating. Forget in restaurants for sure. I cannot follow sermons in church nor readers although they are definitely usually loud enough.

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bunnybear | @bunnybear | Mar 31 6:40am
In reply to @bunnybear "Have a way to make ear molds that are individually fitted. Sending the mold material for..." + (show)
@bunnybear

Have a way to make ear molds that are individually fitted. Sending the mold material for use by individual who lets it dry and sends back for the final ear mold.
I have a Bose and although I can’t tell the difference between it and my old $5,000 hearing aid, I was recently told by an audiologist that if they fit me for new, expensive hearing aids, they will make an individual mold as well.
I have conductive hearing loss and continually blocked Eustachian tubes.

Jump to this post

I was able to make an appointment with Costco to have ear molds made to use with my Boze hearing Aids. Hope it helps. They cost $40 each. Worth a try.

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3 replies
bruceandruth1970 | @bruceandruth1970 | Mar 31 7:28am
In reply to @bunnybear "I was able to make an appointment with Costco to have ear molds made to use..." + (show)
@bunnybear

I was able to make an appointment with Costco to have ear molds made to use with my Boze hearing Aids. Hope it helps. They cost $40 each. Worth a try.

Jump to this post

Please let us know your results. Thank you.

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garyguthrie | @garyguthrie | Mar 31 8:14am
In reply to @bunnybear "I was able to make an appointment with Costco to have ear molds made to use..." + (show)
@bunnybear

I was able to make an appointment with Costco to have ear molds made to use with my Boze hearing Aids. Hope it helps. They cost $40 each. Worth a try.

Jump to this post

Bunny, are these Bose OTCs? Which model?

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bunnybear | @bunnybear | Mar 31 12:43pm

Yes they are Bose SoundControl Hearing Aids. I added pictures of the papers that came with them. I got them about 2-2.5 years ago and I think they might’ve been the first ones on the market. I will post after I get the molds to let you know if they make the aids work better. An audiologist told me I needed them. Right now wearing the hearing aids definitely give me an edge so that I can hear voices on TV whereas I cannot hear them without the aids. If that didn’t happen though, I would swear they didn’t really help.

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1 reply
bobweb | @bobweb | Apr 1 8:11am

One fundamental performance parameter to compare all hearing aids in general is how well they replicate the original audio sound spectrum response produced by perfect human hearing. A high fidelity hearing aid can be tuned to hear a broad audio frequency spectrum up to 15,000 Hertz or more, whereas many hearing aid frequency response spectrums roll off above 3,000 Hertz. So when you evaluate hearing aids, start with the fundamentals underlying all the different aspects of hearing aid design performance and actual human user laboratory and field tests.
https://www.hearingtracker.com/top-amazon-hearing-aids

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