@julieo4 My Starkey Hearing Aids (HAs) are such that the HA in the left (bad) ear (which does not hear anything except at Jet Plane Decibels 85-90db) is just a receiver of sound from that direction which it then transmits that sound to the good ear (right side) hearing aid.. that right side hearing aid then transmits both signals through to the inner ear for hearing… It would do no good to send signals from the good ear to the bad ear …. That left side HA that retransmits to the good ear is really helpful when I am not driving and sitting in the passenger side and someone wants to talk all the time without turning toward me to speak…

I lost my microphone cover off my hearing aid. I went to get another one. There was a new girl working. I asked her the name of the previous gal who worked there. With her mask on, she replied: "Spider", I said 'SPIDER' ??? She said, no, "Skylar". That's how I hear. I hear what sounds like. I have completely different conversations with people–thinking they are saying something entirely different. My daughter used to tell me: "Mom, you answer people with the wrong answers because you don't even hear them." That's so true! I saw the look on some people's faces–shocked is what they were. I guess I didn't even know what we were talking about. That's before I had any hearing aids. They have certainly helped, but I still hear: sounds like!

I wore a bi-cross hearing aid for several years. That was my first experience with hearing aids. That was in the late 70s. Back then there was a wire running behind my head from side to side to connect the transmitter to the receiver on the side I heard on. Today, bi-cross aids are wireless. So, yes, I was only hearing in one ear, but it gave me the ability to pick up sound on the unaided side. I had been told that my 'usable hearing on that side was nil', so was not worth aiding. In 2005 I received a cochlear implant on that 'deaf' side. It has given me binaural hearing. It has been a miracle. My loss is sensorineural, most likely noise induced but with a genetic tendency. Turned out the problem was in the cochlea/inner ear. The auditory nerve was functional. It was not being stimulated so sound wasn't getting to the brain for interpretation. Have you considered a cochlear implant?

My 2 favorite hearing tools are Oticon OPN1's with bluetooth support and my Oticon TV adaptor which gives me surround sound quality TV with separate control of external speakers for my wife. I also have low vision, so I enjoy listening to books with Audible books via bluetooth connection to my iPhone.

For hi-freq. loss, for years I used a Whisper 2000 adapted to cheap stereo earbuds (Mee). Then I got a $30 behind-the-ear open-fit model from China which was fine except the battery door, which is the on-off switch, does not get properly retained, and needs to be taped, which is awkward. Then I got a V-99 from China for ~$12 (but more now/here), which is very good in that it uses an AAA battery. (The Whisper uses 2 AA cells.) Unfortunately, the V-99 cannot be adapted to earbuds (by me, anyway), but the earpiece is very good for the high sounds, and the thing can be whipped out and stuck in during the moment when you say "could you please repeat that". Hey, you folks who love to spend thou$ands on your hearing devices should take a look at AliExpress, and at Amazon (where the prices (for some of the same things) are several times higher), compared to the places where you buy your rebranded devices for really big money. P.S. the Whisper 2000 can still be found on eBay. It is worth its weight in gold. It has an internal parabolic? microphone, allowing it to be effectively pointed at the sound source. I think they were like $9.95 years back.

One other thing: For the TV there is a cheap Chinese FM transmitter module wired to the TV and an old Walkman with earbuds

Have you ever tried the Williams Sound Pocket Talker? The most recent version contains a telecoil, which can connect you to many things. It can be used without hearing aids by using a standard pair of earbuds or headphones. Costs around $200, a bit more than the Whisper 2000, but it's well constructed and easy to use. Older models work well, but don't have the telecoil option.

I have a Williams sound pocket talker ultra. I don’t know if it has telecoil. I believe I brought it 2 years ago. I used it once when or of my hearing aids went on the blink.

The older Pocket Talkers are black & shamped about like a pack of cigarettes, and , the most recent model is white and is elongated.

One important piece of information about the older Pocketalker Ultra, is that the headphone output is mono. if you attach stereo headphones to the older models, sounds only make it to one ear. You have to use a stereo to mono adapter with stereo headphones for the sound to make it to both ears. Of course, you can still find mono headphones so that an adapter is not needed. People think there is a problem with the Pocketalker when they plug in stereo headphones after replacing the original mono headphones that came with the unit.
Another important difference between the old and new Pocketalker is that the old model did not pick up a loop signal whereas the new model will pick up a loop signal.
Tony in Michigan

Thank you Julie, all helpful!

Well, I'd like to speak up for the ability to blend in with all the people in the room. Call me shallow, call me vain, call me in denial, but let's be clear that calling it anything is judging, which I don't think anyone gets to do. On top of judging, it's inaccurate to characterize it as denial. What is bad about not wanting to be treated differently unless I ask to to be? The device does not get to announce my hearing disability to all who see me, and no one gets to assume what I need or want. I control the message. It will be me, not the device, who says, sorry, I can't hear you, can we move away from this noise, will you please speak up. That is my choice. No one, and no device, gets to take that away from me.

Think of it this way, would you consider it vain, or denial, for those who have undergone chemotherapy to wear a wig in public? To be sure, some people choose to forgo the wig, and they get to do that if they like, but those who would rather wear a wig, do we call that denial? I think not. It's hard enough for anyone with disabilities, health conditions, etc. to make their way in the world, who are we to say, do it this way or that way?

People have a range of responses in deciding how they present themselves in public. We respect their choices. It is not for us to disparage them if we have chosen a different way.