I'll tell you, fan noise doesn't mask my tinnitus at all. It's too bad, because that's a more peaceful sound than what it takes to mask my tinnitus. I don't hear it in the shower, and if there are enough crickets, cicadas, and katydids doing their thing in the evening when I'm outside, that will mask it.Had to strike the first line, happens to me too!
I haven't researched it, but I'm guessing the hearing aids just inject a bit of noise to mask the internal noise.
Though I do recall some research (probably in an old thread), that some very specific types of noise actually helped. It might have been like using noise, but filtering out the noise we hear in our head, so it isn't noise on top of noise, but then a constant level across the frequency band. And that would maybe calm down our brain's response? Something like that?
Tech Note: While most people will refer to it as "white noise", in most cases "pink noise" is used for audio masking. White noise has equal energy at all frequencies, pink noise has equal energy across each octave band. That means pink noise has the same amount of energy from 100 Hz to 200 Hz ( a pretty narrow range of bass-to mid-bass tones), as it does from 4,000 Hz to 8,000 Hz (a wide band where a lot of consonant sounds are. So to our ears, there is more emphasis on the lower frequencies. Some noise sources allow you to choose.
If you take white noise (the noise between stations on an un-muted FM radio), and turn the treble tone control on the pre-amp or receiver all the way CCW, that's fairly close to pink noise. Not as 'bright' sounding.
-ERD50
No one stops you from going to an optometrist now and no one will stop you from going to an audiologist in the future. In the meantime, millions of people will have better hearing at an affordable cost.
Thanks for the site. If I read it correctly, the $1400 pair is if you order from the warehouse. I couldn't quite tell if that entitled you to the services. Apparently, the $1400 pair is the bottom of the line. I'm guessing that's where most of us would start - especially if we are cheap.
I'm always a bit suspicious when I see something like their little blurb on "battery life." Okay, I get it, "it varies" but they didn't even give a range which would give you an idea of the on-going costs. They suggest you write down when you put in a battery and when it fails. Wait, what? IOW, before you know what it's gonna cost to run your HAs, you have to buy them to find out.
I've actually heard good things about Costco's HAs and service, so willing to take a look at it. But the site doesn't give me a good feeling about w*rking with them. I would assume we have members who are happy with them so YMMV.
Thanks for the site. If I read it correctly, the $1400 pair is if you order from the warehouse. I couldn't quite tell if that entitled you to the services. Apparently, the $1400 pair is the bottom of the line. I'm guessing that's where most of us would start - especially if we are cheap.
I'm always a bit suspicious when I see something like their little blurb on "battery life." Okay, I get it, "it varies" but they didn't even give a range which would give you an idea of the on-going costs. They suggest you write down when you put in a battery and when it fails. Wait, what? IOW, before you know what it's gonna cost to run your HAs, you have to buy them to find out.
I've actually heard good things about Costco's HAs and service, so willing to take a look at it. But the site doesn't give me a good feeling about w*rking with them. I would assume we have members who are happy with them so YMMV.
That was my experience. I made an appointment and they spent about 1 1/2 hours with me, first doing a series of tests, then setting up a pair of HAs to match the test results. They let me take them home for 3 days to try then out. I heard a lot more squeaks and high pitch noises, but really found little improvement in hearing my wife talking into the refrigerator in the next room. When I returned them, they said they were not surprised as my hearing loss notch was marginal.
