Cheap, Cheap Hearing "Aids"

[GravitySucks]

Was looking at hearing aids online and decided I'll probably go with Costco, but then was blitzed with ads for cheap hearing aids. One reason I've put off getting an aid is that I would hate to spend a couple thousand bucks and then find I don't like wearing it.
So I figured what the heck and clicked on a link for $89 Audien hearing aid. It tried to upgrade me to the $109 unit, then tried to upgrade me to the $120 unit. I declined both as it was just a test run. Two days later I got an email saying the $89 units are out of stock so I got a free upgrade.
They arrived about a week later and I charged them up and even read the instructions. It says to wear them an hour a day the first week 3 hours a day second and third week then all the time. It warned that things would sound funny and tunnel like at first and day 1 sure did. Day 2 I increased the volume a bit and it was still tunnellie. Day 3 I had company when I wore them and I noticed her voice was much clearer and the tv background less noticeable, the echoie noises were much less noticeable.

A question to people with real hearing aids - How long did they take to get used to? Was there noticeable echo in the beginning? Anyone try the Wal-Mart $500 units?

I'll update as I go along if anyone is interested.

 

[Independent]

I'm interested. A new law allows companies to use the name "hearing aid" on non-custom devices. So I'm expecting a blitz of new products. Bose sounded interesting -- a brand name that already makes something that could be modified to a hearing aid.

 

[bbbamI]

I finally had to bite the bullet and get hearing aids...yes for both ears three years ago.

I did not go the cheap route, I chose the Octicon Opn3 after I had my hearing test at my ENT's office.

I wore mine about three hours a day for a while. Then slowly started wearing them longer. Seems like it took me about three months before I got used to them. There was no echo in the beginning nor has there ever been since.

 

[GravitySucks]

I finally had to bite the bullet and get hearing aids...yes for both ears three years ago.

I did not go the cheap route, I chose the Octicon Opn3 after I had my hearing test at my ENT's office.

I wore mine about three hours a day for a while. Then slowly started wearing them longer. Seems like it took me about three months before I got used to them. There was no echo in the beginning nor has there ever been since.

Thank you for your input.

 

[Sunset]

I'm interested.

Some folks never get used to them, for my sister it was vanity. She felt she looked "better" not wearing them and just misunderstanding a lot of what she heard

I read that some cheap ones, just amplify the sound, this would be ok in the house, but out on the street a car backfire, and it could damage the hearing more. This is because the cheap ones don't have a limiter on the sound being amplified.
For all I know that is fake stories put out by the expensive old brands, trying to limit their market loss.

 

[Sunset]

By the way, I know a fella who could use hearing aids, and doesn't have a lot of money. So he has resisted getting any.

So let us know all the good and bad aspects.

I checked out the Audien site, and "won" a discount of 15% , anyone can try if it they want: GET15

 

[Lawrencewendall]

From what I've been told from the VA clinic, If you have EVER been in the military, you qualify for VA funded hearing aids. Mine supposedly cost 6K.

 

[braumeister]

From what I've been told from the VA clinic, If you have EVER been in the military, you qualify for VA funded hearing aids. Mine supposedly cost 6K.

Not exactly.
You have to qualify for VA healthcare, and they will decide whether you're eligible for hearing aids based on their own testing and criteria.

 

[Lawrencewendall]

The 1-800 number specifically said that you did NOT have to qualify for VA healthcare. Some rule changed a couple of years ago and the rules now say say that if you EVER served, they determined that the environment automatically assumed you were exposed to to loud noises. YMMD.

 

[REWahoo]

Was looking at hearing aids online and decided I'll probably go with Costco, but then was blitzed with ads for cheap hearing aids. One reason I've put off getting an aid is that I would hate to spend a couple thousand bucks and then find I don't like wearing it.

Costo offers a full refund within the first 6 months if you don't like your hearing aids.

A question to people with real hearing aids - How long did they take to get used to? Was there noticeable echo in the beginning? Anyone try the Wal-Mart $500 units?

I started wearing my Costco hearing aids 10-12 hours a day from the get-go. Only took a couple of weeks before I completely forgot I was wearing them and tested them in the shower to see if they were water resistant. Yes, thankfully.

Never experienced an echo, but there was a noticeable difference the first time I tried them.

I considered buying some bargain off-the-shelf "sound amplification devices" but my hearing loss is almost entirely in the high frequency range. True hearing aids can be tuned to boost only the frequencies that need to be amplified and I thought it was worth the $1,500 Costco price, especially with the guarantee.

 

[braumeister]

The 1-800 number specifically said that you did NOT have to qualify for VA healthcare. Some rule changed a couple of years ago and the rules now say say that if you EVER served, they determined that the environment automatically assumed you were exposed to to loud noises. YMMD.

I would like to see a reference for that.

Here's mine:
https://www.prosthetics.va.gov/psas/Hearing_Aids.asp

To receive hearing aids through VA, you must first register at the health Administration/enrollment section of the VA Medical Center of your choice.
...

Once registered (or if already registered), you may schedule an appointment at the Audiology and Speech Pathology Clinic for an evaluation of your hearing. The audiologist will make a clinical determination on the need for hearing aids and/or other hearing assistive devices. If hearing aids are recommended and fit, the hearing aids, repairs, and future batteries will all be at no charge to you, as long as you maintain VA eligibility for care.

 

[Lawrencewendall]

I would like to see a reference for that.

Here's mine:
https://www.prosthetics.va.gov/psas/Hearing_Aids.asp

I'm just going off what they told me on the phone. I'm retired Army so my status may be different but my Brother who only did a short stint during Vietnam Era (less than 4 years, also qualified). Yes I had to get tested by VA. Give them a call. 1-844-698-2311

 

[Souschef]

IMO, you get what you pay for. I went to an audiologist, and had my hearing tested. Both ears had high frequency loss, but my right ear was worse.
The aids can be programmed to offset these losses. I wear mine from the time DW gets up until bedtime. I even bought the little TV audio sending unit.
My aids are Bluetooth enabled, so I have them paired with my smartphone, That way I can talk and use both hands. For example I was in the market this morning and called DW to see which brand of a certain product she wanted. I could pick it up with both hands.

 

[Lawrencewendall]

This not a contradiction to what I've already posted.

"To receive hearing aids through VA, you must first register at the health Administration/enrollment section of the VA Medical Center of your choice.
...

Once registered (or if already registered), you may schedule an appointment at the Audiology and Speech Pathology Clinic for an evaluation of your hearing. The audiologist will make a clinical determination on the need for hearing aids and/or other hearing assistive devices. If hearing aids are recommended and fit, the hearing aids, repairs, and future batteries will all be at no charge to you, as long as you maintain VA eligibility for care."

 

[CardsFan]

A little off topic, but does anyone know if Medicare (with Plan G supplement) covers a professional audiology test? I know they don't cover the hearing aides, but I would like to get a test done by a professional, and not the Sam's/Costco sales person.

 

[REWahoo]

A little off topic, but does anyone know if Medicare (with Plan G supplement) covers a professional audiology test? I know they don't cover the hearing aides, but I would like to get a test done by a professional, and not the Sam's/Costco sales person.

You might find your answer here: Is my test, item, or service covered?

FWIW, I'm of the opinion ALL audiologists have a sales bent as that's where the $ is located.

 

[timo2]

FWIW, I'm of the opinion ALL audiologists have a sales bent as that's where the $ is located.

+1, but that doesn't mean don't get tested. Anyplace you go will want to test you first. and yikes if you have some excess earwax. You'll have to go to your PCP to remove that.

Even when I went to get a test at a Kaiser in Colorado this happened. Kaiser didn't sell hearing aids but they had a 'vendor' in the building to sell them to you. That was going to be $4K back in 2015. So I went over to Costco on the advice of my barber. Costco gave me a test (the results matched the other test exactly) and their hearing aids were around $2K at the time. I've been fairly happy with the Costco service on the hearing aids. They had a nice warranty and I even had them replaced under warranty. I mistakenly wore them while moving a household, and sweat got into the units and ruined them. So they just replaced them. I should get new ones, but I'm going to wait until the COVID is more manageable for being in confined areas like hearing testing booths

 

[Time2]

I think this has been brought up before, but I have trouble hearing my wife, but when I was having breakfast with the guys, I had no trouble hearing the conversation. The audiologist said that I had selective hearing with a grin. I have a lot of high frequency loss, but the audiologist said it would be a waste to get hearing aids.

Something I think is neat is a cellphone app called Live Transcribe. You start the app and anything said within range is written out in text on your phone screen.
It was a few tweaks you can make to customize it for your setting.
https://www.android.com/accessibility/live-transcribe/

If we ever have get together breakfasts again, I'm going to suggest it to one of the fellows. To many times he has misheard something and starts taking about something that makes no sense, I'm sure he's not senile, he just doesn't hear properly.

 

[CardsFan]

You might find your answer here: Is my test, item, or service covered?

FWIW, I'm of the opinion ALL audiologists have a sales bent as that's where the $ is located.

Thanks.

Looks like the answer is NO, unless my doctor orders it.

Your costs in Original Medicare
You pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for your doctor's services for covered exams, and the Part B deductible applies.

Things to know
Medicare doesn’t cover hearing exams, hearing aids, or exams for fitting hearing aids.

 

[Time2]

An example of Live Transcribe.

 

[badatmath]

I read that some cheap ones, just amplify the sound, this would be ok in the house, but out on the street a car backfire, and it could damage the hearing more. This is because the cheap ones don't have a limiter on the sound being amplified.
For all I know that is fake stories put out by the expensive old brands, trying to limit their market loss.

I know someone who claims to have damaged her hearing wearing REAL hearing aids to the gun range. She had to get new ones and can't hear as well. Anyway not sure how much limiting there really is either way.

 

[Scrapr]

+1, but that doesn't mean don't get tested. Anyplace you go will want to test you first. and yikes if you have some excess earwax. You'll have to go to your PCP to remove that.

I have a problem with ear wax. It builds up regularly. I felt like I was not hearing well so I went to Costco to get a look see. I went in person to make an appointment & he noticed a build up. So I scheduled the appt & went home & got my 'tools' out to clean them out. It's a wax softener & then warm water flush in the shower. Took about a week to get them clean. The hearing test showed some loss but not enough for aids

I have used PCP for the clean but they are not real excited about doing it. They talked me through the DIY

 

[REWahoo]

+1, but that doesn't mean don't get tested.

Agreed. I got tested at Sam's Club and a couple of weeks later at Costco. Results from both were virtually identical.

 

[Sunset]

I have a problem with ear wax. It builds up regularly. I felt like I was not hearing well so I went to Costco to get a look see. I went in person to make an appointment & he noticed a build up. So I scheduled the appt & went home & got my 'tools' out to clean them out. It's a wax softener & then warm water flush in the shower. Took about a week to get them clean. The hearing test showed some loss but not enough for aids

I have used PCP for the clean but they are not real excited about doing it. They talked me through the DIY

My Uncle was going deaf, it was a big problem as he would get mad at people for mumbling or talking softly. He went to the Doctor after a long time, and the Doc took out a Huge glob of wax.

Suddenly we didn't mumble anymore

 

[Sunset]

I know someone who claims to have damaged her hearing wearing REAL hearing aids to the gun range. She had to get new ones and can't hear as well. Anyway not sure how much limiting there really is either way.

Oh dear, I can't imagine amplifying the sound.

I've been to a shooting range, we were out in the parking lot, which is about 200 ft from where people shoot.
Somebody had a big rifle, and he fired it off, it practically hurt my ears and made me jump.
It was a LOT louder than the normal 9mm shooting.

I couldn't get my ear muffs on quick enough.