I did see an audiologist 3 or 4 years ago, I know a lot can change in that time, but it is not something have noticed. At that time he told me it would be a waste to get a hearing aid.
new rules for hearing aids
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I did see an audiologist 3 or 4 years ago, I know a lot can change in that time, but it is not something have noticed. At that time he told me it would be a waste to get a hearing aid.
ERD50
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OK, so unless things really did change that much (which you'd probably notice), I'd be suspect of that test.
I've done rough tests with some high quality headphones, and my DD as a reference. IIRC she picked up to a bit over 16kHz, I got maybe to 12 kHz, and DW barely to 10 kHz. Didn't really notice a lot of peaks/dips along the way, but I was mainly focused on top end, which is noticeable to me ( if I cup my hands around my ears, my stereo sounds more like I remember - that brings the highs back in better balance for me - but looks silly!).
-ERD50
REWahoo
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Yeah, I used to pick up 16 khz well and noticed a big difference when I adjusted the 16 khz slider on my stereo's EQ, now not really at all. My hearing drops out quickly approaching 10 khz, close to the tinnitus masking sample I posted a few posts back. I've gotten away from listening to music for years, not even realizing I was losing the high frequency hearing, and now I don't think I'll ever be able to appreciate music in quite the same way anymore by missing out on that extended range.
I'm actually getting a hearing test in a few days, but my problem is more with tinnitus affecting my sleep and otherwise being distracting rather than having problems understanding people.
Koolau
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Thanks to both of you. I think this is the push I need to check out HAs at Costco. Aloha!
Are you to check into the masking ones... if they have them?
REWahoo
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Yes, but the $60 membership fee is fully refundable during the first year.
bobandsherry
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They'll actually refund it any year you don't think you got value from being a member or are otherwise dissatisfied.
https://customerservice.costco.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1191/~/what-is-costcos-return-policy?
I also have aids from Costco. I am in my second set from them,and in my 4th set since I started wearing HA. My 1st set was purchased over 25 yrs ago and it turned out that they were more or less noise amplifiers. They needed some adjustments and when I went back to the office where I purched them they had closed up and left town. I contacted the Home office for help and they gave me the name of some one 60 miles away. I made appointment and went there. the lady there said she would help me as a concession to the company one time adjustment but any more would be charged to me since she didn't sell them to me. I ended up using those for 2 years with really not very good results. My next set was from Costco which I joined to be able to get them. Ohh by the way if you do go to Costco to get them if you get their credit card and use it to purchase it gives you extra warrenty as well as loss and damage protection. My company changed insurance after I had been in that set for about 4 years so I decided to go back and try a set from a "real" audioligist since with insurance I could get a set for around same price out of pocket that way. I got a set of Oticons which I still have as a back up set, to my currant Costco Bernafons. The thing with Costco is if I needed any thing and was traveling I can stop in to any of their warehouses and get help. Not if but when I am in need of a new set it will be back to Costco for me. I also get my prescriptson glasses there after I go to my eye dr if I need a new set because their prices are hard to beat! Good luck and Aloha back to you!
Dash man
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I got a Rexton brand hearing aid from Costco earlier this year. It’s rechargeable so I don’t have to worry about batteries. The case can recharge the HAs three times without recharging the case. I love being able to listen to music or podcasts without bothering anyone or wearing headphones.
Koolau
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Definitely. It'll be a few weeks until I'm home to do so.
Koolau
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I also have aids from Costco. I am in my second set from them,and in my 4th set since I started wearing HA. My 1st set was purchased over 25 yrs ago and it turned out that they were more or less noise amplifiers. They needed some adjustments and when I went back to the office where I purched them they had closed up and left town. I contacted the Home office for help and they gave me the name of some one 60 miles away. I made appointment and went there. the lady there said she would help me as a concession to the company one time adjustment but any more would be charged to me since she didn't sell them to me. I ended up using those for 2 years with really not very good results. My next set was from Costco which I joined to be able to get them. Ohh by the way if you do go to Costco to get them if you get their credit card and use it to purchase it gives you extra warrenty as well as loss and damage protection. My company changed insurance after I had been in that set for about 4 years so I decided to go back and try a set from a "real" audioligist since with insurance I could get a set for around same price out of pocket that way. I got a set of Oticons which I still have as a back up set, to my currant Costco Bernafons. The thing with Costco is if I needed any thing and was traveling I can stop in to any of their warehouses and get help. Not if but when I am in need of a new set it will be back to Costco for me. I also get my prescriptson glasses there after I go to my eye dr if I need a new set because their prices are hard to beat! Good luck and Aloha back to you!
Thanks so much. I'm actually (sorta) excited to get back and get started.
My left hearing aid quit working yesterday. I panicked because I leave on Tuesday for a month long trip. I called Costco and they told me just to come in, I didn't need an appointment. They cleaned my hearing aids and replaced a wire and had me up and running within a 1/2 hour. No charge.
Koolau
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Hey, hey, hey! I'm feeling better about Costco with every post. YMMV
REWahoo
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Yep, this is typical of the service I've experienced with them. First class.
Pluperfect
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You can buy the device used to adjust hearing aids. I bought one several years ago--the kind that connects to the hearing aids via wires. But you can now buy the wireless ones (which I'm thinking of upgrading to because the wires really are a nuisance). They're on Ebay; look for Noahlink.
My boyfriend is an electrical engineer who has always been interested in sound, and he understands compression and other stuff related to the hearing aid settings. He actually enjoys adjusting them. Well, until I get tired and cranky, because I hate the process.
I bought a set of hearing aids from Costco in 2010, and we managed, with great difficulty, to find somewhere to download the software for adjusting them. My current ones are about four years old and when I was choosing them, I first made sure we could get our hands on the programming software. I think these days it's a lot easier to get hold of the software but you might poke around and make sure you can get it for your hearing aids before buying the Noahlink device.
(In fact, this might be a good screening process--if you can't figure out where to download the software from, you probably shouldn't be messing with the hearing aids.
)I'm a fulltime RVer, so getting adjustments done is a PITA, even if I buy them from Costco. Costco isn't everywhere, and in Denver, for example, they stay booked up for weeks. My current hearing aids were from an audiologist, because they were covered by my health insurance. When I've had trouble with them, I paid out of pocket to have them fixed wherever I happened to be. That's also a PITA because you have to find someone who works on that brand, and you never know if they know what they're doing.
Doing the adjustments ourselves has been very very helpful. Getting them worked on was an ordeal I'd rather not repeat.
When it's time for new ones, I'll probably go back to Costco and hope for a good audiologist (I've bought two sets of hearing aids from Costco over the years, and had audiologists there that range from kind of terrible to absolutely fantastic). I'm glad I don't need them now, though, because I don't see any at Costco that are in fun colors--my current ones are blue, and the Costco ones I had before these were a really cute oval shape, also in blue, with a silver stripe. They were my favorites ever.
In fact, this was a non-negotiable point when I bought my last set, from the independent audiologist. I said I wanted blue, or no dice. He'd never had anyone insist on a non-"flesh" or gray one before. Which I find kind of sad, but probably not unexpected in South Texas.
Koolau
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You can buy the device used to adjust hearing aids. I bought one several years ago--the kind that connects to the hearing aids via wires. But you can now buy the wireless ones (which I'm thinking of upgrading to because the wires really are a nuisance). They're on Ebay; look for Noahlink.
My boyfriend is an electrical engineer who has always been interested in sound, and he understands compression and other stuff related to the hearing aid settings. He actually enjoys adjusting them. Well, until I get tired and cranky, because I hate the process.
I bought a set of hearing aids from Costco in 2010, and we managed, with great difficulty, to find somewhere to download the software for adjusting them. My current ones are about four years old and when I was choosing them, I first made sure we could get our hands on the programming software. I think these days it's a lot easier to get hold of the software but you might poke around and make sure you can get it for your hearing aids before buying the Noahlink device.
(In fact, this might be a good screening process--if you can't figure out where to download the software from, you probably shouldn't be messing with the hearing aids.
I'm a fulltime RVer, so getting adjustments done is a PITA, even if I buy them from Costco. Costco isn't everywhere, and in Denver, for example, they stay booked up for weeks. My current hearing aids were from an audiologist, because they were covered by my health insurance. When I've had trouble with them, I paid out of pocket to have them fixed wherever I happened to be. That's also a PITA because you have to find someone who works on that brand, and you never know if they know what they're doing.
Doing the adjustments ourselves has been very very helpful. Getting them worked on was an ordeal I'd rather not repeat.
When it's time for new ones, I'll probably go back to Costco and hope for a good audiologist (I've bought two sets of hearing aids from Costco over the years, and had audiologists there that range from kind of terrible to absolutely fantastic). I'm glad I don't need them now, though, because I don't see any at Costco that are in fun colors--my current ones are blue, and the Costco ones I had before these were a really cute oval shape, also in blue, with a silver stripe. They were my favorites ever.
In fact, this was a non-negotiable point when I bought my last set, from the independent audiologist. I said I wanted blue, or no dice. He'd never had anyone insist on a non-"flesh" or gray one before. Which I find kind of sad, but probably not unexpected in South Texas.
So how often do you need to have your HAs "fixed?" Do they go bad or break or do changes in hearing require frequent adjustments? Not looking forward to making more appointments to deal with HAs. No ability or interest to fix them myself. YMMV
SecondAttempt
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I heard a report about this. Apparently it is being done to increase competition and drive down prices and only applies to people with mild to moderate hearing loss. It sounded to me a little like eyeglasses. Some people do fine with $4 reading glasses, some need prescription lenses. For people with significant hearing loss or special problems traditional hearing aids would presumably still be available.
Whaat had me wondering though is that most people lose hearing at higher pitches as they age. My partner cannot hear high pitches but that has been since childhood. She does not wear a hearing aid and hears fine for most everyday purposes. But she can't hear when the oven beeps to let you know it is done preheating or cooking for eample.
I would worry that an OTC hearing aid would amplify all frequencies evenly. So whwile she would then be abole to hear the oven, everyday conversations would likely be too loud. Qs, maybe you can enlighten us. Do heaarings aids have "equalizers?" What kind of adjustments are made.
ERD50
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I'd expect all but the very cheapest HA to include some frequency equalization and some compressor/expander/limiter capabilities. Expanders amplify the quietest sounds more, compressors limit that increase for sounds that are already loud. They will also have "limiters", which are like compressors, but put a sort of 'hard limit' on the maximum loudness, to avoid distortion and further hearing damage.
With modern electronics, these functions are child's play.
-ERD50
Koolau
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Perhaps as a cry for help, DW bought me one of those $20 "hearing aids" that was advertised on TV. It promised incredible things and delivered, well, you know. Cwap! Not only did it amplify spoken sound (no frequency enhancement, etc.) it amplified room noise as well as its own background noise. So at 11 (or whatever the top number) it was a (lousy) white noise generator.
Since then, I've seen "hearing aids" advertised on TV that promise the world - and only cost $200. Fool me (well, DW) once, shame on you...etc.
So, no matter the cost or source, If I can't try it out first, I don't want it. Words to live by but YMMV.
ERD50
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Well, for $200 it *could* include some good features. After all, you can buy a smartphone for that, with high-rez touch screen, speaker, Bluetooth, computer, battery, charging circuit, WiFi, advanced multi-band RF capability, etc, etc.
You *could* get a lot for $200 in an HA. But I'd look for real specs and reviews to find out if it does.
-ERD50
CRLLS
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A couple of years ago I tried a high-end (for online purchase), FDA approved pair of hearing aids from iHear. It consisted of a test program (on-line) with a calibrated pair of ear buds, a programmer and the hearing aids themselves. These were BTE style. I never found a setting that I liked, and I could not get them to stop making scratchy noises. The microphones would pick up the sound of the wires scraping on my eyeless ear pieces. I know I need HAs. Every year I say to myself this is the year, and I never get around to it. Costco is high on the list. I am not sure if the new law will drive the cost of HAs by audiologists, including Costco, down or not. I'll probably wait a bit longer to see.
Qs Laptop
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ERD50 said:
Agree with ERD50. It should be easy for OTC companies to tailor a hearing aid to each individual's needs.
I imagine the OTC hearing aid companies will request the results of a recent hearing test be provided to them. (Similar to going to an ophthalmologist for an eye test before buying glasses.)
Or maybe they have an online hearing test site or better yet have the customer download an app to their phone and take a hearing test while wearing headphones/earbuds. The results would determine the particular hearing loss profile of the patient and the hearing aid company could then make the customized hearing aid.
Pluperfect
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To further muddy the waters, there are things called "personal sound amplification products" that are designed to boost certain sounds for people without hearing loss, like for hunting or birdwatching. They aren't regulated by the FDA, and I wonder if some of the low-cost devices I see advertised are actually PSAPs, and people obviously don't know the difference.
I don't know what you mean by "more" appointments, but one of the frustrations with hearing aids is getting them programmed so they work for you. This is where the comparison between prescription glasses and hearing aids falls apart. When you get new (or your first) glasses, you can instantly see clearly. And you don't go, "Oh my god, everything is too clear--I'm being driven crazy," while when people first get hearing aids, they're driven insane by how loud everything is (paper rustling is AWFUL), until their brain adjusts.
Hearing aids get an initial program set based on your audiogram, but there are many many tweaks that can and should be made, like to lower feedback, or to boost voices in a noisy environment, or to reduce howling from wind. It's not just a matter of "this object at 15 feet is now clear."
It can take several or even many trips to the audiologist to get them to work right for you. I have severe-to-profound loss in one ear, so I absolutely need them, and even so, the visits to the audiologist when I get new hearing aids wear me down and make me inclined to just say, "They're fine," when they're really not. For people with mild hearing loss who can function okay without them, that's how they end up in a drawer.
Plus, like for reducing wind noise--you can't duplicate that in an office, so the audiologist will try a setting, and then you go out in the real world ad see if it worked, and if it didn't, you have to go back. It takes a lot of fortitude, and that's one reason I embraced making adjustments on my own.
As for getting them fixed, the pair I have now is a saga, and includes one of them suddenly going to very low amplification in the late afternoon, but not every day. Sometimes both of them would do it. They were sent in for repair, and the loaner DID THE SAME THING. What the hell?
The audiologist and the Resound rep both said they'd never heard of such a thing, and of course I could never duplicate it because it would fix itself by the next morning. They eventually gave me new ones, and the replacements have even done it a couple of times (although my data set is compromised because I almost entirely stopped wearing them during Covid because I stayed home all the time and just use captions for the TV).
I've also had previous ones stop working, which required having them sent in for repair. They're electronic devices, and we all know how electronic devices act.
One thing that's a bright spot for people with mild to moderate loss is the advent of open fit hearing aids, the ones that sit behind your ear (BTE) and a wire goes to a rubbery dome down in your ear. The domes come in different sizes so there are still fit issues, but it's a hell of a lot easier to get a dome to fit right than an ear mold.
Between not having to fit an ear mold and being able to tweak settings yourself, these cheaper OTC aids really might work well for some people. But if people don't realize it's not like getting glasses for the first time and suddenly you can see the leaves on the trees, they're going to be very disappointed, and convinced the damn things don't work.
And I don't really understand how this is going to significantly bring down the price of non-OTC hearing aids, because that price includes unlimited visits for adjustments, so comparing that price to the cost of OTC aids doesn't really work. Audiologists could lower the price for hearing aids tomorrow if they started charging for their time every time someone comes in for an adjustment. But that would create a significant disincentive for people to make the appointments needed to get their hearing aids working as well as they could, making them even more likely to end up in a drawer.
I have reading glasses I put on and take off frequently, and when the temples hit my BTE hearing aids, it makes a horrendous noise. Nobody has ever been able to make an adjustment that prevents it. I've gotten to where I don't put my glasses on my ears, but instead put them an inch or two above them, which of course makes them more likely to fall off if I lean my head over. But that sound...it's unbearable.
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