digital hearing aids

[heardoc]

Humm, that is interesting. Our son had a lot of problems with ear infections as a young child. Perhaps that is when we were told about the risk of unrecoverable hearing loss and assumed that the 'use it or loose it' was a lifetime process.

I suspect that my husband has had a mild hearing loss all his life as he often miss-pronounces words. He doesn't seem to distinguish some vowels.

Get him to an Audiologist... you might find out he just isn't listening to you

I wonder if the fact that we live in an area with hills tall enough to manifest pressure changes in short time frames contribute to this problem because small children can't 'pop their ears'.

Probably not, community environmental concerns like air pollution can play a part though.

 

[Brat]

Get him to an Audiologist... you might find out he just isn't listening to you

Probably not, community environmental concerns like air pollution can play a part though.

Well, since DH (who is in his early 70s) has worn aids for about 6 years we know he has had a hearing loss for probably 15 years. I mentioned his Audiologist in an earlier posting in this thread. What I was commenting on was his pronunciation which has gotten worse, but was in evidence even in his mid-30s when we met.

With regards to ear infections, the air pollution level in Portland, OR when my son was young was actually quite low for an urban area. It would be interesting if an organization such as Kaiser would do a study. Kaiser has a large child patient load with records that follow them through adolescence in many communities. The pool should be large enough for statistical validity.

 

[ncaraway]

True "cookie bite" hearing losses are unusual and very difficult to fit with hearing aids due to the recovery of the high frequencies, where normally there is a gradual slope off. Digital aids with their frequency banding and compression channels would be my choice along with the advice to see an audiologist who will do unlimited adjustments.
I don't think you will be happy with low tech or Costco solutions due to the uniqueness of your loss. It would be a penny wise, pound foolish buy. Hearing aids can last ten years or more and due to the programmability of good digital aids they can be greatly modified to fit your needs. I would recommend springing to annual H.A. insurance. It even covers loss.

Thank you. This is most helpful and I appreciate it.