Hearing loss

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  • bobzilla

    Mod in training (in my own mind)
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    2   0   0
    Nov 1, 2010
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    Brownswhitanon.
    I went to the auditory specialist last year. Yep. I have tinnitus and about 25/30% hearing loss in left/right ears. Not a candidate for hearing aids yet but conversation in noisy environment are impossible for me
     

    ditcherman

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    Dec 18, 2018
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    In the country, hopefully.
    I really like the Blue Parrot headset I use on the truck. My h/a's communicate with my phone using hi frequency sound. Blue tooth connectivity would make mine substantially larger. They are nearly invisible currently.
    Thanks.
    Definitely not going with just an amplifier.

    Blue parrot seems to be the best still. I used to just go to flying j and buy the most expensive one they had, but now keep it at about the 150 mark and get a couple of years out of one. Pays for itself many times over.

    Eargo’s are on the short list, along with lively.
    There’s a Phonak model that says it can stream from 2 Bluetooth devices at once, but it doesn’t seem like a beginner model at 2400-7000, and not sure it’d do what I want anyway.

    What I’m seeing on the marketing of the Eargo says they’re Bluetooth, but maybe that’s just marketing.
    They do have good reviews for comfort.
     

    ditcherman

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    In the country, hopefully.
    I went to the auditory specialist last year. Yep. I have tinnitus and about 25/30% hearing loss in left/right ears. Not a candidate for hearing aids yet but conversation in noisy environment are impossible for me
    Interesting.
    My hearing loss is mild I believe, but conversations are hard in a crowded room and little girl voices are impossible. Funny how the Diesel engine noise killed the little girl frequency.

    I question why you are not a candidate for hearing aids. If you want them I’d get a second opinion, I’m really just wondering if who you went to only sells for severe loss.
    Most of what I’m looking at specifically states not for severe loss.
    Just a thought.
     

    Ziggidy

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    May 7, 2018
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    Ziggidyville
    I've been going to Costco for over 10 years, on my 3rd pair now. I'd still be in my second but I destroyed one of them.

    Costco pricing cannot be beat but what is even better is their warranty, 3 years replacement if they die. 6 months trials, free cleaning as long as you own the aids (even beyond the 36mo.). Get rechecked and adjustments for 36months. Free domes, filters and more as long as you have the aids. And more.

    They carry name brands and their own, which is a name brand rebranded.

    I'm sold on the service they provide.
     

    boogieman

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    Nov 14, 2009
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    under your bed!!!
    Resurrecting this 2 year old thread, as I am curious as to what the OP ever decided on if anything, and wondering if anyone has tried the ‘online only’ hearing aids, such as Lively https://www.listenlively.com/product?bk=2
    Or if that’s a bad idea.

    From my understanding if someone has insurance they will go to an audiologist to get coverage, and the cost will be in the 6k range, mostly covered.

    Costco and these online companies are in the 1400-2500 range.

    To me it seems like the app from the online companies can do more than Costco’s, but there could be an advantage to seeing someone in person.
    Wondering if anyone has input on this they’d be willing to share?

    Also wondering how the Bluetooth connectivity works for calling; I wear a noise cancelling headset most all the time if I need to talk on the phone as I’m always around something loud, and I pretty much demand being hands free to keep working.
    Is there a way to get the noise canceling so people can hear me, or a way to keep using the trucker headset?
    I have mid-priced ones from an audiologist. They are tuned in the office to my exact hearing loss. I take a hearing test and she puts the results into the computer and it programs them automatically. I can wear a bluetooth headphone and the only problem I have is I have to turn it way down from my natural hearing. When I go to the gym I use bose noise cancelling headphones on top of my hearing aids without any problem at all. I don't know if the online only ones will be the same or not. Mine are also rechargeable so I don't have to mess with the little batteries. I have this little case I put them in at night and the next morning they will be fully charged.
     

    ditcherman

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    Dec 18, 2018
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    In the country, hopefully.
    I've been going to Costco for over 10 years, on my 3rd pair now. I'd still be in my second but I destroyed one of them.

    Costco pricing cannot be beat but what is even better is their warranty, 3 years replacement if they die. 6 months trials, free cleaning as long as you own the aids (even beyond the 36mo.). Get rechecked and adjustments for 36months. Free domes, filters and more as long as you have the aids. And more.

    They carry name brands and their own, which is a name brand rebranded.

    I'm sold on the service they provide.
    Thanks.
    This is really the debate for me.
    I just hate the thought of having to go there for adjustments. It’s only 20 minutes away, but I have a hard time making time for a haircut.
    I’ll give them a shot though.
     

    ditcherman

    Grandmaster
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    22   0   0
    Dec 18, 2018
    7,607
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    In the country, hopefully.
    I have mid-priced ones from an audiologist. They are tuned in the office to my exact hearing loss. I take a hearing test and she puts the results into the computer and it programs them automatically. I can wear a bluetooth headphone and the only problem I have is I have to turn it way down from my natural hearing. When I go to the gym I use bose noise cancelling headphones on top of my hearing aids without any problem at all. I don't know if the online only ones will be the same or not. Mine are also rechargeable so I don't have to mess with the little batteries. I have this little case I put them in at night and the next morning they will be fully charged.
    Thanks, a lot of info in there that was exactly what I was looking for!
     

    boogieman

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    48   0   0
    Nov 14, 2009
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    under your bed!!!
    Interesting.
    My hearing loss is mild I believe, but conversations are hard in a crowded room and little girl voices are impossible. Funny how the Diesel engine noise killed the little girl frequency.

    I question why you are not a candidate for hearing aids. If you want them I’d get a second opinion, I’m really just wondering if who you went to only sells for severe loss.
    Most of what I’m looking at specifically states not for severe loss.
    Just a thought.
    I was told anything up to 25% is considered still in the normal range and you really aren't a candidate for aids until you are about 40%. I'm at 30% on high tones and 70% loss on low tones.

    On a side note the loss they give you isn't really a percentage. It is decible loss. It takes that tone to be X more decibles to be able to hear it. Most people translate it to percentage which is close.
     

    bobzilla

    Mod in training (in my own mind)
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Nov 1, 2010
    8,944
    113
    Brownswhitanon.
    Interesting.
    My hearing loss is mild I believe, but conversations are hard in a crowded room and little girl voices are impossible. Funny how the Diesel engine noise killed the little girl frequency.

    I question why you are not a candidate for hearing aids. If you want them I’d get a second opinion, I’m really just wondering if who you went to only sells for severe loss.
    Most of what I’m looking at specifically states not for severe loss.
    Just a thought.
    It's the severe tinnitus that causes the majority of my problem and that can't be fixed with hearing aids. Once the hearing loss gets bad enough they will help but the amount of interference the tinnitus causes is serious.

    Apparently tinnitus is also a contributing factor for depression. Its not a sound or noise you can ever get away from. It;s always there.
     

    bobzilla

    Mod in training (in my own mind)
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Nov 1, 2010
    8,944
    113
    Brownswhitanon.
    I was told anything up to 25% is considered still in the normal range and you really aren't a candidate for aids until you are about 40%. I'm at 30% on high tones and 70% loss on low tones.

    On a side note the loss they give you isn't really a percentage. It is decible loss. It takes that tone to be X more decibles to be able to hear it. Most people translate it to percentage which is close.
    Correct. The dr gave me the decibel loss, but she converted that over to approximate percentages
     

    patience0830

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    28   1   0
    Nov 3, 2008
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    Not far from the tree
    Thanks.
    Definitely not going with just an amplifier.

    Blue parrot seems to be the best still. I used to just go to flying j and buy the most expensive one they had, but now keep it at about the 150 mark and get a couple of years out of one. Pays for itself many times over.

    Eargo’s are on the short list, along with lively.
    There’s a Phonak model that says it can stream from 2 Bluetooth devices at once, but it doesn’t seem like a beginner model at 2400-7000, and not sure it’d do what I want anyway.

    What I’m seeing on the marketing of the Eargo says they’re Bluetooth, but maybe that’s just marketing.
    They do have good reviews for comfort.
    Eargo uses Bluetooth to communicate with charger to program the in ear units. And they are tiny.
     

    Bstarkey_46947

    Plinker
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    0   0   0
    Jan 11, 2021
    101
    28
    Indiana
    I have had a pair from Bose since March and am generally pleased. I can adjust from all around to frontal only, which helps in a noisy environment. Hearing aids have been de-regulated so more options should be popping up. I do recommend spending the extra money and buying ones that are re-chargeable. A set of batteries lasts about 3 days for me. I have Tinnitus also but have am accustomed to it an don't even notice it unless I am trying to hear something in the cricket range.
     

    Ziggidy

    Grandmaster
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    2   0   0
    May 7, 2018
    7,266
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    Ziggidyville
    My aids have bluetooth. I connect through my iPhone and can call, answer, talk to Siri, listen to music and more. They are rechargeable, all my others were batteries. It's good to have the rechargeables IMO but the tech at Costco told me something to make them last longer. Since Costco offers 36 months of warranty, before the warranty expires tell them it seems something is wrong. They send them, check them out and recondition them. They replace the internal batteries so its like new again!

    Costco's service cannot be beat. My wife's aids are over 5 years and they still clean them, change domes and filters for free.
     

    ditcherman

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    Dec 18, 2018
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    In the country, hopefully.
    Costco sells Phonak, check their price.
    In the process, waiting for a call back to make an appointment.
    My issue with the Bluetooth is that there is no way I can use the phones mic, like when you’re on speakerphone. The noise cancelling is just not enough on the phone, for the background noise. At least in the majority of time.
     

    Haven

    Network Warlord
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    3   0   0
    Nov 6, 2016
    3,251
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    Camby Area
    So, you're one of those people that I always think are insane, walking along and apparently talking to invisible people? :):
    When I worked downtown Indy, my buddy and I would play a game, "Insane or Bluetooth". We would try to figure out if the person talking to themselves walking down the street was insane or on a bluetooth connection.

    We got pretty good at figuring out which was which.
     
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