BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06

Subject: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: gnu
Date: 06 Jun 17 - 12:56 PM

I am in NB, Canada. I ask on behalf of an elderly person that seldom ventures out of the house. What do you have? How well do they work? How often are new batteries needed? What happens when you use a telephone? What about warranties/service?

Essentially, just give me advice and questions to ask the hearing aid merchants.

Thanks in advance.

g

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: Bev and Jerry
Date: 06 Jun 17 - 02:42 PM

gnu:

I have been wearing hearing aids for about 3 years now. I have tons of information I can share with you but here are a few brief findings:

1. First, go to a medical doctor specializing in ear, nose and throat medicine to be certain that your hearing problem would be helped by hearing aids. Try to find one that does not sell hearing aids in their office so they will be unbiased.

2. If you need hearing aids, see a certified hearing aid dispenser. You do not need an audiologist for this who will charge you more.

3.We live in a rural area so there were not many choices. I visited about 5 dispensers and the prices for two aids ranged from $4100 to $6200 American (the highest was from an audiologist). Then I went to Costco and got them for $1800.

4. There are at least 3 Costco stores in NB (St. John, Fredricton and Moncton). I found them to be excellent and knowledgeable. I can return whenever I want to have them adjusted as my hearing deteriorates further. They sell name brand aids under their own label.

5. Battery usage varies with the brand and the way they are programmed. I replace the batteries about every 5 days. My local market charges about 1$ each but Costco sells them for 22.5 cents each. Don't let any offer of free batteries for life sway your decision as they only cost about $25 per year.

6. Be sure you get hearing aids that have several programmable modes. Mine have 4. One is for general use and helps immensely. Number two is for noisy restaurants (and other places) and it tends to screen out background noise so you can hear a nearby speaker. I can often hear the waitress better than Bev who has no hearing problem. Number three is for radio and TV and it emphasizes the higher frequencies so speech is easier to understand. I can even understand British accents in this mode which I haven't been able to do for years. Number four is specially programmed for use when Bev and I sing together unaccompanied. When I first got them, there was considerable feedback when we sang in the key of A. When I mentioned this to the installer, she programmed a fourth mode which specifically screens this out.

5. With regard to the phone, they don't work as well here as the microphones are behind your ears and so your ears are between the microphones and the phone. There are two fixes for this. One is you can pay a little extra for an added device that pipes the phone directly into your aids by radio waves. I haven't tried this. The other is to get a special phone that displays the conversation on a small screen. In the U.S. you can get one of these at no charge if a medical doctor recommends you. The captioning doesn't work very well but the phone has a volume control that allows it to be turned up so loud that a person with normal hearing will be in pain. It also has various frequency response curves so you can adjust it to your hearing situation.

In short, they work wonderfully and they are highly recommended.

More questions? Just ask

Jerry of

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: MikeL2
Date: 06 Jun 17 - 02:58 PM

Hi Gnu

I have be using hearing aids now for about 15 years.

First I have to say that I am in The UK. I am not sure what facilities you have in Canada.

I obtain my aids through our NHS system which has been completely free to me.

Since being provided I have had about 6 updates of the equipment - each time an improvement. We also have a weekly service available where we can go if we have any problems....again totally free.

T o try to answer some of your questions -:

What do you have? How well do they work? - I have the latest available aids supplied by OPTICON. They are easy to put in and are almost undetectable.

How often are new batteries needed? - The batteries are simple to install and obviously last depending how much you uses them. I use mine for about 16 hours a day we are advised not to wear then in bed. They last me about 3 to 4 weeks. Over here batteries are supplied free.

What happens when you use a telephone? - Using the phone is a slight problem but I put mine on Loud-Speak.

What about warranties/service? - As I have said above mine are completely covered by the NHS and so is no problem to me. I find the latest models very dependable but I would suggest you look into some form of maintenance. I have no idea what this might cost.

I have to point out that you need to get used to using them as sounds are a bit different to natural hearing. But this takes little getting used to.

You also have to realize that no aids can give you natural hearing. But I find them absolutely fantastic and I almost forget I am using them.

I hope this helps. If you need any further information let me know.

Regards

MikeL2

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: Donuel
Date: 06 Jun 17 - 06:54 PM

Its easy to lose these things or drown them in water so check about insurance. Mine can be customized with a micro screw driver included as long as you have sharp vision. Mine has 4 on demand EQ settings. All for under $300. If hearing loss is 25% or more see a doctor. If you want the richness of classical music perfection you can spend many thousands or buy aids that use computer apps to customize sound spectrums with custom molded fitting and remote control settings. Full goose ultra luxury are new age cochlear implants.

Battery life is variable but one battery a week is not unusual.

Most people just need a little high frequency help but people who are virtually stone deaf can still be helped with special aids.

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 06 Jun 17 - 07:52 PM

I'm UK too. I've had hearing aids for five years and my experiences are almost identical with Mike's. I also have ones made by Oticon. They've proved to be pretty unreliable but if I have an issue the NHS replaces them for free. My hearing loss is still classified as mild, though it's bad enough to stop me from being able to have a chat in a noisy pub or in a car or play music in a band any more. My aids are worn behind the ear and they have a thin tube with a soft latex tip, almost invisible, that goes into my ear canal. I get on pretty well with them, mostly forgetting that they're there. It takes about ten seconds to put them in. I've had several goes at getting them programmed for music and conversation (three switchable settings are possible), but I've found those settings to be useless and just use the general setting. The batteries last about two weeks and it's best always to carry a spare pair. I think that if your hearing loss is moderate or worse you may have to wear more visible aids with ear moulds.

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: Rapparee
Date: 06 Jun 17 - 10:41 PM

My are by ReSound and I got them via VA. If I were to buy them they would cost about USD 6,000.00 for the pair. I also have a "mini-microphone" to use and two bluetooth cell phone connectors (I can only use one at a time, so I don't know why I have two). As a result I can sit in a restaurant and slide the mini-mic towards someone I want to hear, or answer the phone. In both cases I don't have to make any adjustment on my hearing aids.

My batteries, wax guards, and all that stuff come from the VA. It only cost me a loss of hearing to gunfire, explosions, etc.!

There is a thing called a "T-coil" that your hearing aid should have installed; it helps with telephone calls. It's pretty standard in the US.

I'm waiting for a bill in Congress to pass so that you can buy basic hearing aids without a prescription. It'll help quite a few of my friends who don't have the "advantages" I "enjoy."

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 07 Jun 17 - 03:11 AM

My father is also UK NHS. His hearing aid is a few years old and I think is a Resound Danologic. The local hospital used to offer a weekly "drop in" service but it is now appointment only. My father only really used the drop in service when he broke something and I did on occasion wonder whether that was a mistake as it seemed to me the way to get the best possible out of the devices and existed to be used...

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: BobL
Date: 07 Jun 17 - 04:03 AM

Mine (Oticon, NHS free issue) have an induction loop (T-coil) setting which picks up a signal in such places as have the corresponding transmitter installed. This can be very handy for initial P.A. checks in our parish church, with the speakers turned off, and it even helped diagnose ignition faults back in the days when I drove geriatric Minis. It's also supposed to pick up the magnetic signal from a telephone earpiece, but TBH it's easier just to take the thing out of my ear.

I've had a number of sets over the years, battery usage getting better with each new one. The present set give me a day's warning of battery failure so I don't bother to carry spares now.

The only problem I have is with loud music, i.e. playing melodeon in a Morris band or singing Sacred Harp. The automatic volume control goes into overload and the things just cut out - I'm better off without them, but I have to remember to take them out while my hands are still free.

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 07 Jun 17 - 06:26 AM

One of mine did that cut-out business - it turned out that it was faulty, and the replacement one didn't do it. Like you, for the telephone I just whip the thing out of my ear. One thing I forgot to mention is that when I first went to see an audiologist, in 2012, I didn't know I had hearing loss - I went because of severe tinnitus which seemed to be worsening. I'm pretty good at putting the tinnitus on the back burner but I was worried about the change. It was then that I was told about my high-frequency loss. The hearing aids helped a lot - and they also reduced the tinnitus (subjective estimate coming up...) by about two-thirds. He said that the tinnitus was partly my brain making a futile attempt to replace the missing high frequencies. Whatever. It helped a lot!

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: leeneia
Date: 07 Jun 17 - 08:38 PM

Hi, Steve/ That's most interesting about hearing aids helping you with tinnitus. Thanks.

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: Mr Red
Date: 08 Jun 17 - 06:04 AM

tinnitus can be combated with music and with a stream of a special audio. IMHO this is the brain making sense of shortcomings in the ear, filling gaps etc. The broken hair cells (cilla) rubbing against each other. (Lost cilla equate to deafness).

Add to that the logarithmic nature of the ear and the change in the viscosity of the fluid to effect that, and protect the hairs from loud sounds - I would posit that the hearing aids probably make "sounds" louder selectively and when you accommodate to that, the sound level is on an easier part of the curve. The brain certainly learns.

an analogy would be (say) friction. Add vibration then friction and particularly stiction decrease.

From what friends say, modern hearing aids have come a long way, particularly in the selective amplification of discrete frequency bands. I would guess the number of bands equate to cost (ignoring marketing and commercial flim flam).

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: Bev and Jerry
Date: 08 Jun 17 - 02:36 PM

Hearing aid technology has indeed progressed at an amazing rate in the past few years and continues to do so.

Each aid now has two microphones in it plus a computer chip that can be programmed in various ways. Last time I checked, there were 6 or 8 manufactures of aids but only two chip makers. Mainly what you're paying for (if you're paying) is software - the higher the price the more things can be programmed in.

Last time I had my hearing aids "tuned up", I put on headphones and indicated which tones I could hear. They were at various frequencies and volume levels. Took about 2 minutes. Then she took my aids and set them in front of her computer and, after a couple of clicks, they were re-programmed to be optimal for my current hearing deficiencies.

Amazing!

Jerry of

Bev and Jerry

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: Helen
Date: 08 Jun 17 - 04:26 PM

By sheer coincidence I happened to see a segment about hearing aids on the Oz ABC TV show called The Checkout last night.

The Checkout segment on hearing clinics

They referred to information by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

It is probably worth having a look at this consumer info. It doesn't just relate to Australia.

I don't need a hearing aid - yet - although I do have tinnitus so ask me again in a few years time.

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 09 Jun 17 - 05:25 AM

My experience mirrors that of MIkeL2. I've had mine for 13 years,and am on my second upgrade. next time I'll probably need one for my other ear. I blame loud bands in small clubs in my youth! Mine has also masked my tinnitus. I've just had an upgrade. Downside locally is that with hospital mergers, drop-in clinic for minor repairs is further away.
RtS

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: artbrooks
Date: 09 Jun 17 - 10:02 AM

I'm a long-time hearing aid user (since 1974).

Won't compare sources, since they very A LOT from country to country. My aids are Oticons, but I suspect that the same aids are sold under different names. Batteries last about a week, plus or minus a day or so - depends on the battery manufacturer and the amount of use.

As said previously, make sure that an aid is the right thing to deal with the loss medically, and see an audiologist to get the right one prescribed. There are dongles that connect aids to cell phones and TVs via Bluetooth. I've never had much luck with T-coils.

Advice for your elderly friend (sure it's not you, Gnuser?): they take a while to get used to, and are a bit overwhelming at first.

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 10 Jun 17 - 03:11 AM

I have inherited a hearing problem from my father's side of the family which has gradually got worse the older I get.
Now living in Ireland, I have purchased two aids from 'Hidden Hearing' - highly efficient with an excellent back-up service but very expensive.
Their latest model, which I tried on demonstration, is a spectacular improvement on my present set, but unfortunately way out of my price range.
I may have to bite the bullet eventually
Maybe I'll have to resort to the old 'Liverpool hearing aid; "hang a wire over your ear and everybody shouts"
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: Mr Red
Date: 10 Jun 17 - 06:17 AM

Might I add more to the general chatter.

1) It is well known that music can improve the gait of Parkinson sufferers.
2) Older people who are doddery on their legs gain more competence when standing on vibrating plates
3) the tinnitus palliative of hearing music &/or special sounds.

all these point to the concept of adding noise to the signal (hearing) and the brain interpolates on several dimensions to get nearer to the correct.

The analogy of this would be: when weighing you tap the scales and the uncertainty (resolution v stiction) can be interpolated by estimating the time spent above or below the marker as it bounces. It is just that the brain can deal with more than one dimension (& gap) given enough training. Modern hearing aids change the operating point as well as amplifying.

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 10 Jun 17 - 06:28 AM

You can spend thousands on hearing aids, but from I've been told by the professionals that most of the fancy bells and whistles are a waste of money, and the ones provided by the NHS are as good as any.

I don,t know what the situation in Canada is, but I'd suspect that even. If you have to buy them it,s not worth paying the earth.

It'd be great to have perfect hearing, but it isn,t on offer. My hearing aids do a very good job. In a crowded room with lots of different conversations it's a nuisance, but for most things, no problem.

One problem is that I tend not to notice I'm wearing them, until I reach to take them out to go to bed, and find they aren't. They are so small.

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: Donuel
Date: 10 Jun 17 - 08:58 AM

I only hear tinnitus when the subject comes up. My brain has learned to ignore it unless I look for it. Mr. Red is correct that the brain learns.

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: Rapparee
Date: 10 Jun 17 - 10:28 AM

My hearing aids have a built-in anti-tinnitus program. I don't know how it works, but it seems to help.

My wife says my hearing aids don't work in the sound range of her voice.

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 10 Jun 17 - 11:56 AM

"and the ones provided by the NHS are as good as any."
Not in my experience - it really is a case of 'you get what you pay for'
My hearing is deteriorating at a frightening speed and up to a few years ago I was forced to buy top-of-the-range aids
I now find that the new improved ones (which I tried) would cost me €6,000
a pair - not a chance, I'm afraid.
Never mind - I'm in good company
Did you know that Beethoven was so deaf he thought he was a painter?
Not many people know that!!
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: gnu
Date: 10 Jun 17 - 01:14 PM

WOW! Great posts! Haven't had time to read them all but I sure will.

THANK YOU, thank you, thank you.

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: gnu
Date: 10 Jun 17 - 02:12 PM

Maybe I'll have to resort to the old 'Liverpool hearing aid; "hang a wire over your ear and everybody shouts"
Jim Carroll

Hehehee!

Rap.... My wife says my hearing aids don't work in the sound range of her voice.

Hahahahaa!

Did you know that Beethoven was so deaf he thought he was a painter?
Not many people know that!!
Jim Carroll

You guys are crackin' me up! Thanks!

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: gnu
Date: 10 Jun 17 - 02:24 PM

Hahahahahaa! I was just talking with a buddy that has hearing aids. He said I should check out Bass Pro. Now, Mum doesn't hunt and I wouldn't take her there but I got a great laugh out of this. http://www.basspro.com/Game%20Ears%20&%20Hearing%20Aids/_/C-4294541091?taCategory=Game%20Ears%20&%20Hearing%20Aids&taSearchTerm=

Subject: RE: BS: Hearing aids info 2017.06.06
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 10 Jun 17 - 03:34 PM

"Hahahahahaa! "
Another grinnable story
A late middle aged rural couple turned up at the hospital to have their tenth child delivered.
The doctor took the woman quietly aside and said to her, "You really are going to have to put a stop to all these children at your age"
"I know doctor" she replied, "but it's all because of my poor hearing"
"How do you mean?"
She said, "We go to bed each night and he always says ""Shall we go to sleep now or what?"
I always say "What?
Jim Carroll