Hearing aids

[harvey lee]

I guess after my appointment with the ear dude, I need some hearing aids. I thought I was too young for these.

My wife kept saying I have selective hearing but I always said I never heard you. I guess that will, not fly anymore.

Anywho, what are some of the better ones and which ones should I not consider?

Thanks

[cold one sd]

I am deaf in one ear and have a "Resound Live" model for the other ear. It lays on top of my ear and a small tube goes into the ear canal. Since I only have one working ear, the ones that fit entirely in the ear canal won't work for me. This thing has all kinds of programs that can be loaded into it in order to customize it and has a five year warranty. They are spendy, but how much is it worth to hear again? I remember the days of saying "huh?" and my buddies having to repeat themselves.

[backlash 1]

Mine are Unitron passports. They have only the slim tube going into the ear. They have all the bells and whistles, remote control, blue tooth, and audio off of the tv or stereo also thru the blue tooth device.

Ones to stay away from are the molded in the ear units. You just can't hear yourself talk properly with them. Believe me, I have two different sets of them in my drawer, about 10k worth and IMO they are junk compared to the new ones.

[Dogzlife000]

Harvey, talk to your audiologist about styles. There are pros and cons to each although open fit is all the rage now days.

My recommendations. Look online for prices and the locals will usually match. I've actually purchased online before and had them fitted locally. Saved a bunch. Check your insurance. My last two were covered and it saved me $3000. Never pay for programing. You want the audiologist to work on getting in right on his dime. Buy batteries on Fbay. Much cheaper.

[theoilman]

I have a Miracle Ear in the ear type. My good ear is 25 to 30 db down, my bad one is 80 db down, so if I get my bad ear up close to my better one I am happy and I get along with 1. I get about 7 years life out of one (on my 3rd now). The different options can really make the price jump out of sight, consider what you need and what it is worth to you. My last one I got for 'only' $900. I caught them at a bottom of sales and they were hungry to deal about 1 1/2 years ago (normal price should have been closer to $2000, so they can deal). My experience is the multi-channel with variable suppression is not worth it and more options can cause more problems.

Batteries? I have found the Miracle Ear branded batteries last nearly twice as long as the regular branded battery companies. A battery lasts me a couple of weeks and at about $1 per battery not a bad expense.

[Agent Andy]

I have the inner ear type and have tried the new behind the ear ones and don't like them.The 2 reasons are 1. I can't use them when on the phone and 2. I do a lot of hunting and the inner ear shuts off when I shoot and the behind the ear type will not suppress the sound enough without hurting the ear. I have checked new ones as mine are about 8 yrs old. They run around 3600 each. Are there any plaves in Mn. that I can go to that sell at discounted rates??? I have heard that Costco in Mpls are about half the price?? Anyone have a suggestion??? Thanks.

[fisher_king2004]

I've been wearing hearing aids now for about 8 years. I have the completely in the canal 100% digital programmable ones. I've mainly used Oticon and the sound reproduction is outstanding. Oticon CIC aids have issues with handling humidity though and I've had to take mine in for repair several times. I've tried a Widex one and it's been much more durable. The smaller CIC aids are better if your hearing loss is not too severe. The behind the ear models with the tube that fits into the ear are in my opinion the next best choice if your hearing loss is too much for the smaller ones.

I know someone who got his aids a lot cheaper by going to a place in I think DeKalb Illinois. Shop around for best price but I would advise getting the top end digital ones if you can afford it. Costco is a good option for batteries. I get them there for 33 cents apiece. You won't believe how much you have not been hearing until you start wearing aids. Life changing event and worth every nickel.

[cold one sd]

My over the ear aid has a program in it for using a phone. I push a button and I can hear fine. Normally I can hear just fine, but I have to use the program while talking to my brother.