help with hearing problem

[Keb]

My bluetooth hearing aids are made by ReSound. I have a set of older Phonak aids I wear when I really want to hear conversations. The ReSounds only work for bluetooth applications. There worthless for anything else.

 

[Dwight Rutherford]

My new Phonak aids from the VA are exceptional! The Bluetooth connects with my phone, television, I-Pad and laptop. There is also a setting for conversations in crowded situations.

 

[rebs]

Mine from the VA are ReSound LT9ITC-DW-HP fully bluetooth compatible with my Iphone.

 

[rebs]

My new Phonak aids from the VA are exceptional! The Bluetooth connects with my phone, television, I-Pad and laptop. There is also a setting for conversations in crowded situations.

How long have you had the Phonik aids ?

 

[Baxter]

Hearing loss is obviously very common. I was a speech-language pathologist for thirty years before I retired, with about 27+ of those years in departments that had an audiology division. Speech and hearing curricula share some courses at the undergraduate and graduate level. I know and worked with a lot of audiologists. The current "entry level" degree for certification is at the doctoral level, meaning an AuD, or "Doctor of Audiology."

I would recommend that you consult a certified audiologist, and present your concerns to them. They are very knowledgeable, and not bound to prescribe any one specific brand. They have to stay current to keep their certification, so they ought to know what's out there. I'm not knocking Beltone or E.A.R. or any of the others, but their personnel are primarily salesmen/technicians. Good people and frequently knowledgeable, but they just don't have the training that certified audiologists are required to have.

If you are a veteran, the VA may very well provide the evaluation, intervention, and prosthetics you need with no out of pocket cost, although that will likely depend on your percent "service connection" related to your problem. If you are on Medicare, veteran or not, Medicare should cover a lot of the cost of the consultation and evaluation, although Medicare will probably not help much with the actual prosthetics.

This is a good conversation to have, and I've learned a few things reading through this thread. However, if it were me, I would start with a licensed and certified audiologist.

And yes, I have hearing loss, also. Severe on the left, moderately severe on the right. Surprisingly enough, I have not taken the leap toward getting hearing aids. However, I have two sets of custom molded silicone plugs which provide very good attenuation of noise, and I wear them religiously when shooting, mowing, or working with any tools or in any environment with noise levels greater than loud conversation.

Regardless of your choice, we hope you'll let us know what you decide to get, and then give a "field report" to let us know how it works. This is good information to share.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

This is an excellent post; I thank you for it.

 

[Dwight Rutherford]

Rebs,
Got them three months ago.

 

[OB One]

When I was in the Navy, I flew as an aircrewman for 20 years. I flew in many different types of aircraft, and never wore earplugs, just the normal headset or helmet. After retiring I started and ran a land clearing business with chainsaws, dump trucks, and bulldozers for an additional 30 years. Now I have Resound hearing aids from VA that work pretty well if someone is talking to me. Otherwise, I can hear them, but can not understand what they are saying. VA has upgraded them through the years but they still don't work right. Think I will look into the Phonik aids.
Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Akblackdawg]

Mine from VA are from Oticon ON. For the first couple yeas batteries supplied from VA wee very poor. Many duds or only lasting 2-3 hours. Last batch were from Rayovac. Night and day difference. Batteries always last 3-4 days now. I use them 12-18 hrs per day.

 

[Akblackdawg]

Could you possibly send me a p.m. with the make and model of these please? I'm interested in having my father look into then.

Unfortunately no readily available hearing aid or device really helps with my hearing problem, not the bulk of dad's either. I hear fine. I can hear very soft faint sounds and voices. But, if I am not focused in someone speaking to me, I won't understand what them. The sound doesn't process into speech. Made worse if the person is on my left side or there is a lot of background noise. Movies and t.v. are a waste of time as I often can't decifer the dialog from the music and sound effects.
I wish I had found my good hearing protection years sooner.

noticing ON

 

[sheriff john]

Electronic muffs have worked for me and they're much improved at a lower cost than ever before. First "ear plugs" we used were .38 special cartridges jammed into our ears during bullseye pistol matches. Once you start hearing crickets 24/7, they never go away. Protect your ears and eyes - replacements are out of stock.

 

[artrepro]

I just got back from picking up new hearing aids from the VA this morning. Had the last ones 9 years they were not working to well anymore. New ones work with the phone and may work with the TV, if so my wife will forever be thankful.

chuck40219

 

[Akblackdawg]

I just got back from picking up new hearing aids from the VA this morning. Had the last ones 9 years they were not working to well anymore. New ones work with the phone and may work with the TV, if so my wife will forever be thankful.

chuck40219

Mine from va I’ve had 3 years are excellent made by Oticon. I haven’t figured out how to connect to tc yet. Maybe i need to look into that

 

[Grumpa]

Phonak hearing aids. I love them. Makes me smile when I can hear my family talking! And I was tired of saying " What?" all the time, and giving wrong answers to misheard questions.

Only time the aids are annoying is in a good wind, and I just shift the hat brim to shield them, or shut them off or take them out.

When shooting, I remove them just before I get to the range, and put in Axil ear plugs, that let you hear conversation, but have a high Noise Reduction Rating ( NRR ), over 30. At the range, I also wear ear muffs I got when I was railroading, also +30 NRR. Even with both on, I can still hear most conversation. I double up because I want to keep what hearing I still have.

Before the Axils, I used EAR plugs ( foam), that also had a 30+ NRR, but hearing with the Axils is much better.

Richard/Grumpa

 

[Irish lad]

My new Phonak aids from the VA are exceptional! The Bluetooth connects with my phone, television, I-Pad and laptop. There is also a setting for conversations in crowded situations.

Mine too!
my out of pocket cost was $1100 copay for the top model and I am damned impressed. My FSA covered most of that.
Mine are in ear.
Irish