I'm 60 today.
Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/
Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
I blame Wynton, what was the question?
There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.
I asked this thread about hearing aids a while ago, and it seemed that no one else had been through that process yet. So I may be the only person here with first-hand experience that I can share.
I've done a LOT of research, I track a forum on hearing aids, and I work (sorta-kinda) in the healthcare industry.So I hope my experiences will help.
If your ENT didn't find any alarming problems, and just said the you have a relatively normal hearing loss, then the good news is that you no longer need the ENT - and can work with audiologists from now on. They're more approachable, and more affordable.
Can you post your audiogram? You should have been given a little graph that looks something like this (not mine):
Or - you could break it down to text, so it looks something like this (mine):
Hz LEFT RIGHT
250 25 25
500 25 35
1000 30 45
2000 40 50
4000 50 75
8000 70 95
Does your health insurance cover hearing aids? If so, is Costco probably not in plan. I'd suggest you check that.
If you don't have coverage and will purchase the HAs yourself, and assuming your audiogram and your ENT haven't shown any severe problems, then my STRONGEST advice is to go to Costco. The units they carry are very good, and very inexpensive. They have several brands, each in several different formats.
Example: I went to an ENT. He and his in-house audiologist did the hearing test, and gave me a choice of 2 hearing aids that cost $6,900 and $7,200 respectively. At Costco I got almost the identical item for $1,699. Costco has a FAR better warranty than the ENT/audiologist I went to, they do free checkups every 6 months, their hearing tests are free, and I get free wax filters and domes whenever I want them.
Per my research, Sams is well priced, but they don't carry the same range - or have the same level of expertise - as Costco.
Regarding the value of hearing aids. Simple advice … get them. I noticed what I thought was a small improvement in my ability to hear conversations etc., But for people around me (family, friends, etc.) the difference was huge. They no longer have to make an effort to speak loudly and clearly when I’m around, or put up with me asking them to repeat themselves, or put up with me being annoyed because they were mumbling or speaking too fast, or not being aware that I was simply zoning out of the conversation. I didn’t know I was doing those things, but everyone else sure as hell knew it!
Just one caveat: To date, they have not yet managed to design a hearing aid algorithm to help with what they call “speech in noise”. E.g. restaurants, parties, etc. – where there’s a lot of talking going on, and you’re struggling to focus on just one conversation. The best way I’ve found to deal with this: My HAs have an cell phone app that allows me to make them strictly directional – so they amplify the voices directly in front of me, but not those to the side or behind me. It helps a bit.
Finally - regarding music: In present company, I can't consider myself an audiophile - though I guess I'm an audiophile compared with the general public.
For listening to speakers – I wear the HAs, and find they help with the higher registers.
For headphones – I don’t wear them, and I lose some of the higher pitched tones. I’ve tried using the telecoil feature so I’m hearing the music through both – the HAs and the headphones. It doesn’t work well.
For concerts – you’re SOL. I believe it’s possible to get ear plugs that can be customized to be frequency-specific, to suit your own hearing needs. I haven’t researched them.
For further input - I've been lurking on this forum for several years: https://forum.hearingtracker.com. It's sort of the PE for hearing aids You'll be surprised by the amount of knowledge on that forum - but like any public discussion board, you'll have to sift through it to separate the wheat from the chaff. There are a few musicians and audiophiles on that forum who could probably share some thoughts with you.
Let me know if you need more information.
Regards,
Duncan
I burned my hat in your honor.
Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/
Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
I blame Wynton, what was the question?
There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.
Now that you're 60 you're too old for me to adopt you.
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
Happy Birthday Vic!
Hope you had a great birthday Vic. And maybe some
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
Happy Birthday you old bastard!!!!
A Comfort Zone is not a Life Sentence
Probably excellent advice. My dad went to an audiologist -- after YEARS of us bugging him to -- and got sold a $6,000 set of hearing aids. Three months later he died.
HAs are considered a "medical device" -- you can't resell them on eBay or Amazon or any public forum.
After extensive research we found some charity that would accept DONATED hearing aids for their low-income customers.
Not ready for them myself, yet.
This newish sort of product is emerging as an alternative to the high end HA.
They are not sold as 'medical devices' and do not make the same claims, but they have attracted attention for folks who might need something but not the prescribed models.
The cost is substantially lower, and returnable for a trial.
https://www.etymotic.com/consumer/pe.../bean-qsa.html
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
-- Aristotle
Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
“A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain
I too can recommend the Costco hearing aids. I don't wear them but my Wife does.
EVERY aspect of her (and our) lives has improved. TV can stay at normal volume, no more hearing her say "What???", etc.
The technology is just amazing. If and when I'm in need of them, Costco is where I'll be going.
G.A.S -aholic
The Ice Cream Lady Wet her drawers........To see you in the Passion Playyyy eeee - I. Anderson
"It's kind of like deciding not to date a beautiful blonde anymore because she farted." - Top Cat
I was expecting to be kinda meh, but it made my nips stiffen - Jerjo
(Zamran) "that fucking thing man . . . it sits there on my wall like a broken clock " - Helix
Social Media is the "Toilet" of the Internet - Lady Gaga
My kids had been telling me for years to see an audiologist, and even I knew that there was a loss from years of standing in front of amps, so I did a few months ago. I was ready to drop the cash & put HAs in that day, but after all the testing, she said, "Your loss isn't sufficient enough to warrant my recommendation that you be fitted for HAs, or for your expense, for that matter yet. Come back in 2 years & we'll test again."
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
You could always put in a pair of ear buds and tell people you're not ignoring them, you've just got your hearing aid turned off.
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
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