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Thread: The Damn I'm Old Thread - Putting Up With Being a Geezer

  1. #976
    Member Vic2012's Avatar
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    I'm 60 today.

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    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    HB, Vic!

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    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vic2012 View Post
    I'm 60 today.
    Happy Birthday!
    Ian

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    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.

  4. #979
    Member Vic2012's Avatar
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    Thanks.

  5. #980
    Moderator Duncan Glenday's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian View Post
    Hi, new to this thread. Anyone have any recommendations or advice regarding hearing aids? Music is very important to me and would consider myself an audiophile. Have been tested by ENT, seeing him again today as well as audiologist. Choice may be Phonak or Starkey, thanks.
    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.

    Quote Originally Posted by moecurlythanu View Post
    My Dad tried a couple hearing aids over the years, and they didn't work to his satisfaction. A friend of his got good results with a hearing aid purchased at Sam's Club, so he went for an exam. If it worked, he figured he'd get one, as he considered the other ear to be dead. In the test, they determined that they could help both ears, so he did buy aids for both ears. He can hear now, doesn't isolate himself, doesn't have to read lips, etc. The technology has greatly improved from his earlier purchases. You may want to try 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

  6. #981
    Moderator Duncan Glenday's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vic2012 View Post
    I'm 60 today.


    Happy birthday, and welcome to a rapidly expanding club.
    Regards,

    Duncan

  7. #982
    ALL ACCESS Gruno's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vic2012 View Post
    Thanks.


    How is that crow tasting on yer birthday??

  8. #983
    Member Vic2012's Avatar
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    Fantastic.

  9. #984
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
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    I burned my hat in your honor.
    Ian

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    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.

  10. #985
    Member Vic2012's Avatar
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  11. #986
    Geriatric Anomaly progeezer's Avatar
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    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"

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  12. #987
    Member since March 2004 mozo-pg's Avatar
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    Happy Birthday Vic!

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    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    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

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    Member Lou's Avatar
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    Happy Birthday you old bastard!!!!
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  15. #990
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Duncan Glenday View Post
    If you don't have coverage and will purchase the HAs yourself, 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.
    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.

  16. #991
    Member Vic2012's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerjo View Post
    Hope you had a great birthday Vic. And maybe some
    Nope, just a regular Monday. Went to work, came home, watched the tube. None nonsense. I leave that for weekends.

  17. #992
    Member Lopez's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vic2012 View Post
    Nope, just a regular Monday. Went to work, came home, watched the tube. None nonsense. I leave that for weekends.
    Sounds like my last several birthdays.
    Lou

    Looking forward to my day in court.

  18. #993
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian View Post
    Hi, new to this thread. Anyone have any recommendations or advice regarding hearing aids? Music is very important to me and would consider myself an audiophile. Have been tested by ENT, seeing him again today as well as audiologist. Choice may be Phonak or Starkey, thanks.
    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.
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  19. #994
    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

  20. #995
    Member Garyhead's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by markwoll View Post
    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
    What comes around....goes around......now we reach a "certain age" and it's OK to put the beans in your ears.......
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  21. #996
    Geriatric Anomaly progeezer's Avatar
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    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"

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  22. #997
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    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.

  23. #998
    Geriatric Anomaly progeezer's Avatar
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    "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

  24. #999
    Moderator Duncan Glenday's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    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.
    I keep my hair thick and long enough to cover my hearing aids. They're almost invisible that way.

    Almost no one outside direct family knows that I wear them. End even they can't tell whether I have them in or out. That way - I have options!
    Regards,

    Duncan

  25. #1000
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Huh? Did you say something Duncan?

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