Hearing aids

Tony in SD

Well-known Member
Went to the hearing doctor. She tested my hearing then wanted to sell me a pair of $6900 hearing aids discounted to $6400. I think that price is just insane. What do you have for hearing aids? Do you like them? How much did they cost? What brand are they?
 
I get mine from E-bay, I started with Behind The Ear type, for under $100. each. Bought them from a hearing aid guy who does sales and repairs.
 

I like these!!!

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Just kidding...LOL
 
do a bit of research online. Then shop around online. Once you do that, go back to your audiologist and talk to her again. The $6900 hearing aid is loaded with bells and whistles, many of which you may not need, or at least don't need $6900 worth. By bells and whistles I mean ultraminiaturization, voice and music enhancing circuitry, wind noise cancellation, Bluetooth connectivity, multiple channels, etc. Your research should inform you what all those things do for you, or don't do for you. If you can live with a much simpler hearing aid that fits behind your ear and doesn't have all those whizbang features, you can save a bundle of money. On the other hand, you may decide you want the very best. If so, find a way to shop around, because the markup on hearing aids is unbelievably high, often over 100%.
 
Costco is supposed to be the most reasonable, price-wise. VA is free, if you're a vet, but its "need based", so you need to be poor (and a vet) to get them free through the VA.
 
Tony;

About nine or ten years ago I had my hearing tested at Costco and got a hearing aid there for my right ear, in which I had moderately severe hearing loss. I was never happy with it, and ended up not wearing it as much as you have to if it's going to do you any good. About five years ago it was pretty obvious that that hearing aid was not cutting it. I went back to Costco to see if it was possible to go through the process of adjusting the hearing aid with the computer again, and learned two things. First, the Costco technician who had administered the original hearing test had failed to complete half of it, so there was never any way the computer had enough information to adjust the hearing aid to my specific needs. The second thing was that my hearing had gotten worse in both ears, and I was going to need two hearing aids to get back to normal hearing.

Because Costco had let me down once, I decided to check out other local audiologists---all of them. I went to every audiologist in Olympia, let each of them tell me why they thought the hearing aids they sold were the best, and what they would do to take care of me. I tried Siemens, Phonak, Starkey, Oticon, and Wydex hearing aids, all the top of the line brands. I was most impressed with Phonak, Siemens, and Starkey, but Phonak had a specific feature I particularly liked which the others didn't have. I paid $4500 for two of Phonak's mid range (middle price, fewer features) hearing aids. Their top hearing aids were the same quality but had features I didn't need. I was delighted with what a huge difference good hearing aids made in my life, and came to consider it one of the best purchases I ever made.

Last year I began to worry about having these expensive electronic devices which had long since gone out of warranty. I could pay a few hundred dollars a year for a good warranty, but only for one or two more years. After that, nobody would sell me a warranty on them because they don't last forever. One day while I was in Costco, I asked them what brand of hearing aids they were selling now, and they told me Phonak. And, remarkably, they were selling them for $2600 a pair. Costco made a deal with the Swiss company to sell their products at low markup, and Phonak was able to sell their best hearing aids to Costco at a better price than anybody else can buy them because Costco buys them in huge quantities. I bought a pair and they actually are better than my old ones. Audiologists who previously sold Phonak hearing aids have had to go to other brands because no individual shop can compete with Costco's prices.

It's very convenient for me to go to Costco because there is one only a ten minute drive from me. With the hearing test, the fitting, the adjustments, and the follow up appointment, there are at least four or five separate trips needed. It wouldn't be convenient if I had to travel a long distance for all that, but I'd gladly have spent half a day each time if that's what it had taken---the hearing aids are that good, and totally worth it. You should definitely look into it.

Stan
 
By the way, my brother in law got Starkey hearing aids from the VA five or six years ago, and never had good luck with them. (I think it was more the VA's failure to spend the time with him and give him the information he needed to use them to best advantage than the fault of Starkey brand.) Then, last year the VA gave him new hearing aids which are now Phonak brand. He is completely happy with them, and his hearing is clearly much better.

Google Phonak hearing aids at Costco and see if you don't think they sound pretty good.

Stan
 
I tried some cheap amplifiers(ear canal) from Walmart. They seemed to make it harder to distinguish what people were saying to me in a crowded room, because the noise around me was drowning out individual voices. Then I went to an audiologist and bought a mid-line behind-the-ear model. It was too much trouble to install and a balancing act to keep in place so I took those back. They made a mold of my ear canals for new aids, and I am waiting for them to arrive. I'll let you know how they work. I wish I had known about Phonak sooner, although I hate going to Costco for anything.
Butch
 
Tony,

My Dad had tried his smart phone...no joke. He wears the ear-buds and the phone does all the work. He likes them a lot.

D.
 
I will need to get at least one soon. Strangely my BIL, who has needed them for the last 30 years, says that Costco has the best.
 
I got a pair of Beltone for $5200. and they work, maybe 50% one on one, but in crowd, they are worthless. Had a pair from a magazine ad (MD hearing for around $700. and I think fort he money they were a better deal.
 
Why do you not like to go to Costco? We understand that they pay their employees well and seem to provide good service. We do not have one locally but have been to them in NY with BIL.
 
(quoted from post at 07:03:25 03/23/16) Tony,

My Dad had tried his smart phone...no joke. He wears the ear-buds and the phone does all the work. He likes them a lot.

D.

Please explain how this works.
 
I have Phonak, provided by VA. At first, I couldn't get used to them, put them in a drawer and forgot about them. About 2 months ago, I ran across them and decided to give them another try. I found that the left one was not working all the time. I sent it in and had it repaired, and wear them now with no problems.
 
In 1997 I was about to go under the Knife as my L4-L5 (lower back was causing severe pain). As I was about to be placed into a state of sleeping, the surgeon asked me to "please remember how I felt at this time and compare it to what I would be living with in about four hours time". I now tell people the operation was a total success! The pain now is <1% of what I had before the operation:

The point is:

I've had hearing aids for two and one half years and my hearing is wonderful compared to how bad it was!

These Hearing Aids were purchased in Phoenix AZ at a Costco and they are great! $2000.00 (one hearing aid for each ear ,hand held remote) I had my no cost hearing exam two years after the purchase and I am TOTALY satisfied!

Bob..
 
Id where these just to tell the grandkids I got hearing aids and then ask them to take a picture with me so they can post it on their Facebook page. LOL
 
Tony;

Do you know what usually causes bad hearing? It makes a difference because it directs you toward what kind of device might do you the most good. Commonly, your hearing loss is in certain frequencies, not just straight across the board. The cheapest kind of hearing aids are simply amplification devices. They make every sound louder. But you might have normal hearing in many frequencies, so that much of what you hear through such a device will simply be too loud. I don't know if this can damage your hearing in the ranges where you don't need amplification, but it might.

More sophisticated devices (more expensive devices) can be set by the audiologist or technician to amplify just the frequencies you need amplified, as much as you need them amplified. If your hearing loss is not too profound, this can restore your hearing to normal or close to normal. If you have severe hearing loss in some frequencies, as I do in my right ear, the hearing aid is not capable of bringing your hearing all the way back to normal. Someday soon, maybe, but not yet.

I have severe hearing loss in the mid to high frequencies. Those are the ones which are necessary to understand the initial consonants of words. Without hearing aids, I'll always have trouble hearing the difference between cake and bake and take and fake and make---words like that. When I can't guess the word right from the context, I'll often make mistakes which others might find funny, but which make me seem stupid. With the hearing aids I got from Costco, or the ones I got from an audiologist a few years earlier, I don't make that kind of mistake. I would describe my hearing with these hearing aids as being at the lower end of the normal hearing range. Without them, I am a person who is clearly going deaf.

Another thing that high quality modern hearing aids can do is to filter out background noise. Without my hearing aids I can't follow a conversation at all in a noisy place like a restaurant, or where music is playing in the background. I have been mortified to stand watching a person talking to me, like at my high school reunion, and not have any idea of what they are saying. Those are difficult situations even for people with normal hearing, but with my hearing aids I can manage more or less normally. It's wonderful and amazing. These hearing aids also have the ability to adjust their pickup to the surrounding situation. In a quiet setting they send you everything. In a noisy setting they screen out some of the noise, and send you the sound you need to be able to hear, like voices.

The thing that I chose not to pay extra for five years ago is now available at no extra cost. This is Bluetooth compatibility which allows you to have the signal from your cell phone, or your hard wired phone if it isn't too old, or your car audio system, or your TV, or other devices sent directly to your hearing aids. I'm not good at learning to use new electronic devices, but this isn't actually too hard. Besides, every young person on the face of the planet, apparently, is expert at using all computer and phone related devices, and they're always willing to help you if you can stand their quiet pity.

I truly feel that good hearing aids are one of the best things I ever bought for myself. There's a long, long list of things I'd give up before I'd be without hearing aids again.

I hope everything works out well for you,

Stan
 
Any opinions on Sams Club hearing aids? We don't have a Costco near here. My test showed about 75% hearing loss. Between drugs for a blood infection and working on steam turbines, there just ain't much left.
 
Bud, I Googled "Sam's Club hearing aids" and took a look at it. They don't seem to be selling any of what I recognize as the top brands. I'm not knowledgeable enough to say with certainty that there aren't good brands that I've never heard of, but I consider it unlikely. There might be great car makers that I've never heard of, too, but I'd consider it risky to buy one of their cars.

Another thing is that their prices are too low to make me think they can be the highest quality hearing aids. Costco's low price on Phonak hearing aids (and their even lower prices for their Kirkland brand) aren't actually unbelievable. Hearing aids are commonly marked up 100%, so there's a lot of room to cut the price. Costco sells lots of things besides hearing aids, so they can choose to sell some products at a low profit margin as a courtesy to their members, or as a way to encourage more people to become members. Phonak makes great hearing aids---the best, in my opinion---but it must represent a terrific deal for them to get an exclusive account with Costco. Costco buys huge amounts of anything they carry, so getting the Costco account probably sent Phonak stock through the roof.

You say there isn't a Costco outlet close to you. That's a real problem, and if you mean it's like 300 miles away, it's probably insurmountable. But feeling the way I do now, I'd willingly spend half a day driving to the four or five appointments at Costco that it takes to get new hearing aids.

One thing that might influence you is that the hearing aids from Costco come with a no questions asked return policy for the trial period. Here in Washington State it's for 90 days by state law. It might be different in Florida, but it still ought to give you plenty of time to try them because Costco's own policy is pretty generous---it might even be for 90 days.

If I was a hermit I might accept not being able to hear well, but for any amount of contact with other people, being deaf is just too limiting. You have to be able to hear or you are handicapped. There's no two ways about it.

Good luck,

Stan
 
Got my last pair from the VA this year, Phonaks, Love 'em. The VA is very good to us veterans. This is the third pair of hearing aids from them [they replace them every five years]. I can't say enough good things about VA's service.
 
Too many people and too far away. The closest one is 35 miles from here. I don't like to travel as much as I once did.
Butch
 
Russ, I guess I'd better tell you that my wife loves Costco, so I encourage her to go every chance she gets.
 
I don't use them, but my wife does.

She got hers from Miracle Ear and loves them. State of the art with a remote control. Original price was $7400 for the pair, with my American Legion membership discounting them down to $4200.
 
I got mine at Costco and they were about $2500 a pair. They have bluetooth technology, are tailored to my specific hearing loss in each ear, and are programmable incase my hearing changes. They made a big difference to me. They are not perfect and the hearing people said they would not be but as I said they have made a major difference to me.
 
Pardon me, what did you say?
That is my hearing aid. Every time you say that the talker get louder and clearer. I don't really need a hearing aid all that bad and hear about anything that I want. All crippled up, walking with a cane or walker most expect that I need a hearing aid and when people talk like they have a mouth full of marbles I play it up. Drives Dixie up a wall when I start in on a mumbler. I then can get two giggles out of it.
 

i think the reason for hearing aids staying so high is the companies are all in cahoots with each other to keep profits high . just look at what is being done with modern electronics . smart phones , music ,early phonograph recording being cleaned up just to name a few
 
(quoted from post at 07:44:47 03/25/16)
i think the reason for hearing aids staying so high is the companies are all in cahoots with each other to keep profits high . just look at what is being done with modern electronics . smart phones , music ,early phonograph recording being cleaned up just to name a few

X2
 

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