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Can anyone tell me how Bluetooth or other assisted technology has helped improve your hearing?
In my case, a controlling software program resides in my iPhone that connects via Bluetooth to a device on a lanyard around my neck. The lanyard is an antenna that allows the device to communicate with the earpieces. The earpieces are programmed to work without Bluetooth so it is an add on but nice to have because it routes phone calls to the earpieces (Mic in the lanyard device), you can !listen to anything on your phone...music or audio books...through the earpieces, and you can adjust or switch hearing volume control setting without fumbling with the earpieces. You have to remember to 'pair' the iPhone and the lanyard device with Bluetooth, which I forget sometimes or it loses the connection and I won't know it. But it isn't absolutely required for the hearing aids to work...mostly a convenience factor. I think some people would like it and others wont. I like listening to audiobooks when I'm busy doing something or outside.
Whitelotus, there is a company, Esco, that provides insurance for hearing aid repairs and loss. I am on my third pair of hearing aids and I have insured my hearing aids as soon as the warranty expires. I had several repairs needed on my first two pairs of hearing aids and the audiologist would submit a claim for me and I never had to pay anything for the repair - but they did have to be sent away, as my audiologist did not do repairs. I believe I am paying approximately $56/month for insurance for both repair AND loss - I believe you can get repair only. The link for the Esco web site is below. You may want to check with your audiologist to see if they will work with Esco.
Honestly, the technology for the fundamentals of hearing aids has NOT transformed dramatically in the last few years. They want you to think it has so you go back and by more (overpriced) hearing aids. I agree with others that finding the right style that you can tolerate and having excellent service for troubleshooting are probably the most important things. For the vast majority of users, having the newest hearing aid with all the bells and whistles is not essential.
My father delayed getting hearing aids for years. OP, you are right that hearing loss can have a really negative impact on your relationships and honestly, can cause deterioration of a marriage. If you are now discouraged from talking to your husband... that is just awful. Awful for your relationship and intimacy and ...... awful for his hearing and brain deterioration. Use it or loose it.
Only once my father read the evidence that hearing loss is associated with an increased rate of dementia did he agree to get hearing aids. And when his excellent ENT doctor reviewed his issues and reviewed the results of his audiology exam, the doctor said.... "Get thee to COSTCO!". My Dad loves Costco (don't we all .
My Dad's experience with getting his first hearing aids from Costco has been excellent. I think I started a thread about it before on this forum. The prices for very good quality hearing aids - Kirkland brand ("generic") - are excellent. That had all of the useful bells and whistles for the typical user. My Dad tests them on his cell phone using the App to make sure they are balanced every time he puts them in. He can change the settings/volume on his cell phones, which is much easier than using the small buttons on the hearing aids. He has pre-programmed settings on the aids (that were set up by the Costco technician) that he can change depending upon the environment he is in - for regular conversation, conversation in a crowded room (ex. eating at a restaurant), listening to music, going to the theater and more. When he goes to a play at one of the great theaters in his city, he can link his hearing aids to their "loop" system, and the actor's voices go straight into his hearing aids. Amazing!
But hearing aids do take time to adjust to and to find the right fit. It took my father about 6 months of return visits for questions/changes in the program. In the end, he got a hearing aid that goes behind the ear, with custom molds for the part that goes in the ear. Honestly, to me they look so modern that when I had seen them on people in the past, I thought they were bluetooth earphones, not hearing aids!
And you can't beat the prices at Costco. Amazing. The best warranty of any place in our area. You can lengthen the warranty if you charge to their Costco credit card and get cash back. All free visits to go back and service the aids. Cheap batteries. So many good things.
It makes me so sad to see people give up too quickly on their hearing aids. I blame the audiologists/technicians/doctors for not giving better service and explaining how important it is to improve your hearing. Or else it is too easy to sleep into depression... and dementia.
Sfcambridge
Can’t thank you enough.....we made an appointment with Costco. I wasn’t aware of the hearing loss and dementia connection, gosh that is scary.
Try making an appointment at a miracle ear to see if they have anything to offer him. My hub saw a few places, ended up going with them. They do a lot of follow up and make sure he keeps his appointments.
Honestly, the technology for the fundamentals of hearing aids has NOT transformed dramatically in the last few years. They want you to think it has so you go back and by more (overpriced) hearing aids. I agree with others that finding the right style that you can tolerate and having excellent service for troubleshooting are probably the most important things. For the vast majority of users, having the newest hearing aid with all the bells and whistles is not essential.
Absolutely not true. Hearing aid technology is advancing at an unbelievable rate. Two big drivers: Technology advances, allowing hardware & processing that just wasn't possible a few years ago. Second, better algorithms driving the software.
I'll give one example, and I could give dozens: Most hearing loss is at the high frequencies, which unfortunately is necessary to discriminate between "S" and "F", or "P" and "B", etc. Until a few years ago, HA manufacturers tried to drive high frequencies as loud as they could, while boosting lower frequencies only as much as needed. This was only partially successful, as many people just don't have enough "high" left to boost.
Someone came up with the idea of taking the higher frequencies, using internal processors in the HA to convert them to a lower frequency. The HA user then can hear the higher frequencies, albeit at a lower pitch. After just minor adapting & tweaking, it actually sounds pretty good, and gives the HA wearer the ability to "hear" higher frequencies again.
They've had this idea for decades, but only recently has processor technology advanced enough to do this in real-time, and using programming algorithms that shape the new sound, so it's both tolerable and can be understood.
I wear a HA in one ear, and a Cochlear Implant in the other. I keep up with new technology so I can best adapt to poor hearing. So please don't tell me "technology hasn't fundamentally changed".
I have a congenital hearing loss that steadily got worse until, at present, I can rarely hear anyone without my hearing aids. People think I'm rude, but I don't realize they have spoke to me.
Since my thirties, I have spent appox $40,000 on instruments (good quality aids, less expensive aids, hearing boost for phone, captel phone (which I love), TV system, etc. A couple of years ago, I got the Reston aids from Costco. I like Costco's service and the aids are the best I have ever had. But, one reason I like them is because my expectations are different--more realistic!
Hearing aids are not like eyeglasses. They do not give most people "normal" hearing. Rather, they provide a usable hearing. (I think mild loss at the upper frequencies, may be better corrected.) For myself, hearing aids are never going to allow conversation unless someone is standing within five or six feet, looking at me (sound waves bend and distort), and speaking clearly ie. without an accent I'm not used to. And, Tek-Freak who posted that hearing is physically and mentally exhausting is correct. I simply do not want to be around people who talk on and on about unimportant things--too tiring for me.
Good post. Some really important points made here.
Even with hearing aids that are properly set up and adjusted, it is still possible to struggle hearing people. Some people just have a vocal tone that is very difficult for those of us who wear hearing aids. Some people have accents that make it difficult to make out what they are saying. And many people speak with a low volume -- that is difficult as well for us to hear.
Finally, for me cellphones are an enemy. An ENT doctor told me that telephone companies use algorithms that compress the signal, and that is why it is difficult for me to hear people on the cell phone when using my hearing aids.
Finally, for me cellphones are an enemy. An ENT doctor told me that telephone companies use algorithms that compress the signal, and that is why it is difficult for me to hear people on the cell phone when using my hearing aids.
That's part of it. But another big reason is the lack of face to face speech. Most people who are hard of hearing rely on visual clues to "fill in the gaps". Everything from subconscious lip-reading, to tone & body language. All things that get lost in phone conversation.
Absolutely not true. Hearing aid technology is advancing at an unbelievable rate. Two big drivers: Technology advances, allowing hardware & processing that just wasn't possible a few years ago. Second, better algorithms driving the software.
I'll give one example, and I could give dozens: Most hearing loss is at the high frequencies, which unfortunately is necessary to discriminate between "S" and "F", or "P" and "B", etc. Until a few years ago, HA manufacturers tried to drive high frequencies as loud as they could, while boosting lower frequencies only as much as needed. This was only partially successful, as many people just don't have enough "high" left to boost.
Someone came up with the idea of taking the higher frequencies, using internal processors in the HA to convert them to a lower frequency. The HA user then can hear the higher frequencies, albeit at a lower pitch. After just minor adapting & tweaking, it actually sounds pretty good, and gives the HA wearer the ability to "hear" higher frequencies again.
They've had this idea for decades, but only recently has processor technology advanced enough to do this in real-time, and using programming algorithms that shape the new sound, so it's both tolerable and can be understood.
I wear a HA in one ear, and a Cochlear Implant in the other. I keep up with new technology so I can best adapt to poor hearing. So please don't tell me "technology hasn't fundamentally changed".
It has.
My husbands loss is the higher frequencies so I’m hoping the newer technology will help him. Thank you.
How does your implant work? Are you happy with it?
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