Hearing aid advice
- Thread starter Wheezer
- Start date
Caps
Active member
I wear two Oticon hearing aids. I am 75 years old and my hearing test showed a significant high frequency loss. (Stood too close to the 105's in the army) I have a graph she printed out for me showing the frequency losses. I discussed this with my audiologist and she ordered the hearing aids tailored to compensate for the loss. I would guess they do this on all the higher end aids but this is something you need to talk over with your audiologist. When I play I generally turn the volume down on them one increment due to the closeness of the sound.
Last edited:
Tommaso B
Member
I think each case will have different circumstances and needs. So it's best to be able to adjust one's h. aids to current circumstance. I'm "only" 93, but still moderately active, playing an occasional short gig that doesn't require a long trip to the location. I began wearing h. aids a couple of years ago when it became clear that I had pretty much "lost' the upper audio range. That's not a good thing for a musician, professional or not. My aids are easily adjustable according to the prevalent audio frequencies and their relative volume. I wear them all day long, even while playing, and hardly know that i've got 'em on.
what brand or style did you get? were they tailored to your specific heaing loss profile?
mbaggio65
Member
I have Widex Hearing aids for a few years now, they are somewhat expensive, they ran about $ 5,000. But it depends what your insurance is shelling out for them. Here is what I can recommend:
It is probably worth in the long run to spend some extra money. For instance I got free checks every 6 months, with free batteries, cleaning, even free replacement if something goes sour. Pick Hearing aids which are extremely light. I know a few people who got the cheaper ones and even a few grams may make a difference in wearing them. They complain and don't wear them. Secondly, look at those which you can adjust, e.g., using different hearing profiles. For instance I can can setup profiles on my phone for office, Theater, or louder environments. Finally, you might be interested that some aids provide an option for additional bluetooth devices. I got an extra dongle which was supposed to go to my TV and it would route the sound directly into the hearing aid. Guess what, you can use that to run the sound from your mixer to your ears and you have a monitor
My audiologist also mentioned, that specifically musicians my experience some distortion - but in my case I was able to fix this with the hearing profiles.
I hope that helps
Markus
It is probably worth in the long run to spend some extra money. For instance I got free checks every 6 months, with free batteries, cleaning, even free replacement if something goes sour. Pick Hearing aids which are extremely light. I know a few people who got the cheaper ones and even a few grams may make a difference in wearing them. They complain and don't wear them. Secondly, look at those which you can adjust, e.g., using different hearing profiles. For instance I can can setup profiles on my phone for office, Theater, or louder environments. Finally, you might be interested that some aids provide an option for additional bluetooth devices. I got an extra dongle which was supposed to go to my TV and it would route the sound directly into the hearing aid. Guess what, you can use that to run the sound from your mixer to your ears and you have a monitor
My audiologist also mentioned, that specifically musicians my experience some distortion - but in my case I was able to fix this with the hearing profiles.
I hope that helps
Markus
Tommaso B
Member
The brand is ReSound, originating in Denmark, now also made in the U.S. The local audiologist had tested my hearing spectrum--which showed that I had lost of the upper third of it, with some minor difference between my left and right sides. Yes, the ReSounds are adjustable to current sound levels via my cell phone.
Tommaso B
Member
There are very inexpensive "hearing aids" sold on the internet, but from what I can gather about them, they are not full-fledged aids, but simply miniature audio amplifiers that simply deliver all heard sounds to your ears. Not much control there...
Caps
Active member
That is exactly what my audiologist told me and showed me a few commercial ones with charts showing their capabilities. I like my oticon ones and wear them most days. I've had them for about 4 years now with same rechargeable battery. I was told that the life of the batteries was about five years and then I have to send them back for a new battery install. I charge them overnight and the charge lasts almost 24 hours. Last year the audiologist tweaked them slightly to adjust the frequency response. I like that I can control them with my phone separately and can listen to my TV through bluetooth connection as well. I am fortunate in that my loss was deemed "Service Connected" so the Veterans Administration subsidized most of the cost. Hard to believe these little things cost almost $4,000.
Alan Sharkis
Prolific poster
I’ve had hearing aids for a long time. It started when I could no longer hear the 15.75 Khz whistle generated by old vacuum tube analog TVs. I went to see my internist who probably had a hearing loss of his own because he was always shouting. So, he shoved a watch right up to my ear and said, “CAN YOU HEAR THIS?” Of course I could, but that was a really crude test, and we both knew it.
About a month later, after a bout of swimmer’s ear, I developed tinnitus, and my internist had no choice but to send me to an ENT specialist, who suspected that I was experiencing high frequency nerve deafness and arranged for me to take an an audiogram. That led to my first pair of hearing aids.
My current pair are Starkey hearing aids. They connect to my smartphone via bluetooth and can be controlled by an app on that phone. They are rechargeable. And yes, they can distort some musical tones, but I quickly adjusted to that.
Digital hearing aids are now the norm, are expensive, and are prescribed by an audiologist. However, in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration approved the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids for mild hearing loss, and these are much less expensive.
I’ve learned a few things about hearing loss and hearing aids over the years:
1. Many audiologists might give you the impression that the brand they recommend is the best. Actually, most brands share the same features and ranges of abilities.
2. Hearing loss, depending on type, can be slowly progressive, and most hearing aids have a limited lifespan. So, seeing an audiologist twice a year and preparing yourself to get new hearing aids every three years or so, turns out to be good advice.
3. Any stigma associated with hearing loss is disappearing. Some hearing aids are completely invisible to other people, and yet function well.
4. Musicians may be more subject to hearing loss
than the general population because, as has been suggested, they are close to the sound source.
About a month later, after a bout of swimmer’s ear, I developed tinnitus, and my internist had no choice but to send me to an ENT specialist, who suspected that I was experiencing high frequency nerve deafness and arranged for me to take an an audiogram. That led to my first pair of hearing aids.
My current pair are Starkey hearing aids. They connect to my smartphone via bluetooth and can be controlled by an app on that phone. They are rechargeable. And yes, they can distort some musical tones, but I quickly adjusted to that.
Digital hearing aids are now the norm, are expensive, and are prescribed by an audiologist. However, in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration approved the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids for mild hearing loss, and these are much less expensive.
I’ve learned a few things about hearing loss and hearing aids over the years:
1. Many audiologists might give you the impression that the brand they recommend is the best. Actually, most brands share the same features and ranges of abilities.
2. Hearing loss, depending on type, can be slowly progressive, and most hearing aids have a limited lifespan. So, seeing an audiologist twice a year and preparing yourself to get new hearing aids every three years or so, turns out to be good advice.
3. Any stigma associated with hearing loss is disappearing. Some hearing aids are completely invisible to other people, and yet function well.
4. Musicians may be more subject to hearing loss
than the general population because, as has been suggested, they are close to the sound source.
Tommaso B
Member
I paid less than half that. But, yes, they are costly. I went the Costco route....
do you know if your are the oticon opn3 model? they showed up at a discount on my insurance plan.
Caps
Active member
That is the model I have. I understand they are a discontinued model now however they are still being supported. My VA doctor said that if they become no longer supported the VA will get me one of the newer models. The VA gets a lot of bad press but I have to say that they have been very helpful to me.
