got my new ones a couple of weeks ago and man what a difference in hearing.

cool part is they bluetooth to the phone and tv (pretty much anything with bluetooth) so it sounds like I am standing in the same room with them.

you don't know what you are missing till you have to get it back.

I highly recommend the bluetooth upgrade if ya have to wear aids.

huh?

What.......

Hop, I am looking now for aides. What kind did you get. I need them badly. Thanks
Terry

nope I'm clean

Nope, but need something. Got tinnitus real bad.

Need em fo sho

phonak in ear, same as first set but these have the bluetooth.

Don't have bluetooth. Try to brush my teeth at least once a day.

Guess I'm just blessed . Ted Nugent and Alice Cooper tried their best to kill my ear drums in the 80s but I can still hear an ant fart 100 yards away .

You haven't been able to hear for years ?

I bet that bluetooth feature is cool Hop. Glad to hear they are working out for ya

$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Hop,

How long does a battery last or do you recharge. I am deaf in my left ear, woke up a couple of years ago deaf in my left ear. Diagnosed with acute hearing loss. I wouldn't mind upgrading to one that would bluetooth.

The ones I looked at that would bluetooth when I got mine few years back didn't have good battery life.

so far about 2.5 - 3 days.

I wear them about 50% of the time, no use having them in when I am out on the property.

the bluetooth is a pendant type doohicky that goes around the neck, cable is the antenna and you can switch from tv to phone etc.

very cool feature, now I don't even have to have the volume on the tv up to listen.

not since the last time he was sick I bet.

Got mine in Feb. I can hear birds chirp again. Being an old drummer sucks. I don't have blue tooth but I love'em.

Now I tell the wife to quit shouting at me. LOL. Got mine at Costco.

If you are looking for aids, PM Derek

I have em. Mine are Audicus. Buy direct from the company. They help a lot. No bluetooth on mine.

Did you get them from the VA? I'm due another set this fall. I really want the bluetooth.

There's a hearing aid forum. I read it and basically they said Costco is the only vendor to give you a 180 no questions asked return policy. It takes your brain a while to get use to them, for me I was good to go in 3 days. I went back and told them to up the treble and the overall volume. I found myself turning down the bass on the surround sound...now other people say "can you turn up the TV?" LOL. They private label Siemens top aids (maybe without a couple features) but they are only $1800 for the pair.

Red

My tinnitus is almost gone now. They say it's noise your brain makes to replace the missing hearing sounds. I now have to think about tinnitus to hear it. Hope that makes sense.

yep, just ask for the bluetooth add on.

My best bud does hearing exams in an audiology clinic. They also have some made out of Titanium and Cobalt, which I found somewhat strange because Cobalt is prone to nuclear decay. Shove that in your ear.

We got my wifes at COSTCO, they have all the features including Bluetooth for $1699.00. Best deal we found.

FWIW...I've had 77 birthdays plus shot guns most of my adult life without hearing protection and my hearing was really getting bad....I was real leery of spending $4000. or more on hearing aids when I've heard so many stories from people who say they weren't helped...
I've used a pair of the Walker ear muff type hearing aid/hearing protection for dove hunting/skeet shooting and watching TV and it really helped but obviously you can't wear them all the time...
I thought before I spent $4000. on hearing aids,I'd try one of the $250.00 Walker digital game ears and it has really helped my hearing...I only use it in one ear and am seriously considering getting another one for my left ear...I also wonder just how much difference there is between walkers game ear and expensive hearing aids other than hearing aids are smaller?
anybody else had a similar experience....

beartrap, I tried that with a game ear but my hearing loss is so bad that it did not help much.

biggest thing about hearing aids is they are programmed to your loss, I sit and watch the graph of what my loss is on the puter screen and the audiologist programs the aids to that.

without mine in I can't hear worth squat, can't understand words if I can hear ya. with my aids in I can hear like I used to mostly.

I think too that the cost depends on the severity of your loss, the more volume you need the more the cost. you almost can not see these new ones, they are about 1/3 smaller than the other ones.

Dr says I have a high frequency hearing loss. Women talk at a higher frequency than men. That's why I don't hear so much of what my wife says. Dr. even said he would explain it to her. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

ya gotta get him to tell her it is the full spectrum, you're deaf man deaf!



trust me on this!

Yeah but then I'd have to wear the hearing aids. Putting that off as long as possible.

Sorry if this constitutes thread hijack. For those that wear them, what was the turning point that convinced you to give it a try? I have tinnitus in both ears and hearing loss (I hear conversation but can't make out the words). I've even resorted to using closed caption on some tv shows to help catch the words I miss. It's pretty apparent that aids would probably help, but like KingwoodCat, I'm putting it off as long as I can.

when I could not make out words anymore I started wanting them, took about another 5 yrs till I finally got them.

It took me a long time too. They all let you return them if you don't like them but costco gives you 6 months to decide. You will need to go back and have them adjusted for your personal hearing as you get used to them. For me it was 1 time and done. FYI mine itched like crazy..he said we have smaller domes(the part in your ear) no problems now.

one thing I learned with mine is to use an ear wax remover at least once a week. wal mart pharmacy has some with a bulb to rinse with that works good.

I have the Phonak Audeo S ones. They were pricey, but worth it. I can't imagine just going to Walmart and grabbing up a set. You have to have your hearing spectrum response profiled by an Audiologist. From that data, these new state of the art hearing aids can be programmed to bring up the frequencies that are weak. This brings your overall spectral response back closer to normal. The reason you hear stories of folks that tried hearing aids and didn't like them is because they bought a cheapo pair that amplified every frequency. I've had mine for over 4 years and still working good. They have several built in programs for different scenarios with background noise filtering, like in a crowded noisy restaurant. For those that need some good, tuned, hearing boost, this is not something to skimp on. If you are retired and a veteran, you can get them through the VA. BCBS will pay about $2K towards them. Overall, good ones run about $4500. Siemens and Phonak are the two leading suppliers.

Here's more information than you could ever want http://www.hearingaidforums.com.

I agree Bob. Mine have 48 channels, 6 built-in/custom programs (only 3 are in use, car travel, restaurant, and telephone modes) and are adjusted to your specific hearing loss. They also have external volume controls as most do. I'm not trying to say the Kirklands (Costco) are the best by any means, I'm just like hearing again and trying to let people know there might be a less expensive alternative than the local Audiologist.

I would also like to add that these only get you close to normal hearing, my wife still hears things I don't and she has much better direction of sounds too. I've only had mine 2 months, not sure if that will improve with time or not. Maybe the more expensive ones would help there...but these fit into my budget better and I still have 4 more months to return them and upgrade to something better.

Had mine for about 5 years. Wish after reading this I had the new bluetooth kind.

Quit typing so loud sonny

Got my updated ones from the VA recently. Pretty awesome and can adjust via I Phone.

Hello....I didnt quite hear what you said sir.

I wonder if there is an app for droids?

I believe so.

What?

yep, found it, droid app for phonak remote control another for tinnitus (sound library to block it), and one for support.

I have profound hearing loss in both ears. I have a $6500 set of aids and everything that comes through those hearing aids sounds like carp. However if I don't wear them I don't hear carp, so I guess that it is better for it to sound like carp than to not hear carp. I have found that Sennhauser head phones for TV gives me the most natural sound for watching TV but I am unable to have conversation with anyone while watching TV. I use an FM receiver with ear buds for Church services, sound quality is head and shoulders above the hearing aids. I guess the next step for me is implants, but I do not like the idea of having holes drilled in my head.
So those of you that the hearing has not deteriorated to the point that mine has, my advise is take care of what you have left. And if you need aids get them, don't put it off.

I got mine about two years ago. What a life changer. I hated to go out to eat because I couldn't understand what anyone was saying. It's nice to be able to converse with the rest of the table. I spent $6,000 for mine but that includes an audio test every year for as long as they last, adjustments needed during the year if needed and insurance to replace them if I lose them or damage them. Some of the best money I ever spent. Mine are the Sonic Bliss. My hearing loss is profound also and I am doing everything I can to keep it from getting any worse. Things I should have done my whole life.

sounds like you need to go in and have them reset by an audiologist and while there see if they are bluetooth capable. the bluetooth is incredible in how much more clear the words are for me.

Hop, they are Bluetooth, have the phone clip, and tv transmitter. The audiologist ( four different ones ) have adjusted and programmed them every way that can be thought of. It is probably not a faught of the aids or the audiologist, I just don't have much for them to work with. Like I said implants are probably the best answer for me but I have not accepted that yet.

I wear Oticon... no bluetooth though.
I was diagnosed with bi-lateral high frequency hearing loss when I left Viet Nam.
I was a door gunner/crew chief on gunship helicopters.
When I got my aids 4 years ago, it was a life changing event.
I would encourage everyone who has hearing difficulties to get tested... the technology today is a lot different than it was years ago when all you got was a volume amplifier.

Thank you for your service. Welcome home.