Hearing Aids

[bscott]

I have a loss of hearing in my right ear and should need hearing aids but really don't know how to select them. Should I get aids for the one ear or both? What type and make should I purchase and do you wear them while playing the guitar? Any comments would be helpful since there seems to be so many choices.

[Jeff Mc]

The first thing that you should do is go to an ENT doc or at least an audiologist and have a hearing exam. Then you will have a better idea what you need.

[Goodallboy]

Originally Posted by Jeff Mc

The first thing that you should do is go to an ENT doc or at least an audiologist and have a hearing exam. Then you will have a better idea what you need.

Better than AGF advice? C’mon!

[mawmow]

Hearing aids may not be only amplifiers : Some can be programmed to amplifiy correctly
the frequencies you need to be amplified based on the hearing test results.

[Rogerblair]

What Jeff said. If you need them, discuss your needs with the tech and let them know that you play live music. I have them, but I only use the left one when I’m playing music.
Take a deep breath...they can be very costly...like a couple of real nice guitars costly.

Rb

[Jeff Mc]

I just went through the process. I knew that I have had high frequency hearing loss for a long time - too many loud concerts and un-ear-protected construction work in college summers. It is a confusing process. The cheaper ones just amplify everything while the better ones can be programmed to amplify what you need. Then there are over the ear, in the ear, or in the ear canal.

For me, the hearing test just validated what I suspected. The audiologist that I went to recommended the Cadillac hearing aids at $6k a pair, but included in that are a lot of prepaid services. A few people that I know have had good luck at Costco. (Costco sells proprietary hearing aids that are a couple of years old in technology and you must go back to Costco for any service.) In the process, I found out that my medicare supplement policy gave me a substantial discount through a specific provider. I ended up paying $2k for roughly the equivalent of the $6k ones.

I do wear them when playing guitar. It is hard to adjust to, but I figure that it is probably closer to what normal hearing people would hear.

[Mr. Paul]

There have been many threads about hearing aids on AGF.

My hearing aids were $$$$ but helped immediately, music and specifically acoustic guitar included. I was surprised to find out that many here just could not make them work for guitar.

An audiologist is the one that can answer the questions that are specific to you. If I'm not mistaken, Costco hearing aids are returnable if they don't work for the customer ... not totally sure about that.

You just have to get involved in the process to find what works for you.

[Jim Owen]

As has been said, only an audiologist will know exactly what you need. My wife saved a bundle by going through COSCO. Seriously.

[Silly Moustache]

FWIW, I've tried aids for a few years, bought privately some years ago, - abandoned tham, got offered perfectly good free ones from NHS - ok for Tv but volumes and programme controls confusing.

Treied some really expensive ones this year Resound - can't get used to them, make me tired and irritable and irritate my ears.
Impossible for music.

Staying deaf for now, thank goodness for subtitles on TV.

[George6654]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

FWIW, I've tried aids for a few years, bought privately some years ago, - abandoned tham, got offered perfectly good free ones from NHS - ok for Tv but volumes and programme controls confusing.

Treied some really expensive ones this year Resound - can't get used to them, make me tired and irritable and irritate my ears.
Impossible for music.

Staying deaf for now, thank goodness for subtitles on TV.

I have more or less gone down the same road. Mine spend most of their time in the bedside drawer. They drive me mad, it seems to bother other people more than me, they get annoyed that I can’t hear them, I am happy in my world, besides my guitars sound crap when I have them in.

[bscott]

Thanks to everyone for your helpful comments and advice. I'll go back to my ent and go through the process of selecting and trying hearing aids. My wife will be happy.

[fpuhan]

Originally Posted by Jeff Mc

The first thing that you should do is go to an ENT doc or at least an audiologist and have a hearing exam. Then you will have a better idea what you need.

This.

About two years ago I went to an ENT because I had chronic "stuffiness." After a few months on allergy meds without improvement, my ENT directed me to an audiologist. "Have your hearing checked."

Now, everyone suffers some hearing loss. It comes with age, and it's unavoidable. Having exposed myself to loud music, loud cars and loud guns, I wasn't surprised to learn that my hearing had dropped off. I was fitted for a pair of hearing aids and the audiologist adjusted them for my personal use.

I don't wear them every day, but I don't have any false pride about them, either. In fact, my daughter, who is less than half my age, just got a pair. A skiing accident when she was a teen left her with some hearing loss, and hers is worse than mine! And she has no problem wearing hearing aids.

See a competent specialist before you go out and plunk down money on good hearing aids.

[fumei]

Originally Posted by George6654

I have more or less gone down the same road. Mine spend most of their time in the bedside drawer. They drive me mad, it seems to bother other people more than me, they get annoyed that I can’t hear them, I am happy in my world, besides my guitars sound crap when I have them in.

Oh that made me laugh, silently, as my hearing aids are not in.

Went to tech, got tested, yup, I need aids. Spent a stupid amount of money on them. The last time I had them in was early September.

The world is too bleeping noisy! OK, it is nice to hear the birds more. But I have not had any good setups/programs that made my guitar sound OK. Like was said above: "my guitars sound crap when I have them in".

I live alone and never talk to anyone, so...I don't wear 'em. The times I am out in the world, it is too bleeping noisy. Yeah yeah I can turn them down, but that can only go so far until you reach, "why bother?"

If I could go back in time I could use the money more than I use the hearing aids.

But that is me. If you have actual conversations with people, get them. It is annoying for others to hear you ask them to repeat themselves.

[SCVJ]

I've had HA's for 18 months now. Probably should have gotten them 1-2 years earlier. I agree with most of what's been said so far.

Here's my advice, from my experience:

1. Start with a visit to an ENT, and a hearing evaluation with their audiologist. Medicare covered this since it's a visit to medical Dr. Get their audiologist to price what you need. Don't buy yet.

2. Go to the library and search the last few years of Consumer Reports magazine. They did a big test of HA's a couple of years ago. It's really easy, the librarian can help if you've never done this kind of research before. If you are a subscriber you can do this online.

3. Price the type of HA the ENT's audiologist told you about at a few other places. IMO the general HA industry seems too much like the used car business, so I stayed away from them (take a look at their ads). 'Course I live in Florida, God's waiting room, and the businesses that cater to the huge elderly population leave much to be desired, IMO.

4. Decide what type of aids you want. Cost and vanity seem to be the main difference between the types of aids. I think the most cost effective are the behind the ear ones. I've had several people say they didn't even notice I had them, but I didn't have any vanity issues anyway.

5. With HA's, you are buying a product and a service provider, so you need to be satisfied with both. Also, unlike guitars, or a cool new car, there is no joy to be gotten from trading up, so choose carefully. You'll probably be stuck with what you choose for a few years, unless you are able/willing to buy different ones if you choose poorly. I am fortunate to live 15 minutes from a Costco. To me, it was the obvious choice, and in the Tampa Bay area there are tons of providers. I too read that part of Costco's price advantage is that their three brands are "last year's models" from large manufacturers. I don't see that as a big problem, as most advances in the tech are incremental from one year to the next. They sell three brands, Resound, which I have, one other name brand I don't remember, plus a "house brand" which is made by a name brand company. The house brand cost $1,700 a pair, the other two brands were $2,500 a pair. I think the prices are the same now as 18 months ago. These are for the behind the ear type. The ENT office sold a similar product for $4,000, and at the general providers they were more like $6,000. I have been totally satisfied with their service, including visiting Costcos in several other states while travelling. If you are within an hour's drive of a Costco I really recommend that option.

Once you get HA's, realize that it will probably take several weeks or months to adjust. I started out wearing them off and on throughout the day, sometime skipping them for many hours or a day at a time. Finally, after about 4-6 months it just clicked. Now I put them on as soon as I get out of bed and wear them until I got to bed, 14-16 hours straight. Sure, they can be annoying occasionally, but I basically don't know I have them in most of the time.

Lastly, IMO, once you get used to them, they become your new normal. I still love to play my guitars. I don't really remember how they sounded before my hearing deteriorated, then changed to whatever it is now, with the hearing aids. They still sound good to me, I notice tonal differences between them, and when I play guitars at stores. I still enjoy listening to recorded music.

I don't know your age, but many of us old people (I'm a healthy but aging 72) have learned to adjust to whatever limitations come our way, and realize there will no doubt be more coming.

All in all, I've never been happier, and music is still a huge part of that. Good luck!

[Gcunplugged]

I have expensive ones and after 16 months, I'll say they are a success in every way EXCEPT for playing guitar. When playing guitar, the unwound high e and b strings sound terrible, and it happens on all my guitars. Less so on nylon strings, but it still happens. Those high strings sound like an amplifier with treble and chorus turned to 10.

I worked with an ENT and even took my guitar into her office to play while she tweaked settings. Despite her best efforts, the b & e strings still sound like crap.

Luckily my hearing loss is not bad enough that I can't play without them, yet...

At some inevitable point, I will be forced to use them while playing, and then I might be looking at purchasing new models. For what I spent on these, that should not be necessary.

If you need them though, I encourage you to get them sooner rather than later. The way hearing works, your ears send a signal into the brain. When you have hearing loss, the ear no longer sends some (or all) frequencies to the brain. When you get hearing aids, you will be turning those frequencies back on and sending them to the brain again. If it has been too long since the brain received those frequencies, then it will ignore them when you turn them back on. Thus if you are going to get them, the longer you wait, the less effective they will be when you do get them.

hope that helps,
Gary