Who makes good hearing aids?

[Michael Miramontes]

For the past few months I've noticed my Grandfather isolating himself in family gatherings/conversations. At first I thought it was intentional and that maybe he just wanted to be left alone. However, it finally dawned on me that it was because he probably isn't able to hear/understand us. This made me sad. Today, I asked him if he considered getting hearing aids. He said that he tried a set from Costco but that they didn't quite work. He tried getting a better pair though his insurance but they were out of his budget. Then he told me, " what's the point anyways. It's going to be a waste of money because who knows how long I'm going to be around". Well, this made me feel like shit. Whether he is around for one day, one week, or >year I still want him to be able to enjoy the time he spends with family. So, I'm on the hunt for a good pair of hearing aids to buy for him. Does anyone have any recommendations on a good set? 

[OmahaAudio]

Good luck.You're a good grandson.

[Peter Mega]

Find a hearing aid that is also a Telecoil type and has the "T" setting on it. This will enable him to pick up room induction loop signals at venues, airports etc.

you can then get him one of these

http://www.c-tec.co.uk/products/inductionloops.htm

The DL50/K unit has RCA inputs so he can plug in his tv and listen to it through the hearing aid. It also has a doorbell function and a mic.

Good luck

Regards

Mega

[Jacob Gustavsson]

I saw some cool piece of hearing aid the other day. I think it was bluetooth compatible. Not sure what manufacturer or model it was, but I could ask tomorrow!

[studiomprd]

There are a number of good, and some excellent companies; unfortunately the really good hearing aids are real pricey, and typically not covered well by insurance or Medicare, even Obamacare... (lot of out of pocket $$)

one we are familiar with is Phonak,

 

however: proper professional advice is indicated.

Edited May 4, 2014 by studiomprd

[ao]

my brother in law has a hearing aid that has a small remote control (size of a credit card).  if your grandfather is not intimidated by technology,  he can choose "modes".  modes that work best with group situations,  quiet rooms, echoey rooms.  it requires a little patience and a little help,  but it works much better than a "one size fits all" hearing aid that just boosts everything.

[Mirror]

I'd be careful taking advice about hearing aids from anyone that isn't a hearing specialist. An otolgoist is who you want to talk to.  Hearing aids can vary from pure crap to incredibly complex. what works for one person might be terrible for another.  They are expensive as you know so don't gamble.

[Olle Sjostrom]

Lovely initiative of you! I really feel you. My dad went though the same thing. In conversations with family he was just sitting there smiling. Faking it. Really sad. In Sweden things are a lot easier with the healthcare system and all (my dad needed to go to a doctor and have his hearing aid prescribed, so he got it "for free"). I really wish I could help you somehow, there are a lot of great Swedish companies making hearing aids. But I also think mirror has a point.

Edit: missed the whole point of my post; I liked some manufacturers up to see if I could get one, but that's the bad side of the healthcare system over here is that your can't just buy stuff like that... If it were possible and you'd wanted I wouldn't hesitate to help you with it .

[Michael Miramontes]

I appreciate all the input from everyone. I'll look into the recommendations everyone have given and will see about scheduling an appointment with an otologist so we can get a recommendation that is specific to his needs. 

 

I knew I can count on ya'll to provide me with some good info.

 

THANKS!!

[RPSharman]

You're a good dude.

 

My father hears well, but struggles with nodes on his vocal cords, some of which were abnormal and required radiation therapy.  He is very depressed not be able to participate in conversations, as he hasn't been able to speak properly for years.  I expect your grandfather not being able to hear well has him experiencing the same sense of isolation.

 

If there's a way to convince him how important it is for you and the rest of your family to enjoy the benefit of his contributions to family discussions, perhaps he won't mind the cost, etc., even if it's you paying.

[Larry Andrews]

Michael,

 

Having been through the drill, I can make some suggestions which should help with your grandfather.  

 

The most important part of gaining good hearing improvement through the use of hearing aids is the audiologist.  In Indiana, new audiologists have to have a doctorate.  They work with an ear doctor who first determines that hearing aids are an appropriate solution. (I don't remember the medical term for the specialty.)  One ear doctor I went to had three audiologists in his Indianapolis office and a single audiologist in another office in Kokomo.   Hearing aids are not ready to put in the ear after they are delivered to the audiologist.  They have to be programmed and then after programming they often have to have the program altered over a series of visits a week or two apart.  If the audiologist has experience with a model, they often can achieve good performance within a couple of follow up visits.  It took only one follow up visit with my 80 year old mother.  It did take a while for her to learn to put the aids in her ears.  One side was more difficult for her than the other.

 

Hearing loss is no picnic.  It does isolate people, to differing degrees, depending on coping skills.  Hearing aids can help a great deal.  But, they do not restore hearing to normal.  I have been wearing hearing aids since 2001.  Crutches work well on smooth flat surfaces.  They don't work well on rough terrain. Hearing aids are like that in that they work well in quiet settings, but work much less well in noisy environments.  Eyeglasses are a much better solution for eyes than are hearing aids for ears.

 

We have two ears.  If both ears have hearing loss, then we need two hearing aids.  The audiologist suggested one hearing aid for my mother to save money.  I told him to fit her for two since I was paying for it.  Having been through the drill, I knew that it was significantly better.  The cost was about $3400-$3500 for a pair of basic digital in the canal Phonaks.  She would not have been able to take advantage of the feature set on the more expensive models.

 

My hearing is bad enough that I have to have my left ear within about six inches of my wife's mouth to hear what she is saying in bed.  When I have the aids in, it works best if I am looking at her and she is looking at me.  In a quiet sitting, with proper use, we are not aware of my hearing loss.  If I am laying on my left ear, I can't hear the alarm clock with my right.  It is a wake the dead model.  With hearing aids, my right ear makes a contribution to understanding.

 

My first pair were top of the line Siemens in half shell cases.  They went in the ear canal, but the case filled about half of my outer ear, as well. They had three "programs", or modes. One was directional - straight ahead.  List price was $6000 for the pair.  I was told that they insurance company would pay for one basic hearing aid.  The insurance company paid for both of them.  There were billed and paid about $4500. I paid nothing, even though the policy said I was covered for only one hearing aid every three years.  I used them about nine years.  The average life span of a set of aids is probably closer to five years.  After a time, they won't service them.  I needed to get the right one re-cased to stop feedback, but they wouldn't service it because if it needed certain model specific electrical parts, they might not be able to fix it.  Outer ears can change a bit over time causing the fit not to be as good as it was initially.

 

Technology changed a great deal during those nine years.  My new aids are top of the line Phonak.  They are behind the ear models with receivers (speakers) that go in the ear canal.  There is a nearly invisible wire that connects the two.  I have a remote control that lets me control the aids, in quite a few ways.  Volume control, direction control, various special modes such as reverb cancel, noise suppression, music, acoustic telephone on one ear, etc.  There is also an ICOM device that I wear around my neck.  The "cube" is suspended by a wire that acts as the link to the aids.  The cube contains a Bluetooth interface that connects with my Iphone. The ICOM is a repeater.  It receives phone audio through the Bluetooth link and re-transmits it to my hearing aids.  Having telephone audio in both ears makes a huge difference.  The microphone is in the cube.  There is an ICOM base accessory that charges the cube battery and interfaces that with the TV.  It has a simple 1/8 inch stereo  input that allows it to be connected to may different types of audio devices.  I have used it with the audio headphone output of a Shure FP410 mixer, and a Telex SR-50 hearing assistance receiver at church.  The absolute best sound I hear comes through that  Bluetooth link.    My aids also have a transmitter and receiver in each one of them.  When I am listening to audio from the right side, that aid transmits the audio to the left aid and both amplify the sound from the right aid.  When in the car, I take sound from the side my wife is sitting on and I can hear her pretty well.  When we walk after dinner, I can walk down a noisy street with her on the non-traffic side and carry on a reasonable conversation. 

 

 My Phonaks were a brand new model just becoming available. The list was about $9600 for the pair.  they told me I could have them for $5500 less what the insurance paid.  They figured insurance would pay $1270.  The Insurance coverage stated one aid every three years.  They were billed and paid about $5500 for two aids.  I had to pay $375 for the accessory hand controller I ordered which was not part of the initial package.

 

The audiologist had to climb the learning curve with the new model and was not familiar with all of the accessories.  I would not recommend a model the audiologist is not familiar with for your grandfather.  I researched some of the accessories and determined that I needed the hand controller to be able to do directional control.  I am an electrical engineer, so I understand the technology better than the average user.  I also know how to talk to an audiologist at this point.  They need good feedback - meaningful comments.  I would carry a paper and pencil and take notes about the sound environments and difficulties I experienced.  Comments like, I am having trouble with soft speech, or I can't understand what the person at the other side of the table is saying at a Cracker Barrel restaurant due to the noise. After adjustment, I can.

 

In Indiana at least, a person has 30 days to evaluate hearing aids.  If they are not satisfied, they do not have to keep them and get the purchase price refunded.  There may be a fitting charge that is not refundable.  That is a tremendous motivation for the audiologist to get the aids adjusted properly.  I would not hesitate to take advantage of that.  The hearing aid manufacturer is required to take back the product.  My audiologist told me I could try two or three different models if I wished.

 

If I were in your situation, I would try to get your grandfather to go with you to Costco and see if they would be willing to make as series of adjustments to try to improve the results with the aids he already has.  I would expect that something can be done.  If I were going to replace them, I would not consider a discount warehouse.  I visited Beltone.  They were overpriced and short on technology at that price.  They did give me a good free hearing test.  A good audiologist will be worth any difference in cost - even if you have to pay list price.  You likely won't.

 

You might make appointments and talk to audiologists yourself before involving your grandfather.  I believe my current audiologist would talk to you for half an hour in your situation and doubt she is unique.  It could make the difference if you were able to tell your grandfather that you have interviewed several and have found someone you are convinced will make a very good effort to fit him.  They will start with a hearing test and have a good understanding of the probability of improvement in the first appointment.  That may be free.  

 

Even with the best aids, properly fitted, there are things he will still avoid.  I don't sing in church anymore because I cannot hear my own voice and can't hear well enough to separate the parts anymore. Better just to listen and read along.  I let my wife interact with waiters and others in noisy environments.  In a music store, I asked the clerk if there was somewhere quiet we could talk.  There was.

 

With hearing aids, I do non-profit sound reinforcement (speech only) with nine channels of Lectrosonics into automatic mixers.  I don't often have a problem I can't hear using headphones on the mixer output.

[berniebeaudry]

Hi Michael,

Here's a link to a foundation that might be able to help:http://www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org/programs/hear-now/

This company is here in Minnesota and they do great work.  At the very least there's a lot of good info on the home page of their web site.  Good luck!  Its a wonderful caring thing you're doing for your Grandfather.

[studiomprd]

larry: " They work with an ear doctor an MD who first determines that hearing aids are an appropriate solution. (I don't remember the medical term for the specialty.) "

ENT

 

Michael: for LAX area, you might contact the House Ear Institute.

[Larry Andrews]

Michael,

 

Yes, an ENT, or Otolaryngologist.

 

I wouldn't be too concerned with brands.  The audiologist will offer the model(s) he or she feels are most appropriate. Many dispense product from multiple vendors. Siemens used to be number one, but when I went for the second set of aids, Siemens was looking to sell. Starkey, Oticon, Phonak, Resound and Widex are all well known.  A thirty day trial gives the opportunity to make certain they do the job.

 

One of the interesting things that made a difference with low frequency response was occlusion.  With the receiver in the canal without a "gasket" blocking the sound from getting out, it was impossible to get sufficient low frequency performance.  There are research papers written on it.  The "soft rubber plugs" that surround the receiver were quite uncomfortable, in fact painful by the end of the day.  Reading Phonak's web pages for professionals (audiologist told me how to get in there) I found that they had custom molded plugs which held the receivers in place.  The comfort level difference was hard to believe.

[John Blankenship]

Larry,

On behalf of everyone who might benefit from the information, allow me to express appreciation for such a thorough writeup. Awesome coverage.

Thank you.