Appreciate all the comments, Gentlemen.
I will just have to decide if I want to give HAs with this technology a try. Unfortunately there isn’t a CostCo within reasonable drive distance.
Thanks!
It was a little facetious. Cliff is annoying, all over the hearing loss sphere and sometimes self-serving. Doesn’t make him ‘not to be trusted’ I guess. I haven’t seen the video. It was about the previous model I think. That’s not the one I’m interested in.
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I used the AirPod Pro’s (not the new ones) before I got my Lexi’s. What they will do is amplify sounds around you, making hearing things a little better and people don’t have to raise their voices when talking to you. Plus they sound great music/call wise.
The downsides: Battery life is awful and I found I was charging them more than actually using them (I bought two pairs for this reason), sometimes they just disconnect from my phone for no reason (not so great when in a call), there’s no real controls like you would get with an HA and I found them just not quite loud enough for my needs.
The new ones are supposed to be better, but now that I have actual HA’s I have no need to get them. If you do decide to give them a try please post your findings. I’d be interested in seeing how they work compared to the last model Pro’s and I’m sure it might help those considering them over real HA’s.
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I hope this helps…
I waited too long to get hearing aids.
When I finally did the difference was magnificent. I regretted the time I wasted.
I found a wonderful book reference here. “Hear & Beyond” (Live Skillfully with Hearing Loss) It has changed my thoughts about being hard of hearing.
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Thanks nayan and Dave. We all have different needs in hearing assistance. I am retired and most people I talk with I hear fine. A lot of situations where people need a good HA such as boardroom meetings, noisy lunchtime restaurants, or school rooms I simply don’t encounter.
Perhaps we will hear from people who have tried the newer version 2 AirPods. If I decide to give them a try, I will certainly post my experience with them.
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The book I referred to has excellent information from hearing impaired authors. It provides links to good sites in case I need more information. The printed version helped me a lot. It talks about the stressful times dealing with being hard of hearing. Some include
- first hearing aid purchase
- setup
- later, replacement of hearing aids for whatever reason…
It talks about family communication and makes suggestions about how it may be improved.
Please share your experiences when you buy your version 2 AirPods.
Here is an article on the AirPods 2 as HA functionality updated 2 days ago.
BTW, see in the US, Walmart and Amazon have them for $234. May be some good deals with Black Friday approaching.
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I just bought the AirPods Pro 2. I love them, but they don’t replace hearing aids at all. Battery life, as mentioned, is inadequate. When used to amplify sounds, the occlusion effect is so great that I can’t have a conversation. I use them in the car because I hate road noise when driving, and they have great sound for streamed music. I never use my Resound Fortes for streaming because the sound is so tinny with those tiny receivers. I am going to check out custom in the ear aids to get better music.
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I truly appreciate you including that review.
I had hearing aids that didn’t work out before I changed audiologists; new audiologist has done so much for me.
The old audiologist and I had a discussion where I said that Steve Jobbs of Apple would have made hearing aids that would work. It was a serious comment to her. I’m in Canada. And checking to see if there’s a deal on your AirPods Pro2.
Steward: Thanks for your comments. Battery life doesn’t really concern me since wouldn’t be wearing full time, but your other observations are concerning.
Dave. I’m beginning to suspect the audiologist is more important than the HAs. When I had my audiogram, I had the impression the gal couldn’t wait to sell me some HAs and get me out the door.
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Your exactly right.
I only tell my stories to help others…but I got kicked out of here for being off topic.
I’ve had 3 sets of Phonaks. Before that i had a single hearing aid; another brand. Widex? in the ear. I bought the cheapest I could because I couldn’t afford a better one.
I finally got smart. I work for second largest school board in Canada. 150,000 kids. almost 300 schools. I hooked up with the woman who worked so hard to help children who were hard of hearing. She referred me to the best audiologist I’ve ever had. Every time I went to her office with a problem she fixed it. My hearing aids worked.
She sold her business. Listen Up Canada.
I wento the same lady. She referred me to another audiologist. I went there with hearing aids that worked. My hearing kept getting worse. After a couple of years the hearing aids didn’t work. Word recognition. They sold me a brand new set of Phonaks. Hindsight–I should have left earlier than I did. Every time I left the office the hearing aids were worse.
The lady had retired; her replacement referred me to the audiologist I have now. My new hearing aids are much better. Lately his suggestions have really helped.
So in my 20 year experience, It’s the audiologist. The setup next.
The book I referred to above is mind blowing.
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I’ve been wearing HAs for more than a couple of years already, so I have some experience with them. Last summer I got some AirPod Pro (1st generation) to wear as a more waterproof/disposable HA. I’ve taken up group rowing and single sculling. It’s never out of the question I could end up quite wet, I need to hear people, and I don’t want to destroy my rather expensive and wonderful HAs. The AirPod Pros are OK but a far cry from great hearing aids. HAs do so much more than simple amplification, even if the amplification is tapered to your hearing loss. HAs are doing a whole lot more to enhance voices and customize the soundstage for hearing loss. Different HAs have different approaches to the problem, but basically they are taking apart the sound input to your ears and then putting it back together for you in a way that will help you hear voices and nuances. So the AirPod Pros for me in that context are a bit helpful perhaps. When I’m in a more stable boat and not afraid of ending up in the river, I wear my HAs, and that’s much much better.
I do in fact wear the AirPod Pros with my audiogram dialed into them quite a lot. I listen to podcasts and music with them. Many days they are in my ears more than the HAs because I am listening to this kind of content rather than human company. Thanks to the correction based on my audiogram, music sounds much better than any other headphones I have, though not as good as a good stereo or live music through my hearing aids.
Hearing Aids are much more expensive, less tough and waterproof, but very likely with the help of a good audiologist will be much more helpful for dealing with hearing loss and enjoying life overall.
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ha11
Many thanks for your in depth analysis.
Like you I was wondering if the newest AirPod Pro 2 would work temporarily while waiting for the new Costco Ks 11 to come out (I returned the Philips they sold me). I did purchase a set of the Pro2s but while they could crank up the volume I really hated the quality of sound. I also hated the way they hung from my ears and wanted to slip out. And yes I tried every size of silicone buds that came with them.
That all said depending where you purchase you can return them I purchased mine from Walmart and returned them with no problem.
Thanks, Bob. The general consensus seems to be negative as far as using them as HAs.
I see Stables is going to have them on sale for 199. That’s a good price, but suspect the money would best be put towards real HAs.
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troutcm. If you have the capability, you might consider filling in your audiogram on this forum. Having information on your audiogram and the type of hearing loss you are experiencing would help others make better recommendations for you.
People with mild hearing loss might be able to get away with the Air Pods Pro 2. However, I’d assume that after it’s gone past the 30db mark, hearing loss gets a bit more complex and requires more than just amplifying sounds.
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Thanks, whatdidtheysay.
Did as you suggested. Pretty bad! But keep in mind I’m retired so a lot of situations where most people need HAs don’t apply to me. Most of my friends and family I hear fine. Most of the ladies I know have alto voices. But no doubt about it, if I’m talking to a gal more soprano, especially on the phone, I’m in trouble. 
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Why did you return the Philips? I’m trialing a pair so interested in your experience. Thx
Costco sent me a letter requesting follow up info on why I returned my Philips HAs. Below is the actual letter I sent to them in response. While there were even more issues then I told them about. I hope you have a better experience then I did. I actually made out a list for myself of what I want in my next HAs. Strangely enough, the KS10s meet most in not all. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance. I also look forward to knowing how things work out for you. Good Luck. Bob
Costco letter
I began my hearing aid adventure by stopping at my local Costco to make my hearing test appointment in person. The individual I spoke with indicated she would be my tester and HA specialist. When arriving for my hearing test I was told I had wax on my ear drum and couldn’t be tested (shouldn’t that have been checked when I made the appointment?).
I received the recommended HAs and complained they were extremely loud and everything including my own voice was very high pitched and tinny sounding. Over the course of a few appointments attempts were made to improve this issue but with limited results. I also commented that the right HA actually needed to restart its self every morning.
During one appointment I indicated I had an experience in a load environment where I couldn’t comprehend the person sitting in front of me. I tried switching to the voice in noisy environments but this made it worse because it just increased the volume but did nothing for clarity. At this point I felt I these hearings aids were just not helping my problem and wanted to return them. My HA specialist thought they could be defective and recommended first replacing them with a new set of the same type which we did.
When the new set arrived I stated the original problems with the continued high pitch and excessive loudness. My HA specialist called the manufacture for advice and tried to tune them for the problem. When I went home (the real world test) I couldn’t watch the news or have normal conversation with my wife or visiting relatives. It was so bad I returned the next day for more adjustments. My HA specialist again called the manufacture for advice. However, the problems were not resolved. At this point I felt these were not the hearing aids for me or my HA specialist didn’t know how to properly adjust them. Therefore, upon my 9th appointment I again requested a refund.
During my appointments various questions and/or comments were made that I found very odd. When I complained that I couldn’t understand the news caster on my TV I was asked what adjustment I performed on the TVs audio to correct this. Why should I have to adjust my TV for this new hearing phenomenon? When I said I had a significant problem understanding my wife and 60 year old niece I was asked how often I would be seeing my niece. That one really baffled me!
Please note this was my first experience with purchasing and wearing hearing aids. Thereby, I did extensive research on each brand Costco offered including their options, capabilities and where possible how well they were rated. I was very excited at the thought of improving most of my hearing problems. Regretfully, this was not the case. In stead of progressively reducing my hearing effort it actually became more difficult. I found myself becoming progressively more frustrated with each of the 9 appointments I had with my HA specialist.
I don’t feel my hearing problem should be that difficult to improve. Regrettably, the recommended hearing aids and my HA specialist just did not work out for me. However, I see a significant value offered by Costco’s hearing aid services. In the future I hope to re-visit Costco (different location and HA specialist) to obtain a quality set of properly programmed hearing aids or perhaps seek out an independent audiologist.
Please feel free to contact me if additional information is required.
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Thank you for providing the letter you sent to Costco, it is very helpful.
Just so others realize, the Philips 9030 is a fantastic hearing aid. In fact, I have them and the Oticon More 1s right now at the same time for demonstration purposes. The Oticon More 1s are considered the top of the line hearing aids, and the Philips 9030 comes very close to the level of quality of the More 1s.
I have been able to hear the TV and everyone around me quite clearly with the Philips 9030. I have been logging the results of my Philips 9030 contrasted to the More 1s and will post my results to the forum very shortly, maybe even this weekend.
HAs are very person dependent, and as @bob.sevcik has noted, the audiologist is also an extremely part in that experience.
Bob, you mentioned the person helping you at Costco as a ‘HA specialist.’ Do you know if they were a qualified audiologist, or just a specialist?
@bob.sevcik would you be able to program your audiogram into the forum so we can see what type of prescription you have been struggling with?
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