I’ll be having my first appt at Costco for first-time hearing aids. Ever since I got my latest audiogram and had to admit that I should get hearing aids, I’ve been paying more attention and realizing that I am missing lots of words or pieces of words on TV and in group situations.
I have some tinnitus ever since I had double ear infection following flu, probably 20 years ago or more. It’s like a high pitched white noise, doesn’t really both me much, but now I’m curious if I will get the best results from Costco hearing aids if they can’t address tinnitus.
For those of you who have tried both Costco vs audiologist versions of the same brands, what did you notice regarding your tinnitus? Is it worth going outside Costco? Should I be trying one from Costco vs one from audiologist? I’d like to have a strategy before my appt in a couple of weeks.
If your tinnitus doesn’t bother you, don’t worry about it. Most of the adjustments in a hearing aid to deal with tinnitus are just playing another noise to cover it up. The key to dealing with tinnitus is to learn to live with it. I would say give Costco a try. You will learn a lot in the process and have 6 months to make up your mind. IF you decide you’re not satisfied, then you can try an audiologist. Don’t get hung up on finding the perfect hearing aid and perfect settings. It’s all about being good enough for you to live your life.
Everyone is different when it comes to hearing loss. Like a fingerprint, all individuals.
Many here on the forum deal with tinnitus. For me it is raging loud and many frequencies. I have had it for about 45 years. When I put on hearing aids or now cochlear processors the tinnitus goes away. When the aids or processors are off the tinnitus comes raging back. Years ago I tried the Phonak tinnitus feature many different ways. It did not help me. It was for the most part annoying and distracted hearing better.
Something to remember is the tinnitus can not hurt you. Put it out of your mind and do not let it control you.
As mentioned, Costco is a great place to start. Between Costco and this forum you will be enabled with enough knowledge to make sound decisions about your hearing aids and audiologist/fitter.
Sometimes tinnitus is diminished just by wearing hearing aids. That’s true for me. I could have tinnitus feature turned on, but never found a need to do it.