Anyone here use self adjustable hearing aids? Any anyone can recommend?
I mean hearing aids such as the digital Siemens Lotus 12/23 family which are adjusted via 2 or 3 small controls behind a small door on the aid itself. I note these are available quite cheaply on eBay and I have tried some and found them quite good. I was wondering if there’s any other DIY aids out there I could consider purchasing?
Thanks
I’ve got Phonak Ok! Plus UP hearing aids which have dials to adjust the hearing aids. They can’t be programmed by software.
Oh cool. And where from? Can’t see any on fleabay.
They come up on *Bay sometimes. That’s where I got mine from.
Yes, I used two of the Lotus 12P aids for a few years and I thought that they performed reasonably well for my typical hearing loss … meaning a progressive loss as the frequencies increase. I evaluated them to a pair of KS7’s and thought the Lotus had their place and returned the KS7’s. About a year and a half ago, at my families’ urging, I bought a pair of KS8 aids. They are no doubt superior to the Lotus … but then they cost 8x as much … not sure they are 8 x better! I feel aids like the Lotus family have their place for typical minor to moderate hearing losses. If nothing else they are a relatively inexpensive introduction to hearing aids and how you may benefit from them. I just recently sold my two Lotus 12P’s on eBay for about 35% of what I paid for them about 5 years ago.
Not just minor to moderate but severe to profound too. I am profoundly deaf and the aids I tried were the Lotus 23SP for profound loss. They really are Super Power.
Thanks for the info though, never heard of KS7/8 nor can I find them on the bay as of yet. A quick Google search found them available at Costco £1300 a pair! Whew! The Lotus 23SP’s are only around 300 a pair max. Bargain really.
‘Kirkland’ is the Costco brand name for a variety of Costco propriatary products. Usually higher end quality. So the Kirkland KS8 aids are comparable to the several other higher end aids that Costco sells. Their pricing at $1600 for a pair is very competitive for high quality aids compared to other sources. You will not find new KS8’s on eBay … maybe used ones. The newer model KS9 aids is due out soon. My experience with my local Costco, here in the states, is very exceptional service in the form of a detailed hearing exam, test fitting new aids to fit your hearing test results and you can wear the aids while while around Costco. If you like the aids, you can order them and pick them up in a week or two. You then have 6 months to wear the aids and decide if you want to keep them. If not, take them back for a full refund. If your loss is profound, it would seem that better quality aids than the Lotus would be indicated. But if they are out of your price range then the Lotus or other over-the-counter personal hearing assist devices may well be helpful. I’m sure more knowedgeable people will chime in here. Good luck.
I had a similar experience with some Siemens non programable aids, and liked them enough to eventually get me into a set of used Phonak Bolero V70s.
I just sent one of them to my brother to play with.
For the money they do OK. When you pay about $100.00, it’s easy to meet your expectations.