Where’s that WOW icon? Oh, wait. Here it is: 
Thanks, Blacky. I’ve been learning a ton from you guys over the past couple of days. As a result, I feel much better equipped to deal with tomorrow’s appointment and the possible consternation of adjusting to HAs. But even after all that, I still just don’t believe that my hearing is all that bad. I guess we’ll see.
Disappointed in that Bluetooth news. I just assumed that Bluetooth is Bluetooth is Bluetooth and that if my TV delivered it my HAs would receive it. Sounds like there may be additional cost involved. Purely accidental and the part of the HA manufacturer, I’m sure.
If you look at my chart (click on my Z avatar icon) you’ll see that I don’t drop down as low as you. I think I can hear alright as well. But I just need that boost. But then even with them, I still don’t hear everything. So I just withdraw. I’m not going to constantly ask people to speak up or say that again or whatever. So I stare out the window…if I’m with others. Sometimes I’ll turn up the volume but mostly I can’t be bothered. Some people are soft-spoken. Some people trail off at the end of sentences. I call it missing the noun. I could hear the sentence except the subject of the sentence.
Bluetooth is a more recent thing around here. For a few years now, Apple led the way. But they’re proprietary. Phonak went the open standards route. Others are competing with that now. It IS bluetooth. You can connect to bluetooth transmitters. It’s just “better” with their bluetooth doodads.
I guess I do say “huh” a lot, especially with my spouse, who tends to speak softly and sometimes trails off almost to the point of being totally inaudible. You’d think after 35 years of being together my spouse would know to speak up rather than complain that I can’t hear, so sometimes I say “huh” repeatedly just to annoy. 
(Oops. Did I just say that?)
I think a lot of us do, because power of the voice goes down as you exhale, and since we mostly aren’t trained in public speech and proper breathing which would help to keep intonations as wanted, no wonder we HoH have such issues.
I also learned that if I just say ‘huh’, I’ll get the same thing, which isn’t useul. So I train myself to say - can you just tell me the end, after ‘x’. Fun thing, many times people don’t remember 
What makes difference is external mic - they’re much more sensitive and can catch soft tones which get lost in the air between you and the person talking otherwise. But yes, they need to carry it.
If it’s important… 
I’ll sometimes ask repeating back what I heard and that trailing vocal method of asking what that next word was.
The running joke with the spouse is that I’ll repeat back what I initially heard. Hilarity ensues.
This happens ALL.THE.TIME at my house…sometimes hysterical…
The reason that an audiogram can’t determine if you need hearing aids is because it depends on one’s situation. If somebody with that audiogram was a hermit, or lived in a deaf community where signing was the means of communication, they wouldn’t “need” hearing aids. However if somebody attempts to communicate regularly with somebody and there are issues with either party, hearing aids are likely to be useful.
Most of us don’t realize we need hearing aids until we get them, and realize the sounds we haven’t been hearing.
Z - I so relate to you no asking ppl to speak up or repeat. I also just kind of withdraw and gaze out the window or around. It catches me off sometimes as - I then hear more of what is being said and then have to ask the subject Most of the time I just let it all roll. For the most part it just aint that important.
Not sure if it was mentioned above but costco has a 6 month trial period.
Before I got the aids I couldn’t hear the wife. Now I have to ignore her.
Hmmmm, you gotta learn “selective” hearing like the rest of us husbands…lol
I hope it works out well for you Xooterpust. I agree with Raudrive about Bluetooth and also about giving yourself plenty of time to get used to the new and new to you sounds you will be experiencing. It can be overwhelming.
Meanwhile, I am just going to sit over here and mumble, “I would love to pay 2,000 for my hearing aids. Mine cost $7500 for the pair and the audi told me they only last 4 years, and I’m in year three…” Don’t mind me. 
I’m 1 month shy of 4 years on KS7’s. Still fine. As long as they still work and do what they need to do for you…they’re fine. I may want to move on to bleutooth capable models soon but whatever.
I hate it for you, Theatrebuff. When I first got got into this I had absolutely no idea about the cost of hearing aids. TruHearing is a huge online discounter of all the brands, as near as I can tell, even though the aids I got were even cheaper than their published discounted price because of a free Medicare supplement policy from Humana. The policy offered some dental, hearing, and vision benefits as well, but mostly in the way of discounted prices through specific vendors that they refer you to.
You’ve probably already seen this, but here’s the TruHearing pricelist: Hearing Aid Catalog | TruHearing Hearing Aids.
Some other folks on this forum have reported that aids through Costco are much less expensive as well, so you might want to pay Costco a visit when you need a new pair. Assuming you live near a Costco, that is.
That’s good to hear, z10user2. I am going to hope these last as long as possible and thank you for the insight.
Thanks for the commiseration, Xooterpust. I paid way too much, and I got very little care, so I’m definitely going to go the Costco route. There’s one about 45 minutes away. Elsewhere here I recounted my experience with my audiologist, who was…not good…and found out that Costco was selling a very similar device for about $2500 a pair, versus what I paid. I think I may have cried when I found out.
Thanks for the information about TruHearing. The issue I had…and continue to have…is that nearly every place is open 10 to 4, Monday through Thursday where I live. (It’s Florida and basically the only customers have…all the time in the world to make an appointment in the middle of the day? Insert skeptical eyebrow here). No Friday and no weekends, and since I’m 49, I am still working and those hours…won’t do it for me. At least Costco is open later and every day. But as I noted above, I am not going to be in the market for what I hope…pray?..will be a very long time to come. It’s mostly all about the money, you know?
But I love my hearing aids, and I also get a good laugh (at my own expense?) when I ask people how much they paid for their first car…and then say, “Well, that’s about what I paid for these” and point to my aids. (I am a little weird.)
Good luck, Theatrebuff. May those HAs last you till the year 2050.
Costco has a 180 day return policy.
One more vote for ‘they will last until they die’. We have people who have their aids for 10 years, yes they upgraded for new features but old ones are still working and serve as a backups.
However, if aids are rechargeable, then battery will probably die of sitting unused for years.
But until you smash it with a hammer, your dog or cat chews it, you drop it in the sea, there’s no reason for them to ‘just die’. Extensive sweat could be the culprit for circuitry death though.
Yes, receiver part can die, and if you wear classic BTE, it might not be repairable after some point eg no spare parts, but that’s the same with RIC aids and their receivers.
So basically as long as there are spare parts for them (somewhere, not necessarily with the manufacturer) and circuitry works, they will work.
What is more probable is that after 3-6 years you’ll be the one to say - I want new ones because of tech, or new color, or if your loss deteriorates so much that you need different form.
Or you’ll lose them and you’ll need a new pair.
But they’re not made to die on 4 year mark, or any such arbitrary number.
Interesting is how different fitters say different things, those oriented to selling were the ones that would mention similar arbitrary mark to me, but I bought mine from two who said what I said above - if nothing bad happens to their circuitry we can keep them working as long as there are spare parts (battery door, receiver).
My first set of Phonak aids lasted 16 years of wearing them everyday and still serve as my backups.