This is common advice, but it could make expectations lower than they should be. The first aids I tried, Phonak Audeo B Direct, were pretty bad in noisy places. The ReSound LiNX 3D’s I’m wearing now are much better. In a Cheesecake Factory restaurant at dinner, I had no trouble understanding the server or my dining companions.
If they won’t give you a trial period, don’t walk away…RUN. A loss at 4k by itself is not an indicator that hearing aids are necessary. 3 and 4K can be down but until 2K is below 25dB, most people will not notice enough benefit to warrant the expense. Everyone is of course different and that is what the trial period is for. You should be able to get all of your money back or at least all minus a minor fitting fee depending on the practice if the trial period does not show enough benefit to warrant the expenditure.
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By that criteria, I’m right on the limit. Perhaps I was justified not getting aids earlier.
Thanks to all for your comments and help. The online tools tell me i should respond to all in one message. So will do so.
I note what is being said about noisy rooms. I also understand that with modern technology this issue is not as acute as it once was. However, I was told by the audiologist that it would help me in noisy environments, and was suggesting that this is one reason (if not the bigger reason) for using HA’s. So it is worrying to hear that maybe things will not be better. Another reason for testing.
Quoting pters "I can’t see the audiogram (now deleted?), but 40dB at 4kHz sounds a little worse than mine. I got aids earlier this year, and they are helping to the extent that I think maybe I should have got them a few years ago. "
I guess this is comforting to know that someone else with hearing similar, perhaps not even as bad as mine, had obtained benefit from HA’s. Makes me think that maybe I am being told the right thing. I am however, going to obtain a second opinion from my NHS GP surgery when next I go back to the UK. They don’t sell anything, so have no skin in the game. I am also buoyed up by your apparent success with aids. Maybe something to look forward to rather than worry about.
Thank you all. You have no idea how helpful you have all been. Also, I felt quite alone dealing with this issue, so being able to discuss things is great.
GP’s in the UK study hearing aids for approximately two afternoons in a seven year medical degree.
They might not have any skin in the game, but by an large they are hugely ignorant of it too. Just look at their average understanding of tinnitus therapy.
Get a free trial, observe how much you improve and how much less stressful it becomes to communicate with your partner and make a subjective decision.
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Seems ears in general are possibly the least understood organ in the body. Two afternoons may be used to explain there aren’t treatments with a great success rate.
Good points guys. Well made. will take into account.
It’s the same in Canada. Bit of a roll of the dice whether they even know what they are looking at when they look into an ear. I can’t imagine Amercian doctors being that different.
Huge amount of information to learn in medical school, I think ears get brushed aside.
Thanks all. I have taken your advice and I am having my ears checked tomorrow at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore with an ENT specialist who won’t be trying to sell me something.
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@Capt_Tony
Mild high frequency hearing losses impact everyone very differently. I have clients/patients who function very well and do not perceive any change to their life with this type of hearing loss, and then I have others who are so negatively impacted that their quality of life and ability to communicate is negatively impacted. This is what influences the decision to pursue treatment with hearing aids.
Hearing aids do not stop hearing loss from happening, per se, but there is something to be said about keeping your auditory system and central auditory pathways stimulated (i.e. treat your hearing loss with hearing aids). We know that some people who leave their hearing losses untreated for long periods of time experience atrophy in their auditory system (i.e. neurons die and neural pathways wear out so auditory signals are not processed as efficiently as they use to be - often referred to as auditory deprivation). We have no way of knowing who is most susceptible to this or if your hearing loss for you, if left untreated, would result in this. There are no current best practice guidelines as to when you should absolutely treat your hearing loss because this question is very complicated. So we err on the side of caution and recommend treating the hearing loss sooner than later to reduce your risk of these maladaptive changes in your auditory pathways (remember we hear with our brain).
But hearing aids should not be pursued unless you are ready for them. You need to decide for yourself if you are ready for them or if your life is being impacted enough to warrant treatment. Sometimes the only way to know for sure is to try them. Most clinics should offer a minimum of 1 month trial, most reputable clinics I know offer 3 month trial periods. The only way to know if they are providing enough benefit to warrant everything else that comes with them is for you to try them and go live your life.
I also wanted to weigh my words of caution with discussing this sort of thing with GPs and ENTs. Most GPs do not know very much about hearing, let alone hearing aids. ENTs also are very hit or miss when it comes to hearing aid knowledge. ENTs are surgeons - their expertise lays in the world of surgery. Some ENTs are more competent about hearing aids and audiology- but in my experience most ENTs often give misleading information to clients about hearing aids (which I then have to try and undo in my clinic which is difficult because they heard it from “specialist”).
I can see where clients have concerns about hearing aids when they are being prescribed by the person who is selling them though. And this is why it is so important to have trust in the audiologist you are seeing. If you have a bad feeling or a “gut” feeling that something seems wrong - then go elsewhere.
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Thank you for a really detailed and informative message. Much to think about, but your commentary has very much added fuel to the fire. Thank you again.
Some ENT shops have an audiology department with an audiologist on staff as part of their practice. Some ENT practices are devoted to cosmetic surgery. You want to find one that is knowledgeable about the E part of ENT.
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I have a severe bordering on profound hearing loss. The hearing aids I am currently wearing need to go in for repair, and I can’t function without hearing aids. I decided to buy another pair on eBay as I did with the hearing aids I am currently using, but only after thorough investigation. I went to an ENT (MD) who also had an audiologist in his office. He examined me and said that he could not see anything unusual, and thought my hearing loss was due to damage caused by excessive noise. Makes sense to me as I hunted and shot trap and skeet for years without protection. Interestingly, we also discussed hearing aid technology and costs. I was honest with him and said I was never going to pay retail because the providers had been cheating the public for years through price fixing and sharing data. (I won’t argue that here.) What he said next amazed me. He said that while the prices had rapidly increased, the improvements in technology had advanced slowly. He said he agreed with me. He released me to the audiologist in his office, telling her that there was no problem physically except noise damage. I think he also clued her in to the fact I was not going to buy. She gave me a hearing test and came up with an audiogram similar to the most recent I had done at Costco. She did what I called an abbreviated exam - it took much less time than the several I had previously experienced. When I questioned this, she said she had too many patients, and didn’t have time to spend. However she also said I needed new hearing aids that provided more power. I thanked her, took a copy of my audiogram and left. The high-end Starky “Z” Series hearing aids I currently have use 312 batteries, and can be turned up until they are uncomfortable for me. (by the way you can purchase batteries for about $.25 each on line.) I don’t believe her. And, because the way the hearing aid business has been set up by the manufacturers and audiology practices, I am skeptical of the entire lot. $6,000.00 for a pair of hearing aids is crazy. Costco here in the States is changing the game. My advice, if you can hear well you probably don’t need hearing aids. Some indicators are a loss of the ability to distinguish consonants ("there, share, fair, hair etc.), frequent “Whats?” from you, inability to understand what is being said on TV even when the sound is adequate for others, and inability to understand what is being said in meetings, or the inability to understand higher frequency voices such as children (when they aren’t screaming) and females. If you have Costco stores, or another retailer with the same policy as theirs (Member joining fee with a free hearing exam and hearing aids for $1,700 USD), that would be my choice. I would do a thorough (as you already are doing) investigation before shelling out the big bucks, or show your audiogram to a medical doctor who is an ear, nose throat specialist and ask his opinion.
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Thank you for this very informative and detailed message. I don’t have all the research to my fingertips, but I have picked up from your post and others that there is a huge business out there, and they are charging through the roof. I would be very interested in seeing the research and personally would love to hear more about this aspect of the market.
I will keep researching before committing. In Singapore HAs cost a fortune when compared to the UK,
Hi,
I would like to point out a few things :
1st - you mentioned that your test was 9 years ago. That’s a long time ago. You would need a new test.
2nd - By Federal law in the USA you must be given a period of no less than 30 days to test your HA for free.
3- Only a doctor as an ENT can tell you what kind of hearing loss you have , why you have it and if something can be done to prevent further deterioration and /or reverse it.
My advice is, first see an ENT specialist find out as much as you can about your Hearing loss and talk to him/her about hearing aids , then do a bit of research about them.
Find an audiologist YOU trust and go ahead . Life is worth listening to , ( although sometimes I welcome silence, is too noisy out there… but this is topic for another post )
Best of luck! ,
Ora