Guidance for a first time hearing aid shopper

Hearing Aids
#1

I’ve come looking for guidance on hearing aids. I’ve never worn a proper one, and now it looks like my only option.

I have a condition that slowly eroded my hearing bones, and partially collapsed my ear canals over many years. I’ve had four ear surgeries since 2018 to try to salvage, repair what they could. The surgeries were successful on my right ear, not so on my left. I want my surgeon to try again on the left ear, but he thinks my best option is to look into a hearing aid at this point.

I’m not opposed to wearing one, but I am overwhelmed by the pricing. Right now, I use a cheap hearing amplifier that hangs from my left ear; I pop it in when needed, which is not often. It sounds terrible, but it does the job. I’ve read using amplifiers can do further damage to your hearing, so obviously I want to avoid that, but on the other hand I’m not rich and the ear in question is already virtually useless.

I have also been following the OTC hearing aid market, and it seems like an awkward time to be shopping for hearing aids. My concern is paying 3k-5k for a prescription HA that is potentially dated, or overvalued technology. My thought is to get a lower end OTC for a year or two to see what new products emerge, and how the old products prices might change. Is that silly?

Another question I have: Is there a style of HA that is better for the infrequent wearer? Ideally I’d want something I can put on, take off, or pocket fairly quickly.

Any guidance, or advice is greatly appreciated.

#2

Welcome Adam. Can you please post your audiogram? Follow the directions here:

It is possible that hearing aids in the price range you’re asking about will not help you, depending what the audiogram shows, so it’s really hard to advise you generally.

One thing I can suggest: there is an important cognitive (brain function) component to hearing. Wait too long to address hearing loss, and the brain begins to lose its ability to make sense of spoken words even if they’re reaching the eardrum. Then the challenge of improving hearing becomes greater–not necessarily impossible–but greater.

For this reason, hearing aids should not be used intermittently, if you’re listening to people speaking or music etc. I get why you may want to use hearing amplifiers only when needed, but that would be the wrong approach with hearing aids. It’s important to give yourself a good chance to get used to them and wear them all day long, to keep the brain trained to process sound. Selected and set properly by an audiologist, they will not cause additional hearing loss.

Also I’ve been wearing aids for ever a decade, and chasing or worrying about the next great tech leap in hearing assistance is a fool’s errand, because there’s always something better that’s less than a year away from release. (Similar to other electronics, cars, etc.) And Hint: the annual bump is in small increments. There’s a lot of marketing hype. Just focus on meeting your needs now. It’s fine to think, okay, I can or can’t afford this if I need to replace this in five to ten years, but you don’t want to wait to start treating hearing loss until the next round of hearing aids is out. You’ll never get them.

Hearing aids cannot restore normal hearing when there’s been significant hearing loss. They’re really designed to help process speech and in some cases music etc. You weren’t asking about this. This is advice I pass on to all newcomers, because it’s important to manage expectations.

Please post your audiogram.

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#3

A few thoughts:

  1. Hearing aids don’t tend to work well if worn intermittently. The brain takes time to get used to new sounds and it never gets the chance if aids are worn intermittently.
    If cost is a big issue, possibilities might include `1)Starkey offers a program for people who can’t afford hearing aids 2) Lions Club can also sometimes help. 3)Not sure if they would be appropriate for a complicated case such as yours, but Costco offers quality hearing aids at a very good price. Good luck.
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#4

Have you tried Costco?

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#5

Also, where are you living (so we can give geographically-specific advice–proximity to Costco if you live in USA or Canada, or if you live in UK with access to NHS, etc.)? And are you a military veteran? If in the US, are you on Medicaid, or do you have a Medicare Advantage plan?

All of the above can help patients for whom money is tight. But we really need your audiogram most of all, because the level of your hearing loss is critical for good advice as to what you need, never mind how to afford it.

#6

@adam2

Welcome to the forum!
I know how you feel.
I reacted the same way.
It’s been about 20 years. Now I feel I should have responded more quickly.

I bought a hearing aid back then. Only one. Couldn’t afford two. I chose the best cheap hearing aid. It wasn’t really what I needed.
I should have bought 2.
Finally I found a really good audiologist by referral. She was amazing. The two hearing aids she supplied me with worked. Every visit to her office I heard better.

You’ve had good advice from people here. I hope it helps.

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#7

I don’t have the experience of some of the folks here, I have only been wearing my aids for about 18 months. I was in denial for the longest time before I decided to do something about it. I regret not taking action sooner. For me they have been a game changer. My hearing has been greatly improved in areas where I had been struggling.

Advice: Research! Do your homework. The choices can be overwhelming. Which brand to choose. Which style? Which technology level. Some folks want/need the extra features, others can get by with the minimum. There is no wrong or right, only what is best for you. Youtube has a ton of videos to help with your research. Some good, some bad. You can spend hours watching them and leave more confused than when you started but you will pick up bits and pieces to help determine what will best fit your needs.

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#8

Thank you so much for the advice. I’ve added my audiogram. I am open to using HA’s constantly but here’s the problem… I am a sound designer for film- ain’t life hilarious? So I have to use industry standard over-ear headphones. I take them on/off throughout the day. I can’t really do that while wearing HAs… Right? Anyway you’ve given me a lot of good advice to think on. Thanks again!

#9

I just wanted to thank everyone for the advice! I’ve accepted this will be a big investment. While I research, I’ll be using my hearing amp in the left ear more often even when i don’t feel it’s needed. neither my surgeon, nor any audiologist had mentioned the cognitive “use it or lose it” aspect.

#10

@adam2 The following discussion may be of use to you as it was started by a sound engineer who needed to use headphones with their hearing aid(s)

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#11

I think the single important factor is finding an audiologist that will take the time to work with you to make the aid work great for you. real ear measurements, sufficient testing time, they are so vey important. you can buy the latest and greatest aids but if they are not adjusted to fit you correctly then they are just expensive ear decorations. Find a great audi.

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#12

Amazing. Thank you!!

#13

I don’t work in sound, but I can use my over ear noise cancelling headphones with my RIC hearing aids in if I need to. I occasionally get a little feedback but I just adjust them and it goes. Sometimes I turn the volume on the HAs to zero if I’ll have the headphones on for a long time (plane trip for eg.) but if I’m taking them on and off I just leave them as is and adjust the sound on the headphones accordingly.

#14

Sorry, adam, I didn’t see this until now. I’m not an audiologist. Ballpark looking at your audiogram you would, I believe, benefit greatly from getting at least one very good hearing aid now in that price range tuned by an audiologist. The second one is borderline in my very non-expert opinion. I’ve heard arguments on both sides at that level. Find a pro you can trust and take their advice. At some point in the not-too-distant future, you will likely need the second aid, so that’s one reason to consider getting them both now, again as a cognitive training aid.

You can’t use earbuds with aids in, but that’s not what you’re asking about. (And I do use Apple AirPods Pro with my aids out and an iPhone that lets me program in my audiogram to make the AirPods approximate what music would sound like with the aids in.) I do use open air Grados with my ReSound BTE aids and a Music program set in a smartphone app when listening to music, and that works quite well. It’s very important to keep the volume low with headphones or earbuds and take extended breaks from sound when you can, so you don’t cause additional damage. This takes some getting used to for sound pros/music addicts, but it can be done. You have to take the long view.