I am considering my first heating aid.Doctor says tests show normal hearing at lower levels and almost complete loss at higher ranges.Recommending Starkey destiny 1200 for $2100 each.
Hearpod seems like reasonable comparative at less than half the cost.Not sure how to give my requirements to hearpod and get units programmed.
Advise please
I believe with hearpod, you can just fax or email your hearing results and they will custom program and send them to you.
It can be a much more cost effective solution, since I believe they are under $1,000 for the most costly unit.
Contact them directly, though, to make sure. Their website is www.myhearpod.com
I can assure you that the price you have been quoted for the Destiny 1200 is outstanding. You can easily pay double for that same technology, depending on market conditions where you live.
The Destiny is an amazing system (they have just released a model called the 1600 which is even more impressive). There is going to be no comparison to something like a hearpod for half the price. Think about it, when was the last time you could go out and buy a product that was half the price, yet just as good.
I just looked at their web site. They are offering 32 channels of adjustment. Do you know that your hearing professional only tested nine frequencies of your hearing?
I am also skeptical about all their claims when the technical specifications show a 3% harmonic distortion from the aid. A quality aid would be well under 2%, often less than 1%.
I admit I have never listened to a hearpod or played with one, but from what I just read, I am very skeptical.
Actually I suspect that if handled correctly, a larger number of channels is usually better. The reason for that is multi-channel compression. I believe that usually once the compression threshold is reached, all gain on that channel will be reduced to the compression ratio gain. Therefore if the channel covers too large of a frequency range and the compression threshold is hit, the gain of all frequencies on that channel may be reduced to the gain created by the compression ratio.
Therefore if the channel handles frequencies between 2000 Hz and 2500 Hz and the input SPL is 90 DB for the 2000 Hz frequency, all frequencies between 2000 Hz and 2500 Hz will have a reduced gain based on the compression ratio. If there were more channels and one channel handled frequencies between 2000 Hz to 2250 Hz and another channel handled frequencies between 2250 Hz and 2500 Hz, a 90 db input SPL for the 2000 Hz frequency will not affect the gain for the frequencies on the 2250 Hz to 2500 Hz channel. Multi-channel compression can also have different compression ratios and thresholds for each channel.
I suspect that the hearpod hearing aids are pretty good hearing aids but is probably 5 year old technology. Hearpod probably gets a good price when purchasing the chip from a major manufacturer but the chip probably does not have anti-feedback, noise reduction, and other capabilities like the newer chips. Also the cost is reduced since the standard $500-$700 per ear fitting fee by a local audiologist is not included in the price.
I have to disagree with you Mike. In fact more channels on a hearing aid ordered by mail is just likely to mean there is a greater chance that the aid will need fine tuning, since the more channels, the more scope for one of more of them to be set incorrectly.
Also there has been no technical study in any of the medical journals that corroborates your opinion that more channels always means better hearing. In fact I have read several studies that show beyond a certain level the human ear cannot detect any difference. I’ve certainly never seen an unbiased article that scientifically argues that 32 channels is necessary or superior.
The original question was asking for a comparison between a cutting edge custom hearing aid system from one of the largest hearing aid manufacturers in the world, versus some cheap amplifier you buy online. The former has world class feedback suppression, acoustic signatures background noise suppression, and truly independent channel programming. It took over four years to develop this technology from start to finish. I just don’t see some order online amplifier coming anywhere near that sound quality, regardless of channels.
That’s like saying a Mustang GT is better than my BMW because the Mustang has 8 cylinders, and I only have 6.