I also had the hair issue - big time. The first audi told me it wouldn’t matter which HA I tried, but when I found out the savings at Specsavers I decided to risk it (no free trial but 90 day money back guarantee so essentially the same thing) and there was a massive difference. I do still hear my hair a bit, but I don’t have the issue with smiling/chewing/turning head sounding like someone was rubbing styrofoam past my ear! It’s only really noticeable when I am doing my hair now. I’m not sure if it’s because of the different location of the microphones or the difference finish on the HAs (the first ones were a metallic look and the current ones are matte).
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Hi. I’m a cookie-biter and have been for most of my life. An audiologist diagnosed this about 40 years ago. During our post test discussion, I said “OK, I’ll get hearing aids.” She said, “I’m sorry. You can’t. All we have are analog hearing aids. They won’t work for cookie-bite losses. Digital aids are in development, but not available yet.”
Fast forward about 30 years… An MD friend of my wife and I were taking at a party. He was doing studies on the psychological human impact of hearing loss. First, he said that most people were not completely deaf, just partially deaf.
Then he said that cookie-bite loss was one of the worst kinds for two reasons. One is that most people don’t understand it well. They can typically hear high and low frequencies, but not the middle ones. So for people like me hearing men’s voices is a major issue. It’s a bit better hearing higher pitched voices, but even the it’s miserable.
But the social and psychological impact is really bad. In a conversation with multiple people, it’s stressful, tiring, and difficult to stay in the conversation. If someone says I bought a new stereo. You may get the first few words, but not quite understand “bought”. So it may a fraction of a second for you to figure out that he said “bought” and not “brought”.
Now you are behind and straining to catch up. Next he says, “I didn’t like the car.” But you are behind and only heard “…like the car”. So you don’t say anything or may make some dumb comment about him LIKING the car. Now you look stupid or are not listening. And at work this can be really bad.
Have you had these experiences? I’m not talking about other people. I’m talking about me!
That single conversation was the biggest eye opener in my life. I always encourage people to get their hearing checked even if they think they have a mild hearing loss.
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I too have open domes 
The larger domes seem to have solved the issue, the HAs are sitting really well and I have managed to wear them all day at work - still getting used to how it all sounds, but really today was a new “day 1” so I’m giving myself some grace 
Good luck with your audiologist this week! I hope you can trial the Intents and that they work for you. I’d be interested to hear notes on your comparison
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Hello fellow Aussie cookie-biter, nice to ‘meet’ another! 
Thank you for the recommendation. I did look into Specsavers (I get my glasses there!) but in the end was lured by the very advanced technology of the Intents. Not to say I won’t look into them, though - I have 45 days of free trial with this pair, so plenty of time to look at something else too! I have to say that I really like my audiologist and would like to stick with them, so that may end up being one of the deciding factors. They are letting me pay them off over 24 months with no up front fee and no interest, which also helps.
Gahh glad to know I am not the only one who struggles with the hair issue! Since switching to larger domes, the mics are sitting slightly further back on my ears and the HAs are moving around less, so this problem has decreased a lot today. Nonetheless, I’ve ordered some ‘Ear Gear’ covers to see if they help (and also cushion how the HAs feel against my glasses and ears).
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What an interesting story! Thank you for sharing. Conversations like that described have always been hard and exhausting for me. I just didn’t realise for such a long time that what I was experiencing wasn’t normal! I hope you have found some HAs that work for you now and that you are managing it all ok I am lucky in that everyone I work with has been totally understanding when I ask them to speak up because I am a bit HoH. I haven’t told them (with one exception) that I’ve started wearing HAs, will be interesting to see if they pick up the difference on their own
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That’s great that you have someone you have a rapport with. I did too with my first Audi and felt bad not going through with her, but $3k was too much to pass up and I also didn’t love the HA’s I trialled with her (Phonak Lumity). I have been very happy with the Audis at Specsavers. The Specsavers Elite range are Signia Pure 7AXs at the moment so a pretty high level of tech. You can see a comparison with the Oticons here. https://www.hearingtracker.com/hearing-aids/compare/oticon-intent-1-minirite-r-vs-signia-pure-charge-go-ax-charge-go-ax-7ax. The Oticons do look really good. I haven’t tried them myself. I hope they work out well for you.
Myrtle,
My sincerest hope is that people can benefit from my post.
I looked at your audiogram. Fit is extremely important. If your audiologist has fitted your HA’s properly, you should notice a difference. Hopefully you will be less tired and more involved with conversations going forward.
My audiogram is pretty old. Right now, I believe one ear is -60 to -70 and the other is -70 to -80. I.e. getting worse. My Phonaks need to be replaced. Rechargeable battery is loosing charge and right HA buzzes occasionally.
I’m looking for new HAs. I was going to wait for six months, but discussions with my doc indicated that I need new ones now. (I’m going through a tough treatment, surgery, and recovery period. Misunderstanding ANY PART of a discussion could be extremely bad.) I’m looking at Jabra HAs from Costco because they have all the features that I need - like long battery life and better Apple connection. I’m open to any HA that will provide that.
Best of luck in the future,
Dan.