Hi. Im 41 year old female wearing hearing aids for over 10 yrs due to progressive likely autoimmune hearing loss. In that time ive only gone to 1 audiologist and went from iic to cic hearing aids from starkey. I have a bte for water use. Unfortunately since my loss is progressive everytime an aid breaks i really have trouble finding back up while they are repaired. I have a collection of hearing aids but its always going down several steps in terms of volume. I need a cochlear but not mentally ready and i am also pregnant so dont want to undertake that. My latest pair of starkey cic are just over 3 years and out of warranty. Before the warranty ended in nov 22 i sent in and ofcourse 3 months later mic is cutting in and out on left one. The audiologist will charge me 450 for repair and 1 yr warranty per aid. Kinda sucks given 10 yr history but its a business i guess. Also i do have 5k benefit from oxford insurance but her aids are 7500-8000 so i would be paying 3k out of pocket if i get a new one. This is like my 4th aid and im tired of paying so much extra after insurance. I asked if there are any aids for 5K and crickets.
Really consider costco this time. While i cant use insurance it may be less than the balance billing. I am a heavy user meaning noisy environments so i need sound filtering. I like cics over bte’s in terns of comfort to be honest. Any recommendations?
Retail here is about £1400-£2200 depending on model. Also there’s no point buying high end CIC product as they only have single mics and don’t do binaural comms for noise reduction/directionality.
We fit a pair of Oticon Own 3 CIC for around £3.5k - get it with a five year warranty for a few hundred more; that seems way more sensible than what you’re quoting above.
I fitted a few pairs of Own in the last week. No higher than Own 3 (about £3.5k), pointless to go higher for CIC imho. One client went for the ITC 312, Own 1 with the twin mic - bit more expensive.
I’d be upfront with your audiologist. I’ve been a loyal patient for 10 years and I’d like to stay with you, but I can’t afford it. No, I don’t want to make payments. Can you suggest something more affordable?
If you really qualify for Cochlear implants, I’d encourage you to consider that approach, but if you get by with CICs I’d wonder if really qualify for CI.
Costco for CIC is going to be in the $2500-$3000 range (USD) I would think your audiologist (or another one) could you put into a pair of CIC for the $5k benefit (or very little more) Note: Although the insurance company calls it a $5k benefit, that may not be true with regards to what the audiologist gets.
Get by is a fluid term :). I struggle everyday and read lips. The pandemic obviously been quite rough. But i believe you have to be ready for any type of procedure and im not. Thats me being totally truthful. Will one day i wake up and be like i suffered needlessly- quite possible. My fear is two fold- my appearance yes i am vain and two the sound i have been used to for 40+ yrs of my life. Will it be the same in cochlear? Will my mom and daughter sound different? This is all i have ever known.
I was totally upfront with my audiologist that financially i couldnt. I got a miracle surprise baby on the way and a toddler with her own medical needs.
Maybe she will respond in a few days or not at all. But as this would be my 5th hearing aid with her in about 10 years the whole one price only thing i think is pushing me away.
Also my 1st aid was 100% out of pocket. Started using insurance benefit to offset aid 2-4. They make me pay 100% on those till oxford sends them the 5k check. Then and only then i get refund. So the audiologist leaves no room for less reimbursement
The bte one i have from starkey is actually less helpful then my cic. I am willing tp try others dont get me wrong but as controversial CI is with the deaf community not all HOH are ready either
It doesn’t even cover severe range or profound range. It covers the last 2 frequencies in the part of the severe range tho but that’s it. Here in the UK, your loss is way too good for a CI but I understand other countries are different.
Might be good to try other manufacturers?
I’ve just gone from Phonak to Oticon and I’m hearing loads better.
Also you need an audiologist that knows how to program well. A top of the range hearing aid will sound rubbish if programmed rubbish.
I started out moderate then moderate to severe and now severe. My autoimmune essentially eating away my hearing at a fast rate. Steroids tried full CI evaluation done. Based on audiogram i qualify but people survive on what they survive. No publically funded program would approve cic’s. The clasic choice is bte.
According to my audiologist the cic gives me 70 dcb of gain and it is stronger than my bte. It just is.
My take. I have no qualms with the deaf community. Choosing alternative forms of communication and not wanting to take advantage of technology is perfectly fine. If one has been approved for cochlear implants AND one wants to hear, one is likely wasting their money seeking a better hearing aid. There will be very little that any hearing aid can offer.
Appreciate your take and what works for you. I live a very happy life and when im ready i will be ready. No one will choose that for me nor has any audiologist turned me away stating that i cant receive benefit from hearing aid devices.
Now i will exit from conversation as its creating unnecessary stress for this pregmant lady in defenfing my persinal choices
You are certainly not the only CI candidate in CICs.
You won’t have luck at Costco, I don’t think. For a long time Starkey was the only company willing to put a UP receiver into a CIC. I’d have to check, but Oticon might be offering it now. However, fitting a powerful receiver into a CIC may limit your options for updated technology (ie., Bluetooth won’t fit). My last power CIC user had to go back to the Picasso line to fit the receiver. But Costco doesn’t do Starkey or Oticon.
I agree with Um Bongo that you don’t need to stick at premium level if you are just in a CIC. If you asked your clinician for premium technology options only it makes sense that you’d only get one price. Ask them about pricing options at lower tech levels.
You might find a RIC with a UP custom tip relatively discrete, and it would open up your streaming options.
Note also that if there’s just some deep debris in the microphone, that could cause it to cut in and out and your clinician may be able to vaccuum that out for you.
Oticon just released the higher powered CIC option; I haven’t had a chance to fit it yet. I don’t know whether or not Phillips would have it. Additionally, if the Oticon option doesn’t fit the patient’s ear they don’t have anything to fall back to whereas Starkey has older chips that are potentially smaller and that we know have fit the patient before.
Basically at this level you just start calling around to see what the most powerful receiver a company is willing to try to put into a CIC and then you start sending impressions around special attention to whomever manages the tough fits to see if they CAN fit the receiver in and how many options you need to drop to get it in there. Takes a bit of extra time. But Starkey has been on top for small, powerful devices for a long time.
When i last spoke to my audiologist, prior to this aid going south, she was recommending either starkey evolve or phonak paradise. I believe they fit the entire ear (as opposed to the half shell i have now) but are still not bte.
Both would be same price.
That said my current aids with starkey picasso 2400 cic