Do you have a timeframe that you can return those hearing aids if they don’t prove out? Or the fitter doesn’t help you as needed?
Read the contract well for your own good.
Yelp reviews??? I don’t know. I hate getting thrown under the bus!
Good luck, keep us posted when you can.
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He said I had 45 days to decide if they are what i need/expect/return.
Yea, the whole yelp thing im not sure means much. Supposed to be a lot of fake reviews. I don’t know anyone who has hearing loss that already has an audiologist for a recommendation. So no personal experiences to go by. Just my own.
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Do you have any friends who are teachers? The other secret pathway to good audiology recommendations is via the educational audiologist or itinerant teacher for the deaf and hard of hearing. They often cover a wide region and have exposure to a lot of people with hearing aids, work closely with clinical audiologists and so may have good suggestion.
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Are you using the same hearing aids that are 6-7 years old? They are probably not working very well at all. I’ve been wearing hearing aids for the last 24 years. Mine have lasted me only 3-5 years and I put them in the dryer every night. I have been using in the ear the entire time and my audiologist said I won’t be able to get my full hearing back this is as good as it gets. My loss has gotten even worse over the last 10 years and I was showed on a screen that they can only adjust it so much. I have had the same audiologist the entire time but it was only this year did I finally start binge watching a bunch of youtube videos did I learn that the over the ear model is more powerful and what is needed for my severe to profound hearing loss. My “professional audiologist” didn’t even mention over the ear to me. I did tell him 24 years ago that I wanted in the ear type to be more discreet but to me he should have mentioned years ago that I will be able to hear much better with the over the ear type. I went to Costco and recently ordered the Jabra 20 for $1600. The hearing fitters that work there are okay, I felt like I knew more than them after watching so much Youtube but the nice thing about the Jabras is that you can use the app and adjust a lot of settings on top of what the Costco people do to get your baseline. So for me, the audiologist definitely didn’t help me out. I’m sure there are better ones out there but not so in my case
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I also have Phanak from Costco. Tried some really expensive ones a couple months ago. Little better but not much. Then I asked the Hospital Audiology Doctor is she could tune up mine. Sometimes they are locked for costco and sometimes not. She did a much more thorough exam and was able to replrogram my hearing aids to be just as good as the expensive ones. Seek out a Dr. of Audiology before you spend to much $ and see if they can tune yours up like I had mine tuned up. They are capable of so much more than Costco can set up.
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I was in a similar situation as you with 6 yr old HAs which I had out grew. I have a teaching AuD who tests me every year but, they don’t accept ins and with my new coverage it was time to move on. I am keeping the AuD for yearly evals because I trust her experience and knowledge.
I have two options, TruHearing through my health plan( $3K out of pocket for Nexia 9s- I’m a Resound guy and have been for 25 yrs) or Costco( $1.5K for the Nexia equilivents-Jabra Enhance Pro 20s). I met with the TruHearing AuD and didn’t feel comfortable with his feedback or recommendations. Decided to try Costco. Although the rep was not a liscensed AuD, her knowledge base and understanding seemed a cut above the TruHearing AuD so I took the plunge.
First week with the new aids and they are a considerably improvement over what I was using. I feel I can manage my hearing adjustments and work with the Costco rep I have. I have considerable experience with HAs though, where you are just beginning your journey. It may be beneficial staying with the AuD in your case. It’s a tough call.
I just wanted to say the hardware being sold at Costco is quality. The savings are an added bonus. Gone are the days of paying $5-6K out of pocket which I was back in the beginning.
Just put the time in getting the adjustments to your needs. If your AuD is a good one, that should be the expectation. Good luck!
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I agree that the multiple adjustments are key to a good experience. I just got new hearing aids, and was surprised how CRANKY I was to have to go through all those adjustments again. Even after wearing hearing aids for many years, re-jigging the new ones is work. Take the time for yourself. Take notes between visits, give feedback as you get tweaked. Smile, go, enjoy. And hats off for all you do for your parents.
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