New to hearing aids

Hearing Aids
#1

New member here, and got to introduce myself. As my signature sugests, I am into hunting dogs, Brittanys in particular. Click on the link in my signature to go to my website and learn more about what JUlie and I do.
Gotta apoligize for the site, as it does have some broken links, I built and maintain it myself, and the program I used to do it is on my old non functioning computer. And it won’t work with the new one…Sometimes progress ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Got a appointment at Costco tomorrow.
Looking hard at the Kirklands 4.0.
Been seeing a ENT Dr. for about a year for a plugged up left ear. It feels like I’m at altitude, and doesn’t go away. The right ear is also affected, but much less so.
My allergy Dr. reccomended that I get checked out after a year of weekly allergy shots failed to clear up my ears. He wanted to make sure that there was nothing like cancer etc that was causing my slow progress to the shots. Kenalog shots have been helping but, are not a long term solution. With the ENT not finding anything wrong…(other than my poor hearing in my signature). The plan is one final kenalog shot to give the allergy shots another chance, and he has moved me up to a vial #1, which is reserved for hard cases like mine. If that doesn’t work, then he wants the ENT to go ahead and put tubes in my ears, which was a option that we had discussed previously.

At any rate, what do you guys think? Will the Kirkland be suitable for me?

#2

If your left ear is still plugged up after a year either have the tubes put in and see if it solves the problem or go to a different ENT for a second opinion and see what he/she has to say, I’ve found some doctors that don’t keep up with their journals and are slow to use new treatment options and you end up being the one to suffer.
As far as the Kirkland’s are concerned you can’t go wrong seeing as how you get a 90 day trial and 100% return policy for the same 90 days to see if they work for you, so you really have nothing to lose. I’ve got several friends that have the Kirkland HA’s and love them! Good luck!

#3

Actually this ENT is my second opinion!
When I went to see the first ENT, the first thing I noticed was that his waiting room had a ton of hearing aids on display…He did a test and proclaimed that all I needed was a hearing aid…That what I was feeling was my mind playing tricks on me…We got into a heated argument. I told him that if he were right, then how come the Kenalog shots give me so much relief? And why do I experience slight moments of vertigo when getting up? (when the ears are plugged) He finally agreed to take a closer look…But it was too late for me. I fired him as I had little confidence in his interest in anything other than the large profit he wanted to make on hearing aids.

I like this new ENT. He does NOT sell hearing aids. He has discussed various scenarios/options with me. The tube idea has been on the table for awhile. He feels that it is worthwhile to try, but is on the same page with the allergy Dr. and has been communicating with him. They are both in agreement on the plan.
I had the last kenalog shot on 10/26. Life is OK now. Sudafed actually works now and my ears are clear 80-90 percent of the time.

I should’ve mentioned that my intial allergy test/panel showed extreme reactions to just about all outside allergens. (mostly pollens) The grading system is 1-4. Many of mine would’ve been a 5, if such a score existed, according to the person doing the test. So I still think that getting the allergys under control is the solution, and am not surprised that mine is a “hard” case. If the allergy shots don’t fix it by Feb. I will be getting tubes.

I am actually sort of glad that the first ENT was such a jerk. Otherwise I probably wouldn’t have done so much research and discovered the Costco option…and paid a ton more for HAs.

#4

Martin,
My nephew had tubes put in and the relief from the fluid in his ears only took a few days and his hearing improved also. My wife also has severe allergies and her allergist listed her as a 4+ on the allergy scale and she is allergic to almost everything outside. She has undergone allergy shots several times with minimal improvement and now treats it with basically over the counter medications and they seem to work better than the shots. I hope you can get a handle on the allergies because living with them can really be a problem.