Thanks for these further suggestions! I am working with a local audiologist, and I’ll see her again next week for the fitting. She has a degree and 20 years of experience. She’s also an alumna of the school where I teach, and she seemed really nice when she gave me the diagnosis. I believe she plans to use REM, but if not, I will ask for it.
As for my interest in Phonak, I watched a Dr. Cliff video reviewing the Phonak Lumity, and it appears to have improved speech recognition capability. That said, I’m open to all possibilities. And yes, I plan to try out several HAs to find the best one for me before I buy. (I would buy online only to save money.) I would prefer a pair that has smartphone controls. I’m only GenX, with half of my career ahead of me.
I’ll definitely look into the Roger microphone. I believe that my school would be responsible for buying assistive devices for classroom use; I’ll ask HR.
Earlier today I called Costco; the nearest hearing aid center (about 70 minutes’ drive) has a single audiologist and the earliest available appointment is at the end of March. I wish it were otherwise, but this doesn’t seem like the best option. There are at least a dozen audiologists within a 15-20 minute drive.
I’ll do some more searching for cookie-biters on this forum. I only know two people with this type of hearing loss, and they’re family members. One of them delayed getting HAs until late in life and lost quite a bit of hearing. The other is going through this process with me but lives halfway across the country.
Again, many thanks for the feedback, suggestions, and links! I really appreciate feeling less isolated on this journey!