Not sure I need hearing aids - Audiogram shows Mild Loss

Hearing Loss
#1

I am new to this forum. Just received my audiogram results and it is showing mild loss in both ears. My audiologist recommended trying hearing aids (RIC type) to see if they offered any benefit. I currently have a pair on loan for 30 days.

After a week I have noticed an improvement in my ability to discern words and not ask people to repeat themselves as much. I can even make out conversations in noisy environments better than before. My real concern is the price and whether or not it is worth the $1,800 for a pair. (Yes I know that is on the lower end of the pricing scale) :slight_smile: I have copied my Audiogram results to see what this community thinks. Since I am a total newb any feedback is appreciated.

Also my audiologist said that if I don’t take care of this now I could exacerbate the issue in the future. I have a feeling this is BS to sell me on Hearing Aids.

Catherine

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#2

If you want to hear better, and can afford it, get the hearing aids. If your hearing loss doesn’t seem to be too big a deal to you at this point, then don’t. Really, it’s pretty much that simple. Only you can decide if the degree of better hearing you get with hearing aids is worth $1,800 to you.

As to exacerbating the issue in the future, I’ll leave that to others who are more knowledgeable than I to comment on that.

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#3

I am curious to see what others say. I went with hearing like yours for many years before my hearing got worse. I seemed to be hearing normal for a long time, sure I knew I could not spell that well, and I couldn’t understand Morse Code. Now I can’t function without my hearing aids.

#4

That is 100% true, not BS at all. That claim is backed by science, since if those parts of the brain that process hearing are not used (due to hearing loss not sending impulses to nerve / brain synapsis) then they are diverted to do something else. This is has been stated by a few of the Registered Providers here on Hearing Tracker whom we have come to respect and trust for their sharing information.

For those of us with more severe hearing loss than yours, we are told that brain focus on hearing will never return. Truly a case of “use it or lose it”.

My loss is due to firearms, construction equipment noise, loud concerts, and finally chemotherapy. I’m happy to be able to hear some sounds I was missing for years like violins, harps, cymbals, crickets, birds singing, children and women voices. I spent nearly $3000 and was quoted as high as $8000. Even if I had needed to spend that $8K, it would have been worth every penny.

Based on your statement here, there is no doubt they are worth $1800!

#5

You’re the only one that can answer that question.

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#6

I think the scare tactics are questionable for somebody with your mild of a loss. The basic idea is that if you can’t hear certain types of sounds, your brain will lose the ability to understand them. I don’t think that would apply to a loss as mild as yours. However, whether they’re worth it or not is strictly up to you. For comparison, I was told I was borderline for needing hearing aids by my audiologist. I got them and am satisfied, but I don’t really “need” them. In fact I forgot to put them on this morning because I was in a hurry.

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#7

imo> Clear out a small space in your forgotten storage drawer which is likely where they will end up. It’s not easy wearing hearing aids all the time.

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#8

I wear my hearing aids all the time and I feel naked without them, the same as with my glasses. I have learned that you have to will yourself into doing what needs to be done, then it becomes habit and then it becomes your normal life

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#9

I suspect only you can determine whether or not the hearing aids are worth it or not, based on how you hear with them.

As for HA options have you considered the Costco Kirkland Signature 8.0 model? I believe they are $1600 a pair in the US, and I would think quite suitable for your modest needs. They are very similar to the Rexton 80 8C and Signia Pure 312 7Nx models. You could compare what you are getting to what they offer, if you have reasonable access to Costco. Here is a link to the detailed specifications of the Signia 7nX. The KS 8.0 model does not have the tinnitus masking though.

Signia Pure 312 7Nx Detailed Specifications

#10

As you get older there is age-related hearing loss.

I’m wondering what motivated you to go get your hearing tested to begin with.

There are other options from full-on prescribed hearing aids available too. What they call PSAP’s (Personal Sound Amplifier Product). One well regarded one is The Bean from Etymotic. Another well regarded one here by one of the members is Sound World Solutions.

But your evidence right now is your own experience. You report improvement using HA’s. PSAP’s exist also for normal-hearing people.

Finally…you can enter your audiogram onto this site in your profile.

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#11

Your audiogram is far better than many on here, so in that respect, I’d say you were on the borderline.

It would come down to personal choice. The fact that you are asking is telling. You could probably do fine without but equally might find HAs helpful.

Do you think that your hearing has deteriorated over time or has it always been the same?

You didn’t mention how old you are, whether you were working and so on. If you’re are having difficulties due to the hearing loss then absolutely look at HAs.

Perhaps repeat the audiogram in a year’s time and revisit the question then?

As mentioned above, there is an element of use it or lose it to consider. It’s debatable as to whether that would impact you with a mild loss.

There isn’t a definitive answer! :slight_smile:

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#12

Some interesting opinions here. There are all kinds of statistics on how many people don’t use (or wear regularly) their hearing aids. If you think you “should” wear hearing aids, or worse yet if someone else (who you usually live with!) tells you that you “need” hearing aids, there’s probably a pretty good chance of being one of those statistics. Hearing aids are a bit of a hassle as everyone on this forum knows. But if YOU really want to hear better, not because someone else tells you you should get hearing aids, but from your own side you just really WANT to hear better, then the hassle factor isn’t a big deal because you appreciate the benefits of wearing hearing aids and hearing better. I think how well you do or don’t do with hearing aids depends on your attitude toward them.

#13

Sorry, I am 29… My best friend has 80% loss and is getting a Cochlear implant. He mentioned that I ask him to repeat himself a lot. Since the hearing test was free, I didn’t see why I shouldn’t get tested.

#14

Well, nobody can tell you not to, but if it was me, with your hearing loss, I would be tempted to manage it other ways, with controlling my sound environment as much as possible and using a couple of devices like Bluetooth phone device and maybe even a Walker Game Ear type thing to give me a little boost for some situations.

About controlling your environment I mean, for example, if you know you are going to talk to someone, try to do it before you go into the loud place, or after leaving. It also helps to alert your friends that you have mild hearing loss and would they help you by talking to you more when it’s quiet and less when it’s loud. I would definitely tell someone you are talking to them now because when you go in the loud place you won’t be able to hear them as well.

Also, don’t go to the loud places as much. :grin:

#15

My spouse can hear perfectly fine and asks me to repeat. Apparently I mumble and don’t enunciate clearly. It all sounds perfectly fine in my head though :slight_smile:

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#16

Interesting that you attribute part of your hearing loss to chemo. So do I. 5 years ago, I had chemo for leukemia and I noticed my hearing got “dull” during this time. I also have nerve damage in my feet. (Numb ears & numb feet.)

Later I when checked the chemo drugs I was given I found that about 7% of patients treated with Idamycin suffer nerve damage.

As for the leukemia, I got lucky – because of a fungal sinus infection, I was transferred to Mayo Clinic in Phoenix where, after the infection and other complications were cleared-up, I got a bone marrow, stem-cell transplant. I am now leukemia-free. Otherwise, I would have had only 3 years to live because leukemia adapts to the chemo drugs.

But unfortunately my hearing is only marginally better with aids (currently KS-7).

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#17

First, I’m glad you are here to reply and are now cancer free, congratulations.

My ENT who directed my cancer treatment was the first to state that my hearing was likely impaired by the chemo, later confirmed by the hematologist / oncologist who did the chemo. I also looked at the packet of info I received pre-chemo that stated hearing loss was very possible.

I was given Cisplatin, and I have learned that all platinum based chemo drugs are highly ototoxic. I’m thrilled to be cancer free, alive and healthy, and my hearing aids enhanced my life tremendously, I’m more than ready to put them in each morning, and only take them out to shower or go to bed. I never find them a burden.

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#18

Hearing aids like a CPAP machine are typically a use it for the rest of your life thing. 29 seems like a pretty young age to start down that road with hearing aids. Perhaps you may want to go to a Costco for a second opinion. They do not charge for the tests, and do not work on commission. They should give you an unbiased opinion on what to do.

#19

It’s BS-ish. Waiting a long time can certainly cause problems, but your loss is mild. Don’t feel pressured to get them immediately for this reason alone.

That being said, if I had your loss I’d probably get hearing aids. At the end of the day, it is up to how much you are struggling and how much benefit vs hassle you perceive from the hearing aids.

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#20

I don’t see them as much of a hassle. Unless I feel like listening to music at my desk, then I have to yank them out for my earbuds. (I don’t blast them, I keep them around 40% volume)

I do have a appointment with Costco Hearing Center for a second opinion this Saturday. I am curious if their results will be the same as the one from my other test.