$500 for reprogramming seems outrageous to me. I wonder for those of us who have medicare advantage plans if we submitted a claim if that would affect the amount that could be charged. Of course the audiologist could always refuse service if they didn’t want to accept payment. But then they might have signed up with medicare and agreed to accept payment. There are so many questions that could be asked its mind boggling especially when you are a procrastinator like me searching for perfection and so doesn’t purchase anything.
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This and so many other reasons are why I self programmed from the beginning.
I am so sorry you are getting thrown under the bus.
Were the hearing aids returned to you with your original programming in them?
Hang in there and good luck.
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This is why it’s a good idea to have Target software and Noahlink wireless . You could save the fitting that was on the aid just in case you need it.
I bit the bullet when I first needed HAs and got expert programming from a great audiologist, and tweaks while the tweaks were covered. I didn’t start DIY programming until after working with professionals. I was scared to have a totally ignorant fool tinkering with my adjustments without the correct initial setup. I think now I have advanced from being a totally ignorant fool to being simply an ignorant fool tinkering. This forum helps a lot.
The way people struggle with hearing aid prices and programming makes me sad and angry. People deserve fundamental support for their wellbeing. My actions in how I manage being partially deaf are kind of a protest, in my mind.
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Hi Cohen, what you say makes sense. We do all need to have our own ways to protest. I had no idea until I found this forum that it is possible to do our own programming and I am curious now to do it myself.
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Will have to look into that. Just now learning about diy programming.
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You can get a copy of Target here just by asking.
Then you need a NOAHlink Wireless HA Bluetooth Programmer like this one.
You can search around to find the best price or make the guy an offer .
You can find out how to use it from the people here. They’re really helpful.
Hope that helps
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Thanks for this information! Perhaps I will join the people who do their own programming. It would be a challenge and a way to rebel against the ridiculous high prices of paying someone else.
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Hi Monteith, DIY is certainly doable for some folks. I don’t know about other manufacturers’ programs because I’ve only owned Phonak hearing aids recently. Phonak has clear indications of recommended settings. I am very careful to watch those limits. I’m deaf enough that some audiologists have recommended semi-linear amplification. I do hear better with that. It does, however, exceed some recommended amplification cutoffs.
That is part of the reason I’ve been very careful to work with audiologists as I program. I sometimes go lower, but I never go higher in amplification than they have programmed. I don’t know your audiogram, so you may not need the caution I just mentioned.
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Hello @cohen, I wouldn’t worry too much about exceeding the volume/MPO Barb, the first time being fitted with my Naida P90’s by my excellent A.uD, whom is very supportive of my DIY, and usually has the computer screen turned towards me whilst doing any adjustments… Anyhow, I asked why there was an warning exclamation mark on the Target screen, MPO had exceeded 132db on my left sided Naida, she just said, “It doesn’t matter, it means nothing, and don’t worry about it…” So, I haven’t worried about it since, I trust her implicitly, and that was almost 2 1/2 years ago, with no apparent damage since… Mind you, there isn’t much residual hearing left to damage 
but, I haven’t noticed any downturn in my hearing, in fact since then, I transferred all the settings via Target, from a set of Naida M70’s that had REM done by a NHS A.uD, (Different A.uD) into my Naida P90’s, and its the best I have heard in over 30 years! MPO warning is still up though… Cheers Kev 
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Well, I have severe to profound hearing loss in one ear and moderate to severe in the other ear. It does seem like a good idea to protect whatever hearing we have since we could lose more due to over amplifying. My original hearing loss was due to an infection and some of it was inherited, but I am sure loud noise made it worse.
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That really concerns me. Enormously.
If you are achieving that level then it seems there is a risk of injury to your hearing.
If you are not achieving that level then perhaps there is something wrong with your domes or otherwise with the physical configuration of your hearing aids.
Seems like one or the other is likely occurring.
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Hello @rkaplan, I wouldn’t worry about it, I’m not… But, at first I was slightly apprehensive, not anymore, I have dead spots, with no response above 3KHz on the left, and no response above 6KHz on the right, there is very little hearing left on the left side to actually damage, digital hearing aids don’t actually pump in those levels, if I recall correctly, it’s around a third of the actual MPO, perhaps our resident experts @Um_bongo or @Neville might explain this better (Again!) I use full shell silicon moulds or molds for our American cousins, with no vents, in conjunction with “Twin walled/Double walled tubing”, that gives me around an extra 5db of gain… and prevents most of the feedback, in fact I don’t get much feedback, unless I cup my ears, or occasionally a hat is too close for comfort, and I wear a lot of hats… I have quite a collection. Cheers Kev 
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Hi Kev, That’s interesting. The audis did seem casual about adjusting my fittings using semi-linear. I was very surprised to see how much amp there was for 80dB sounds. Of course, loud sounds may not last a long time, and the issue is (loudness x duration) in part. My sensitivity may also come from my awareness that noise-induced hearing loss has been shown associated with changes in the gene where I carry the mutation. Obviously, with my loss, it’s not simply about noise. But I sometimes wonder how sensitive I am to noise damage. I’ll never know, and life is too short to worry about everything–just key things. It reminds me of a joke I heard about someone asking for a blessing from a religious leader, who said, “may you be troubled by many small things.” So the person receiving this blessing naturally asked, “What kind of blessing is that?!” And the religious leader replied, “Would you prefer to be troubled by one BIG thing?” Barb
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Thank you for the reply Barb, and the joke … It’s feasible, you could have recruitment, if you have a strong aversion to loud noise? I have this, but it has gradually abated over the years, my loss was SSNHL (it was bilateral) a viral flu (Russian Flu to be precise) My Doctor made a fundamental mistake, and gave me a decongestant, he should have given me a steroid injection, he did apologise, it’s the one, and only time I have had an apology from the medical profession, for that reason alone, I never sued his ass, he thought or assumed it was a normal flu, we all make mistakes, and he was man enough to admit it, so I forgave him… For the first few years (over 30 years now) I couldn’t go anywhere with loud noise, busy pubs or clubs where a no go area, if I was in a pub and it got very busy, I had to leave… Loud noise was now painful, over the intervening years, I have acclimatised, but if it’s exceptionally loud for long periods, I become overwhelmed, and just leave, of course the early years where all analog aids, and far more linear, digital aids, especially Phonak, tend to cut out most of the offending background noise, ‘‘tis probably why I like Phonak? Cheers Kev
I have a fairly strong recollection of answering a question at some length about whether/how hearing aids might cause damage not SO long ago, but I cannot find it. The search function on this forum does leave something to be desired, but I’m reasonably good with google and I still can’t get it to come up. 
In short, however, it’s common to push gain up enough to get that warning when you’re dealing with severe/profound losses. As long as the hearing aids are fit appropriately to prescriptive targets and are not way above child targets (which are louder than adult targets anyway) I wouldn’t be concerned about causing more loss.
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Cheers KevHats!
Two worries…
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darn mask straps snagging my hearing aids when I take the mask off. Thanks to the lighter restrictions in Canada now. I have 2 hospital visits this week. I’ll wear mask in the hospital…and be careful
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rain. I feel so vulnerable with my hearing aids on in the rain.
Just got a new Tilley hat. I really like it. Tilley in Canada was sold. I don’t think the new ones are worth wearing; bought one of the old ones I found for sale. It’ll work well in the canoe…
DaveL
Toronto
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Update. I complained to customer service at the hospital where the audiologist works about the $500 reprogramming fee. I then contacted the audiologist in writing and said I just want to verify, is it $500 for reprogramming. He got back with me and said he made a mistake in telling me it was $500 and that he was quoting a price for programming of a new purchase. He said it would be $50 per 15 minutes of service.
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I don’t understand how it helps two sets of hearing aids without any advanced technology. My first hearing aids were Audeo Marvel M50. With them I could hear birds singing better and I could hear timer on electric range when food was ready but other than that they were useless.
Now I have purchased a pair of Lumity 90 with option to return until mid August if not satisfied. Wiped out my savings account but when someone leaves me a voicemail I can actually tell what they are saying. These arent perfect but they are far and away light years better than old ones.
I don’t like living without any financial reserves for emergency but I also didn’t like being out of touch with family and the world. So I would take one pair of these to two pair of inefficient ones.
I confess i haven’t read the entire thread so maybe I missed something.
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