Hi folks… I am relatively new to the site, but was wondering if anyone else here has a “reverse cookie bite” hearing loss & what type of aid works for you… I know it is extremely subjective, but I am having a hard time with finding anything affordable… the nearest Costco is 3+ hours away… it seems most products focus on high frequency loss or are ghastly expensive. I have low frequency loss in both ears and high frequency loss with slight tinnitus in my left ear…
I don’t have a reverse cookie bite hearing loss, but I DO have a loss in the low-frequencies - actually, a pretty flat loss throughout all frequencies - as you can see from my audiogram results below, and I can attest to the fact that it seems like it’s difficult to find hearing aids suitable for this type of loss. Or maybe it’s just difficult to find fitters who are skilled at fitting low-frequency losses. I suspect the latter is more likely the case. I tried one hearing aid at Costco. I started there first because the location was very close to my home and the prices were excellent. Unfortunately, after 2 months of wearing my hearing aid, and 9 fitting sessions, what I was hearing with the aided ear never even came close to sounding “ok” to me. I did ask the HIS at Costco if I could try another hearing aid, but she felt that none of them would work well for the low-frequency component of my hearing loss. (I’ve since learned that was incorrect, and she likely just didn’t know how to program hearing aids for my loss.) Ultimately, I ended up going to an audiologist who is quite a bit further away, but has 20+ years of experience and is a bilateral hearing aid user herself. She has a great deal of experience working with people with Meniere’s disease and otosclerosis, both conditions which are known to have significant amounts of low-frequency hearing loss. It still took several fitting sessions, but eventually things were tuned reasonably well. But…I did have to go with a more expensive aid: the Oticon Alta (NOT the Alta Pro).
Hearing aids ARE expensive generally, which is frustrating because those of us who use them usually NEED them to function, yet for some reason, most insurance companies seem to offer minimal or no coverage for them! I say this tongue in cheek, but it seems odd to me that hearing aids aren’t considered a necessity, but glasses are! Anyway, I digress. I’ve heard that most hearing aids are made for the standard ski slope/age-onset hearing loss, which can make it difficult for those of us with other types of losses to find audiologists who know how to fit our hearing losses.
As has been mentioned on many threads in this forum, the key is to find a good audiologist/HIS. Even the best of hearing aids won’t work for you if your fitter doesn’t know what he/she is doing! Have you considered contacting your local HLAA association (in the US) or CHHA (in Canada) to see if anyone there can recommend a good fitter for your type of hearing loss? Could you phone audiologists in your area to inquire as to whether or not they have experience working with low-frequency and reverse cookie bite losses? If you have a support group for meniere’s disease in your locale, they might have some insight, too, because from what I understand, low-frequency hearing loss often, but not always (!), accompanies meniere’s disease.
That’s my two-cent’s worth:) Hopefully others with much more knowledge and experience will be able to assist you more in this matter. Good luck!
So, does no one else have this type of hearing loss? That might explain why it’s been difficult to find information about low frequency loss & what type of aids seem to be better for it. I guess I’m just a little surprised that no one has any experience with it.
There are two Facebook sites that you might find helpful that are hosted by Dan Schwartz. “Reverse Slope Hearing Loss (new)” and “Dan Schwartz”. On the second site he has more general hearing discussions. He is an electrical engineer who experienced a hearing loss and then trained to become a hearing instrument specialist. Neil Bauman, PhD also has a website that provides a lot of information about reverse slope hearing losses, tinnitus, and ototoxic drugs. It is found at www.hearinglosshelp.com. These sites would have people who could relate to your loss since people with a reverse slope hearing loss often begin to lose some of their highs as they age and begin to resemble a reverse cookie-bite.
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There are two Facebook sites that you might find helpful that are hosted by Dan Schwartz. “Reverse Slope Hearing Loss (new)” and “Dan Schwartz”. On the second site he has more general hearing discussions. He is an electrical engineer who experienced a hearing loss and then trained to become a hearing instrument specialist. Neil Bauman, PhD also has a website that provides a lot of information about reverse slope hearing losses, tinnitus, and ototoxic drugs. It is found at www.hearinglosshelp.com. These sites would have people who could relate to your loss since people with a reverse slope hearing loss often begin to lose some of their highs as they age and begin to resemble a reverse cookie-bite.