Should I choose the newer technology or the higher number of channels?

Hearing Aids
#1

Hello all!

I’m single sided deaf since birth and developed moderate hearing loss in the good ear last November (fluctuant hearing loss over the years, last episode the corticosteroids had no effect)

Tried today my first hearing aid ever! and I have some questions.

  1. I was hearing myself through the HA, is that normal, as in my own voice was getting amplified and put in my ear. Doesn’t feel natural. Is that the case of all the HAs or was just a bad programming for my demo. (We don’t have HA trials in my country - so I only tried it for 15 minutes). Will I just get used to that?

  2. Is there a huge difference in terms of number of channels between brands?

Currently I have two options (what’s available in my country and within my budget): Starkey livio AI 2000 and Widex Moment 110. Both are great from what I read but the huge number of channels difference is making the decision hard.

The livio is superseded by the evolv. So it’s a last-gen model but it’s a 20 channels hearing aid. (I think the Starkey livio is the same generation as the Widex older evoke model)

The Widex Moment has kind of newer technology but it’s only 6 channels!

Which one should I choose the newer technology or the higher number of channels?

#2

There’s no need to choose a HA on how many channels it has, 6 is more then enough, Signia has 48! It’s all marketing department hype, get the one that works best for you, so you’ll need to do a trial between them.

It’ll take a weeks sometimes months to get used to using HAs, so yes hearing your own voice is normal, you will get used to it over time.

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#3

Googled around in your country on where you can get a free thearing aids trial for a month with a small fee. Ask if you are not sure. The channel thing is all marketing as @tenkan mentioned here. Read more about hearing loss in this forum and you will understand more on your type of hearing loss.
Is always advisable to test the HA before buying.

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#4

Have you thought of getting an cochlear implant for your right ear? It takes time for your brain to get used to the sounds. 30 days minimum. It’s the technology that matters. Some people do fine with basic hearing aids. You need to get the hearing aids with the highest technology you can afford. Are you using full shell ear molds?

#5

Thanks @dankailo, @tenkan.
I am going in tomorrow for a trial for the second HA and will decide based on that.
I only tested the livio so far, the voices were too artificial/mechanical for me, will see tomorrow if the widex moment is any different. (for now that is my only negative for the livio)

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#6

Regarding the CI yes, I was devastated and angry with my hearing loss in my only working ear that I went in for three opinions for CI for the other ear - to ask whether I need it or not, will work for me or not. (as in brain plasticity after no stimulation ever).

I was told a CI in my right is worth it given the other ear is prone to failure any moment now (with the unknown fluctuant HL over the years) and HA in my left would work fine with the CI.
I did an MRI and other tests indicated that my nerve somehow works and is intact and a fancy test called “Auditory Tractography” showed the nerve connections to the auditory areas within the brain are all of normal appearances.

The ear mold, I don’t think my Audi recommended any BTE aids just RIC, so I assume I won’t be using molds, right?

#7

In terms of channels required to shape gain to a hearing loss, yes 6 is fine. But one of the ways a hearing aid reduces noise is by reducing the volume of the channels where noise is detected. If you have 20 channels, you can be a bit more specific about where you can reduce noise while maintaining speech than you can if you have just 6.

Yes, it’s normal to hear your own voice through the hearing aids and it’s normal for that not to sound natural at first. You’ll get used to it. There may be some programming and acoustic fit playing into it, but a lot of it is just that you haven’t been used to hearing yourself that way.

It is unlikely that he would be a candidate given that it was congenital and has never been aided.

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#8

Even if your bad ear was not aided for a long time, maybe a powerful BTE aid might with a full shell ear mold, you might hear some sounds to help lower your chances of getting dementia as you get older as you use both aids.

My left ear was not aided until l was 25 years old. Since then l have worn two aids for 40 years now.

#9

There is no research to suggest that aiding a hearing loss like that is protective against dementia and some rational reasons to expect that it would not be.

In addition to the decades of deprivation on that side, including through the critical period for speech development, the most common cause of profound unilateral congenital hearing loss is a hypoplastic auditory nerve.

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#10

I don’t have ANY hearing in my right to be aided, the curve in my audiogram is a shadow curve (probably where I raised my hand but I was more like feeling vibrations through the inner ear/skull tunneled to my good ear - audi is aware of that)

The surgeon I consulted said based on the MRI and Auditory Tractography my nerve and cochlea is okay and I’m a candidate. Btw we’re not exactly sure it’s congenital, parents discovered at 4yo (no prior hearing tests at all) but I have no memory of ever hearing with it not even the extremely loud sounds.
I’ve seen cases (on reddit/facebook) with birth SSD get CI and some develop perfect speech discrimination in the implanted ear while some just gain about 50%, of course everyone is different and “expectations are the root of all heartache”.

I can probably attach my radiology report, if that’s not against the forum rules, and you’re interested to read more about it.

#11

So are you going for it?

I’m interested in the reddit stories. If there are individuals with pre-lingual SSD ear implanted decades later in life who are developing perfect speech discrimination, their doctors need to publish these cases. What exists in the literature right now suggests poor outcomes after extended deafness, and decisions are made based on that evidence. To expand possibly beneficial care to others, the data needs to be published.

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#12

Agreed on the studies.
I am determined to do it. Will see how I settle in my HA first while I file in my papers for insurance for the CI.

Also OP update:
I went on a Widex Moment demo today and liked it so much, it was better than the Starkey Livio for my taste. Voices sounded natural and was hearing less feedback of my own voice.
I didn’t really see the difference in the number of channels. Thanks everyone for your help and your encouragement to decide only after testing.

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#13

Love your positive approach to the CI and new HA. Keep us posted on your progress.

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#14

ceteris paribus, I would take widex in a heart beat. They always had a. very comfy sound

#15

The trouble is at Costco you have to buy them first! then try them out,but,you have 6 months to return,

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#16

My HCP (not Costco) still required me to pay for the aids up front with the stipulation that I have a 30 day money back guarantee.

#17

At least you have 6 months to try before returning if not suitable. We have only 1 week to try for a small fees. You are very lucky.

#18

I was born three months premature and my birth weight was 2 pounds. When l was 4-5 years old, my parents and l were living in Houston, Texas. My mother took me to the best doctors in Houston (this was in the late 1950s) and all of the doctors said l have brain damage. I am thankful that my mother didn’t believe those doctors. It was a babysitter that told my mother that l have hearing loss. I got my first audiogram (l don’t have a copy of it) and my mother showed these same doctors and they stand by their diagnosis that l have brain damage. There was nothing wrong with my brain. So l got my first body hear aid for my right ear when l was 5 years old. I had a ear infection when l was 3 years old. My left ear was untrained until l was 25 years old. I got a pair of bte analog hearing aids that were powerful enough for my severe hearing loss when l was 25 yrs old. My best ear is my right ear which is trained and l don’t want a cochlear implant for my best ear.

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#19

New study published in ‘The Lancet’ shows that wearing hearing aids decreases your risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s disease to essentially the same level as a person with normal hearing.

#20

Does it? I’d have to go back and read it again, but doesn’t it show that people with hearing loss who wear hearing aids are less likely to have dementia than people with hearing loss who don’t wear hearing aids? That’s not quite the same thing. I can think of some reasons why individuals with dementia might be less likely to get hearing aids.

Don’t get me wrong, I hope hearing aids DO treat dementia. But we have to be careful here–this is a big claim.

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