Hi everyone. I have had a drastic loss in hearing according to my newest audiology assessment. I wear Costco’s Resounds and Jabras. They were both reprogrammed to support my new assessment. No matter which pair I use, I am struggling to hear. I was in a casual group setting last week and could not understand most of what was discussed. It was so depressing. I returned home earlier than intended. I am now turning down activity requests because it is too tiring to figure out what people are saying. I am not convinced that I am getting the proper care. I see an ENT and I get assessments done at Costco and at the ENT office. The Costco tech is the one who set the alarm on my loss over last year. My question is, -= Are there places you’d recommend to get top notch assessment and to check my ears? Do I need to move to a more advance HA? Costco is reasonable but for my severe loss, maybe they just cannot give me the support I need. The tech adjusted them so that what I hear is very loud, very tin like and irritating, but I cannot distinguish words. TV sounds awful as well as my streams. More and more, I have to give myself a stress break and turn off the HAs to at least enjoy natural mellow sounds.
Ruthie, do NOT panic here! Look at my audiogram compared to yours. Yeah. Flat as cat on a hot tin roof. Granted, I have never gone the Costco route cuz I look at my audiologist as a partner for life (until I move or they retire).
I’ve had HUGE success with the Phonak Lumity Life aids, and am now wearing their 312-battery RIE, with the behind-the-ear bean in PRECIOUS PINK!!! They rock! Like a fashion statement. I brag about them all the time.
Well, back to YOU. Sorry for that diversion. You don’t mention your age or if hearing loss runs in the family, but for many folks, hearing loss can take stair-step changes if it runs in the family or if you’ve had some health or environmental issue at play here.
The BIGGER decision you have to wrestle with is: where to go. I honestly think that if you could find a patient, competent audiologist you could be fit with aids for your audiogram. You SHOULD have some crispness and clarity for better speech comprehension, but it should NOT be hard, harsh or painful. If it is, the aids are not adjusted right. Since few of us are DIYers here, we depend on the fitter. That tells me your current Costco tech is not an option going forward.
Mainly do not give up. Persevere like a pitbull. If you can articulate what you don’t like about the aids, someone competent can adjust frequencies or even set up dedicated programs for various environments. I don’t think you have an ENT issue so much as a FITTING issue for a pair of decent aids. Yes, Costco sells these! But if the fitter can’t hit the sweet spot for you, go elsewhere.
Bluejay,
Your thoughtout response feels like one giant hug. It is so calming. And yes I did check out your audiogram. I believe that hearing loss runs in my family; however no one wore HAs because of the stigma in those days. I have suffered with ear aches all of my life. Then about a year ago maybe, I was at a very loud event and suffered permanent hearing loss. So here I am. So, I hear you saying that the fitting is more key to supporting loss, than maybe the brand of HA. That is helpful.
That is mostly correct, but I DO feel that brand is extremely important. The challenge is to find what make/model deliver the kind of hearing experience that’s optimum for you. I’ve tried Widex, Oticon, AGX (no longer around), Starkey, and Phonak to arrive at the aid that delivers the most natural hearing for me.
I hope you can explore other brands, but also find a fitter or audiologist who is patient and wants to deliver the best aid for YOU (not what he/she/the audiogram would dictate).
GOOD LUCK and persevere!