Time for new hearing aids?

[ZCT]

I can’t hear soft spoken people, well I hear them I just can’t understand the words. I did expect them to last longer than a year and a half. Maybe they weren’t that good to begin with.
The audiologist wants to sell me a pair of Oticon Agil Pro Mine Rite for 7,577.00. Does that sound about right? The last ones were from a hearing aid dispenser so I thought I might need to try an audiologist.
I asked for a copy of hearing test to post and haven’t recieved them yet.

Thanks for the reply’s

I’m sure your audiologist would LOVE to sell you hearing aids for that much! But that is pretty out there. There are some amazing hearing aids on the market for $1000-$2000 less, that are top of the line.

It sounds to me like you made the mistake of buying aids that just were very basic last time around. Now they probably could be adjusted to do better, but for sure, if you start spending over $5,000 with technology that is around today, you’d probably do way better.

Sadly some hearing professionals think they are doing their patients a favor by recommending cheaper products. But often times the old saying is true, buy cheap, buy twice.

[hopeful1]

ZCT, I’m looking at a pair of Audibel Range Platinum for around $6900. Since I know you work with Starkeys, I’m wondering if that is in the right price range for these?

[wired]

if you are looking for a great set of hearing aids that is comfortable and delivers great sound i suggest the hearsource bte’s they have different styles for all types of hearing loss and i have only had to buy 3 aids in 10 years (i broke one and the other two are still going strong) for 2000 dollars a set its worth a try

Just read the fine print on their return policy before you order:D

[prodigyplace]

Just read the fine print on their return policy before you order:D

As ZCT quoted, but cheap buy twice.

The HearSource aids are probably not much better than your existing aids. It appears that you & I both have issues with speech and need some of the more advanced features.

The HearSource aids may be fine for some people who do not need advanced speech features.

[prodigyplace]

I can’t hear soft spoken people, well I hear them I just can’t understand the words. I did expect them to last longer than a year and a half. Maybe they weren’t that good to begin with.
The audiologist wants to sell me a pair of Oticon Agil Pro Mine Rite for 7,577.00. Does that sound about right? The last ones were from a hearing aid dispenser so I thought I might need to try an audiologist.
I asked for a copy of hearing test to post and haven’t recieved them yet.

Thanks for the reply’s

Gail,

I just looked and those seem to be their top of the line aids. i can get Starkey Wi Series i110 from my dispenser for $2400 each. That includes free audiogram & bi-annual checkups for the life of the aids.

I agree with others that the price seems a little steep. A prior audiologist quoted me $6990 for a pair of Phonak Ambra aids.

This is all assuming your price is in US Dollars.

[Normandy]

Gail,

I would go back to your original dispenser and ask them to try to readjust them for you again. If you get no satisfaction from that dispenser, then I would call the manufacturer and ask to be referred to another hearing professional in your area that may be better at programming your specific brand of hearing aid.

And for what it is worth, I am a quite satisfied HearSource hearing aid wearer. I really appreciate the personal programming aspect of their system.

[ZCT]

ZCT, I’m looking at a pair of Audibel Range Platinum for around $6900. Since I know you work with Starkeys, I’m wondering if that is in the right price range for these?

I’m making an assumption that this is top of the line Wi hearing aids here (since Audibel recently changed some of their names around). On that basis I’d say you could do a little better.

I mean they are not ripping you off at that price, but they (or you) can do better. I’ve seen that line of aids range from low to high $6K, heck I’ve seen it over $7K.

Hearing aid companies like any other business will negotiate. Heck I negotiated my wife’s Chiropractor the other day, nothing is set in stone.

[ZCT]

Gail,

I just looked and those seem to be their top of the line aids. i can get Starkey Wi Series i110 from my dispenser for $2400 each. That includes free audiogram & bi-annual checkups for the life of the aids.

I agree with others that the price seems a little steep. A prior audiologist quoted me $6990 for a pair of Phonak Ambra aids.

This is all assuming your price is in US Dollars.

That’s a pretty awesome price, I’ve not seen it that low. I better call Starkey HQ and have them go bust those low price bandits

[prodigyplace]

That’s a pretty awesome price, I’ve not seen it that low. I better call Starkey HQ and have them go bust those low price bandits

Actually, it’s a Starkey partnership. Check out http://www.clearvaluehearing.com I just become a Farm Bureau Associate member for $40 per year. The list I saw had all the Starkey brands.

Regarding your other comment, it appears that the Audibel Range platinum is the Wii Series i110.

[prodigyplace]

That’s a pretty awesome price, I’ve not seen it that low. I better call Starkey HQ and have them go bust those low price bandits

Look here http://www.clearvaluehearing.com/Provider.aspx Maybe you need to sign up with them.

[Don]

I can’t hear soft spoken people, well I hear them I just can’t understand the words. I did expect them to last longer than a year and a half. Maybe they weren’t that good to begin with.
The audiologist wants to sell me a pair of Oticon Agil Pro Mine Rite for 7,577.00. Does that sound about right? The last ones were from a hearing aid dispenser so I thought I might need to try an audiologist.
I asked for a copy of hearing test to post and haven’t recieved them yet.

Thanks for the reply’s

Have you gone back for adjustments? With a 1.5 year old aid you might just need some adjustments, unless there are other features that your current aids don’t have. Maybe your hearing has changed a little or maybe they were never tuned exactly right in the first place.

It’s worth a try before you drop some cash.

[Suzy]

Gail, I agree with Don, you should go back and see if an adjustment will help.

[lyndyb]

Gail, I agree with the others … before you buy new hearing aids, I’d see if the ones you have can’t be adjusted - or turned up a bit. That said, I can relate to what you’re saying about having difficulty understanding what people are saying. Like you, I’ve noticed that too, though my speech discrimination scores haven’t deteriorated a lot. My Widex Diva CIC’s are 7 years old, so I decided it was time to get new ones.

I’ve ordered the Agil Pro and am hoping that it’s my hearing aids that are aging and not my hearing. My audiologist recommended 3 hearing aids (Acto Pro, Agil Pro and the Starkey Series 7) and I went with the Agil Pro because they seemed geared toward better speech comprehension, which is my main priority. They were a little pricier than the Acto Pro, which he said is a close 2nd and has many patients who are very happy with them). I opted to pay a little more in hopes it will give me better results. It’s financially painful (I did plan for the purchase and allocated $ for this in a Flexislble Spending Account), but I work and feel it’s important to hear as well as possible.

Good luck to you in either getting your existing aids adjusted or getting new hearing aids that work better for you.

[Gail_43]

Thanks for all the reply’s. I just don’t think the guy that is doing my hearing aids is very good. He is the owner’s son. I have probably been back to have these adjusted 30 or 40 times in the last year and a half. Many times it is worse after he adjusts them. Since he is the owners son I don’t think it would do any good to complain. Can you get someone to program them that you didn’t buy them from?

[prodigyplace]

From what I understand, these aids are locked so they can only be programmed my NuEar dealers. The web site at http://www.nuear.com/locations/ may help you find any dealer close by. If you cannot find a dealer, it might be worth calling Starkey since they own NuEar. Their number is (800) 328-8602. I know they helped me find a Micro Tech dealer. I would expect another dealer could help you.

Without knowing your audiogram, it is difficult to say whether your current aids could be adjusted for your loss. Did you get your copy if your audiogram yet?

[Gail_43]

Yes, I just got it.

[prodigyplace]

Hmm. It looks like the loss is mainly in the area that affects speech recognition. I would be interested in comments from professionals here on the forum.

Thank you for the additional information.

[lohearn]

Thanks for all the reply’s. I just don’t think the guy that is doing my hearing aids is very good. He is the owner’s son. I have probably been back to have these adjusted 30 or 40 times in the last year and a half. Many times it is worse after he adjusts them. Since he is the owners son I don’t think it would do any good to complain. Can you get someone to program them that you didn’t buy them from?

Yes you can. Due to moving we had to find a new audi for my son and he programs the aid we bought elsewhere all the time. A new place may want to do an up to date audiogram on you prior to the programming.

[sushikid]

Gail, I agree with the others … before you buy new hearing aids, I’d see if the ones you have can’t be adjusted - or turned up a bit. That said, I can relate to what you’re saying about having difficulty understanding what people are saying. Like you, I’ve noticed that too, though my speech discrimination scores haven’t deteriorated a lot. My Widex Diva CIC’s are 7 years old, so I decided it was time to get new ones.

I’ve ordered the Agil Pro and am hoping that it’s my hearing aids that are aging and not my hearing. My audiologist recommended 3 hearing aids (Acto Pro, Agil Pro and the Starkey Series 7) and I went with the Agil Pro because they seemed geared toward better speech comprehension, which is my main priority. They were a little pricier than the Acto Pro, which he said is a close 2nd and has many patients who are very happy with them). I opted to pay a little more in hopes it will give me better results. It’s financially painful (I did plan for the purchase and allocated $ for this in a Flexislble Spending Account), but I work and feel it’s important to hear as well as possible.

Good luck to you in either getting your existing aids adjusted or getting new hearing aids that work better for you.

I saw you are trying Agil Pro now, how’s that it sounds compared to the Acto Pro?I am now trying the Acto Pro Power BTE now and feels like the sounds are about the same as Agil Pro that I tried before this. I have a severe hearing loss. The reason that I choose to try Acto Pro Power BTE first is because my audiologist told me to try the BTE first and see how do I like it, and for BTE, we can use my current earmold and don’t have to make a new earmold for RITE type, my audi said that I have to pay extra money for RITE earmold because they have to specially made it for power mold (is it true?). Personally I want to buy the RITE type if I have decided which one to buy (ACTO Pro or Agil Pro). Also, can you please tell me how much the price that you got for AGIL PRO? I want to make a deal hopefully next week and I really need help on the price so I know the real price of it and I don’t want get ripped off by my audi…it happened a lot nowadays in this economic situation and I am not economically stable now but I need hearing aids to be able to hear, so that’s why I am thinking of choosing ACTO PRO over AGIL PRO because it cost less and sounds the same for me. I don’t know if the extra features on AGIL PRO like binaural processing and more bandwidth/frequencies will help or make difference me as I have severe hearing loss.

Anyone, please help…truly appreciate it.

[HIP_Matt]

I’m sure your audiologist would LOVE to sell you hearing aids for that much! But that is pretty out there. There are some amazing hearing aids on the market for $1000-$2000 less, that are top of the line.

It sounds to me like you made the mistake of buying aids that just were very basic last time around. Now they probably could be adjusted to do better, but for sure, if you start spending over $5,000 with technology that is around today, you’d probably do way better.

Sadly some hearing professionals think they are doing their patients a favor by recommending cheaper products. But often times the old saying is true, buy cheap, buy twice.

Of course, entry level hearing aids that are properly fit can out perform top of the line devices that are not properly fit. Based on the nature of your hearing loss I would recommend that you have a clinic perform speech mapping verification(or more commonly known as real ear measurement). A number of tests can be done to determine if you are getting enough amplification in the all important 1000Hz to 4000Hz range for different levels of speech including soft speech. Do you remember if this testing was done for you ? At some point during the first 30 to 60 days of a new fitting this testing should be completed so you and the fitter will know if the aids are “matched” to your hearing loss.
My advice in the future is to not purchase hearing aids from a dispenser that does not do or know how to do this testing.