I’m considering the Phonak 312t’s from Costco. Mainly because my ‘hearing damaged at birth’ wife has gone from ~$10K Audiologist HA’s to the ~$2K Costco HA’s with very good results. (2 sets now since the dog ate the first ones. AFTER the Costco ‘no questions asked’ replacement warranty ran out of course!)
But the primary reason I ask this question is because the Tinnitus Masking feature is disabled on the Costco version of this HA, and I would gladly pay more for the full-featured version from our ENT if I could be reasonably assured that this feature has indeed worked for a large percentage of the patients that have/use them.
My ENT’s Audiologist is EXTREMELY non-committal in regards to the effectiveness of this feature, and that gives me great concern to it’s actual value.
Tinnitus seems to be one of those maladies often treated by the ‘put a blindfold on, spin around and pin the tail on the donkey’ remedies. From my perspective, it appears to be a “hope system” that has no real basis in science behind it. Given the vast number of sufferers, (and the cash we’d pay to free of this monkey) you’d think someone out there would have a clue by now.
There is clearly a profit in it, and we all know the medical industry’s best inventions are driven by corporate greed on the backs of an idealistic and intelligent workforce. (Doctors, nurses,…audiologists, etc.)
So please…anyone and everyone who has tinnitus AND has a tinnitus masking feature on their HA’s. This is your opportunity to help everyone like me. PLEASE reply with your honest and detailed appraisal of your HA’s and this feature.
If you have also/or used tinnitus therapy programs like competing sonic feedback and similar programs (none of that homeopathic crap that some of us {yes, I include me} have wasted money on) I’d love to hear your recommendations pro or con.
We all thank you in advance.