Why is there no discussion about Miracle-Ear hearing aids?

Hearing Aids
#1

I just found this forum recently and I’m wondering why there is no discussion about ME. I ASSume it’s due to cost.

I have insurance that will cover $3000 so I thought that I would got for the gusto. I’ve been to several HE tests and have tried ME and Oticon More hearing aids.

The ME’s sounded the best and it was amazing what the HA did for me…almost made my wife cry. I’m also not sure if insurance will pay for HAs that I just purchase from a store.

I have never had HAs and I have such loud tinnitus that discussions with other noise around I can just forget about understanding either unless one is much louder than others.

Am I crazy? Should I be looking at other brands? The Oticon HAs sound didn’t seem real like the ME HA do.

Suggestions? (get a brain check also?)

Thanks all!!

#2

On the one hand, hearing is so subjective that what is “right” is whatever makes you happy. But, you’re here asking questions so I’ll try to provide some info and say what I’d likely do in your situation.
1)Providing your audiogram is useful. Go to top of page, click on forum and click on My Hearing Tests.
2) Am I interpreting correctly that your insurance covering $3000 means that you’d still owe Miracle Ear another $3000 or so? If so, you would still have less out of pocket cost by going to Costco ($1500-$2000) even if your insurance didn’t cover it. (Don’t guess what your insurance will cover. Call them and find out)
3)Before you commit to a purchase, make sure you understand return policy and what your getting for your money. (hearing aid maintenance, cleanning, warranty, replacement domes, filters, deductibles on warranty, etc.)
I’ve never been to Miracle Ear, so take that into consideration, but I’m biased against them from the advertising I’ve seen from them. If it were me, I’d go check out Costco. However, the most important part of getting hearing aids is the ability to work with the person doing the adjusting so if you’re totally satisfied with Miracle Ear, it’s reasonagble to go that way. I don’t think trying other brands is necessary (Miracle Ear uses hearing aids made by WS Audiology. Costco sells some made by them as well as other companies) but I do think you should understand exactly what you’re getting for your money and how that compares to other providers. Good luck! And keep us posted.

4 Likes
#4

My very limited experience with miracle ear made me look elsewhere

4 Likes
#5

Miracle Ear is a franchise and their hearing aids can only be programmed by a Miracle Ear office, so your choice of future adjustments is limited. In the past, their business model was primarily on sales so some people, as mentioned, felt pressured. The product is a good product with good technology. Comparing to Costco, your fitting success will depend on who does the fitting. I have seen terrible ME people and I have seen fantastic ME people. Choose a provider you feel comfortable with and one that uses Best Practices.

4 Likes
#6

Attached is my hearing test. Was tested at 3 locations and all test results were very similar…I actually was kind of surprised!!

Unfortunately the closest Costco is 1.75 hours away, 1 way. I met 1 company that sells many different kinds but the owner was so intelligent especially when he told me that NO INSURANCE PAYS FOR HEARING AIDS unless federal/military, he just thought I didn’t know what I was talking about. (I have it in writing! email & handbook) Yea so if I bought them at Costco I definitely would not want to go to this guy. He even charged me for coming and getting my hearing test because he said insurance would not pay for it!

I’m asking about MEs since I have tried Oticon More1 and the ME ME3 (ME Energy iR 3 XP-S) and the ME ones seemed more natural and almost removed my tinnitus!!!

Please shoot me some suggestions for anyone and I will check into them… Expensive year…20 year old house, just fixed 2 leaks in 2 cars, replaced washer & dryer and now the heat pump!! So yea…I’ll take all the money saving help I can get!! :grinning:

#7

Again, if you really liked Miracle Ear, feel free. As gorgeguy pointed out, nobody besides Miracle Ear will be able to adjust them. If you want to try essentially the same hearing aid, look for somebody that sells Signia hearing aids.
Your hearing test did not appear. It is not done as an attachment, but by filling in chart that is reached through links I described earlier.

3 Likes
#8

Would much rather attach (but I guess it doesn’t work) than to go through manually filling in numbers.

I inserted all but the bone not sure how to read the chart

#9

@crash1 - Welcome to the Forum!

FWIW, I’ve just spent 1/2 hour reading what I could find about Miracle-Ear: the products, as well as the company. All the material I encountered reads like copy for an infomercial (including their Wikipedia entry!). Think PowerLift toilet seats, or Acorn stair elevators.

I found nothing that even remotely resembled technical information or specifications for their hearing aids. I don’t know what their market share is, or what their target market is compromised of, but Miracle-Ear is probably at the end of the spectrum opposite to the kinds of products and people represented in our Forum.

That’s probably why you don’t - and won’t - hear very much about them here.

My $0.02/YMMV

3 Likes
#10

Thanks. Your loss is interesting. I have no audiological training, but I’d describe it as uneven. The fact that you saw big improvements suggests that they can help you a lot. As others have mentioned, we’re not big fans of Miracle Ear here. You can get very similar hearing aids from anybody who carries Signia hearing aids (or Rexton from Costco)

#11

miracle hear sells rebranded signia hearing aids. They are a good aid, you may want to check zip hearing for dealers if you like this brand, I would buy it from other than miracle ear, it will be cheaper and won’t be locked.

4 Likes
#12

[EMBARRASSING SIDE NOTE: I find it both interesting and embarrassing that, having diligently read the “hits” I got after Quacking “Miracle Ear”, I came up with no information linking them to Signia.

Of course, when I do the Signia search on our site, it’s clearly stated that Signia make Miracle Ear hearing aids. But I was completely incapable of establishing the link based on what I was reading earlier this morning.]

1 Like
#13

marketing, they don’t want this known. They overcharge, lock the hearing aids , and prey on the elderly.

3 Likes
#14

https://www.ziphearing.com/hearing-aids/signia

2 Likes
#15

The information I saw tied Miracle Ear to Amplifon. I couldn’t find a link between Signia and either Miracle Ear or Amplify, but the Signia and Miracle Ear aids look similar from the photos.

1 Like
#16

Per this chart: https://hearinghealthmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/files/2016/10/mapbrand.jpg they use both Amplifon and Sivantos (Signia) I think new corporate name is WS Audiology since they merged with Widex.

Oops. Sorry for first bad link. My copy and paste didn’t take the first time.

1 Like
#18

Thanks, gents - now I don’t feel so silly that I missed the connection.:+1:t2:

#19

The ME Energy looks like a dead ringer of the Signia Styletto X. See the 2 pics below. If I were you, I’d find a Signia HCP in your area and trial the Styletto X to confirm that it sounds the same as the Energy. If so, I’d pick the Signia brand. Why?

  1. Because Signia is the originator of this HA and ME is just a licensee. I’d rather go with the OEM company and not the rebranding company.

  2. Secondly, Signia is one of the big 6 six HA mfgs (Signia is part of Sivantos, the other big 5 are Phonak, Resound, Oticon, Widex and Starkey), and ME is not on this big 6 list. So it’s more likely that you’ll find more Signia authorized HCPs to choose from while Miracle Ear as a franchise may have more limited options available.

  3. Don’t know if you’re a DIY person or not. If you are, or may want to have that as an option in the future if you’re so inclined, Signia HAs are not locked like ME HAs so it’s more likely that you can self program Signia HAs but you can’t with ME HAs.

  4. You are more likely to find more users of the Signia Styletto X on this forum to share and learn from than users of the ME Energy.

image
image512×672 81.7 KB

image
image1018×464 119 KB

1 Like
#20

The Styletto and other Signia aids are available at Costco under the Rexton brand.

https://www.costco.com/rexton.html

3 Likes
#21

A possible issue with Costco for the OP is tinnitus diagnosis and treatment. Here in Oregon (at least), hearing aid specialists (Costco) are forbidden to diagnose and treat tinnitus, including activating a hearing aid’s masking feature (unless there’s written authorization from a physician). https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/HLO/Documents/Tinnitus-FAQ-2018.pdf

2 Likes
#22

That is certainly a consideration. While I experience tinnitus, I’ve discovered over the years that just wearing my hearing aids reduces the effect. I’ve even noticed a dramatically reduced level of tinnitus since getting my Jabra aids a couple of months ago. Even when not wearing the aids I have noticed quite a lessening of the noise in my head.

My Jabra aids have the hardware for tinnitus management, but the Costco Smart Fit software doesn’t allow it to be implemented.

2 Likes
Resound LiNX Quattro RE61 - Amplifon locked?