Hearing Aids

[mnoble485]

I could have sworn there was a thread about this started by Ronnie E but I couldn’t find it. Anyhow, appointment scheduled for this week with an Audiologist and I’m anticipating an aha moment like I had when I finally got glasses and realized what Hi-Def TV was all about. I am tired of asking everyone to repeat themselves and the wife has been not so gently prodding me for a long time.

What is the state of hearing aids today, what do any of you have, what should I look out for? More questions than answers.
Plus, I need to get over myself.

Thanks guys,

Mike

[robin3mj]

Find an audiologist you can trust. Many of them are just salesmen/women unfortunately.

Bluetooth and phone integration is a game changer. My current ones are Starkey Livio and I’ve been happy with them, but the current tech is probably good across the board.

[Too Tall]

I wish you were close to Maryland I'd send you to a friend of a friend....she is wonderful. I've had severe tinnitus since college, I blame mahavishnu orchestra and Klipsch speakers. This may be the cause of my hearing loss.

I've got Oticon OPN (series), similar to Robin3mj I'm very happy. He is right, bluetooth is very well thought out esp. if you use IOS products. WRT Oticon, I have deep respect for the "how" they have designed their listening universe. The alogrythms and the electronics are pretty amazing.

Three years ago Oticon and a couple other mfgs. benefited when the processor chips became about 100 times faster. This means you are hearing very natural sound and their methods for noise canceling and/or focus are done without any pause or weirdness.

As an athlete you will want to lean into the no fault warranty. They will tell you to wear your HAs during exercise...don't. None of them are waterproof enough to resist heavy sweat and it will destroy them. I killed three sets under warranty until I called no more, this is wasteful. Get a set of bone conducting headphones. They are waterproof and bluetooth, use them for streaming your foo foo yoga classes and the Saturday Night Fever channel instead of killing your Aides.

FWIIW It will take your brain some months to adjust to more normal hearing. It is obnoxious at first than is completely natural. LOL who knew that there were so d@mn many crickets?

PM me if you want more info.

[e-RICHIE]

Some four years ago I bought some $7,000 plus Widex from an audiologist I trusted and still trust, but I never wear them because they don’t work for me despite countless readjustments. I figure after the plague comes and goes I’ll simply start shopping again, and this time as a more educated consumer.

[Clyde]

Costco

[robin3mj]

Josh good point on not wearing them on the bike. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m never going to be a good, chatty riding buddy.

Tried to wear mine for RAGBRAI last year because it was a work boondoggle, but that was a disaster. Better to keep them in your handlebar bag and put them in at rest stops. Lesson learned.

[bigbill]

Following. 27 years of steam turbines gave me a 30% loss and it won't get better.

[j44ke]

My father is a birdwatcher and uses a frequency shifter specifically for bird songs. He can’t hear a lot of the higher frequency but he knows the rhythms and patterns. The device has a directional Sennheiser mic connected to an electronic box that he can tune to a frequencies he can hear using an ear piece. Then he figures out the pattern and makes the identification from there. Chickadees in basso profundo as he says.

Not really a hearing aid as much as a specific listening tool, but it did show him how much he was missing and as a result will get fitted for an in-ear device for other occasions.

On the agenda for insurance reform during the Biden administration is increased coverage for hearing aids as part of health maintenance.

[Too Tall]

For the record even my audiologist agrees that COSTCO gives a valid exam full stop. What they sell and who is going to be there to support you for the next few years are both important. As with custom bicycles it is all about the relationship you have with the maker. The best audiologist are going to make adjustments and council you what to expect.

FWIIW (hard sell on the Oticon) Oticon has remote management software which means if you use an app shared with your doc. it is possible to both update your devices AND for them to make adjustments.

Because I'm vain, it is important that my aides are well hidden when I wear them. After three years I *think only one or two people EVER noticed and both were also wearing aides.

[rec head]

Josh, please tell me more about hearing aides for tinnitus. I've had it since apx kindergarten and nothing has sounded hopeful.

[Too Tall]

Josh, please tell me more about hearing aides for tinnitus. I've had it since apx kindergarten and nothing has sounded hopeful.

This might go better over a few whiskeys. Start with there is no cure, you know that right? My audiologist says and I'll confirm that simply wearing HAs reduces your awareness of tinnitus. There is no good explanation as to why. When I do not wear my aides, tinnitus comes to the foreground until I will it away.

A looong time ago I had delusions that tinnitus was curable and had some frank discussions with Sr. staff at University of MD ( https://www.umms.org/ummc/health-ser...itus-treatment ). They are or were considered hot AF in the than emerging field. They agreed with me and me with them that the best "cure" is pretending it does not bother you. As strange at that my seem, it has everything to do with stress and distraction caused by the tinnitus. If you are able to will yourself into being OK with it even accepting it, you win it goes away until you become aware of it again. Have you ever noticed that tinnitus goes away when you engage a very focused task? Same principle.

There are a bazillion methods for blotting out tinnitus with overlays of soothing sounds and even things like tone therapy. Ultimately, these teach you to accept tinnitus and not let it twist you.

Does any of this make sense?

[dashDustin]

If you are able to will yourself into being OK with it even accepting it, you win it goes away until you become aware of it again. Have you ever noticed that tinnitus goes away when you engage a very focused task? Same principle.

I had high hopes that there was a solution beyond this. Been dealing with it since senior year in high school.

[rec head]

I get it. I've been dealing with this for 40 years so pushing it out of my mind is pretty easy. I hear it when I think about it, like now but in general I don't. In my 20's there was a period when it got depressing but I'm over it.

What I'm curious about is do the HA's actually help you hear or do they just help you put the ringing out of your mind? My wife is always talking about hearing this bird or something and I'm oblivious. I think much of my hearing loss can be attributed to tinnitus. About once a year I do a little internet searching to see if there are any emerging treatments. Can't they just shoot stem cells in there or something?!?

[Too Tall]

I get it. I've been dealing with this for 40 years so pushing it out of my mind is pretty easy. I hear it when I think about it, like now but in general I don't. In my 20's there was a period when it got depressing but I'm over it.

What I'm curious about is do the HA's actually help you hear or do they just help you put the ringing out of your mind? My wife is always talking about hearing this bird or something and I'm oblivious. I think much of my hearing loss can be attributed to tinnitus. About once a year I do a little internet searching to see if there are any emerging treatments. Can't they just shoot stem cells in there or something?!?

HA's help with hearing loss, they help you hear. A bonus is for some reason lessen the focus on Tinnitus. Find a reputable audiologist and get tested. The good ones have a loaner program which is no fault. If you are not happy, you walk away only paying for the office visit and exam. That's how it worked for me. If you have insurance expect that to cover about 1/3 of the cost.

Don't wait. T.K. beat me about the head and shoulders until I took an appointment. Early intervention slows the loss. I've had about three years with these and had a full exam each year. My hearing has stayed the same.

Not to mention it gets old nodding your head at people because you are hearing about every third word ;) Plus, all those crickets. Who knew we were surrounded????

[Bobonli]

Because I'm vain, it is important that my aides are well hidden when I wear them. After three years I *think only one or two people EVER noticed and both were also wearing aides.

Tell me more about how you handled the vanity aspect. Please. I have crappy hearing, ever since high school. It's why I have two doctoral degrees and 3 professions, because I kept failing the hearing test and couldn't be a cop! Hearing loss for me is a result of too many ear infections that eventually ate away the tympanic membranes; one was rebuilt but now age-related hearing loss is catching up with me. The pandemic has not been good to me. I used to rely a lot on watching people as they speak to me; now there's a lot of "What did you say?" I even notice it at home without the masks.

There's no question I can benefit from HAs. I see an ENT semi-regularly because of the ears and his last message was "You know you need help but it has to be your idea" It's hard to reconcile what will be a change in body image with the rest of my life. I don't think of myself as 'older' because of cycling, camping, hiking, skiing etc. Mentally I'm younger than my chronological age and not ready to admit my hearing is failing. And I'm fixated on the memory of my grandmother's HAs from the 70s that would squeal at the dinner table, like cheap brake pads on wet rims!!!

[bigbill]

This might go better over a few whiskeys. Start with there is no cure, you know that right? My audiologist says and I'll confirm that simply wearing HAs reduces your awareness of tinnitus. There is no good explanation as to why. When I do not wear my aides, tinnitus comes to the foreground until I will it away.

A looong time ago I had delusions that tinnitus was curable and had some frank discussions with Sr. staff at University of MD ( https://www.umms.org/ummc/health-ser...itus-treatment ). They are or were considered hot AF in the than emerging field. They agreed with me and me with them that the best "cure" is pretending it does not bother you. As strange at that my seem, it has everything to do with stress and distraction caused by the tinnitus. If you are able to will yourself into being OK with it even accepting it, you win it goes away until you become aware of it again. Have you ever noticed that tinnitus goes away when you engage a very focused task? Same principle.

There are a bazillion methods for blotting out tinnitus with overlays of soothing sounds and even things like tone therapy. Ultimately, these teach you to accept tinnitus and not let it twist you.

Does any of this make sense?

I sleep with a fan and a noise generator, otherwise my tinnitus wakes me up. I can't sleep in a quiet room. When I was writing all my essays, I had soft classical music playing because of the constant changing tones that blotted out the tinnitus.

[j44ke]

Tell me more about how you handled the vanity aspect. Please. I have crappy hearing, ever since high school. It's why I have two doctoral degrees and 3 professions, because I kept failing the hearing test and couldn't be a cop! Hearing loss for me is a result of too many ear infections that eventually ate away the tympanic membranes; one was rebuilt but now age-related hearing loss is catching up with me. The pandemic has not been good to me. I used to rely a lot on watching people as they speak to me; now there's a lot of "What did you say?" I even notice it at home without the masks.

There's no question I can benefit from HAs. I see an ENT semi-regularly because of the ears and his last message was "You know you need help but it has to be your idea" It's hard to reconcile what will be a change in body image with the rest of my life. I don't think of myself as 'older' because of cycling, camping, hiking, skiing etc. Mentally I'm younger than my chronological age and not ready to admit my hearing is failing. And I'm fixated on the memory of my grandmother's HAs from the 70s that would squeal at the dinner table, like cheap brake pads on wet rims!!!

Read this:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK233884/

[robin3mj]

You just have to own it. I hid mine, and only wore one in my left ear for most of my 20s and early 30s. Then made the decision that I needed both ears, shaved down to a crew cut, and never looked back.
Anyone who’d hassle you because of it is not worth your time, and in fact it’s sparked more positive conversations having it out in the open.

Now my son wears them too and he looks forward to choosing a flashy new earmold color each time he outgrows the current ones.

[SpeedyChix]

This might go better over a few whiskeys. Start with there is no cure, you know that right? My audiologist says and I'll confirm that simply wearing HAs reduces your awareness of tinnitus. There is no good explanation as to why. When I do not wear my aides, tinnitus comes to the foreground until I will it away.

A looong time ago I had delusions that tinnitus was curable and had some frank discussions with Sr. staff at University of MD ( https://www.umms.org/ummc/health-ser...itus-treatment ). They are or were considered hot AF in the than emerging field. They agreed with me and me with them that the best "cure" is pretending it does not bother you. As strange at that my seem, it has everything to do with stress and distraction caused by the tinnitus. If you are able to will yourself into being OK with it even accepting it, you win it goes away until you become aware of it again. Have you ever noticed that tinnitus goes away when you engage a very focused task? Same principle.

There are a bazillion methods for blotting out tinnitus with overlays of soothing sounds and even things like tone therapy. Ultimately, these teach you to accept tinnitus and not let it twist you.

Does any of this make sense?

I use ambient sounds at night to block it out so I can get to sleep. During the day if i'm focused or busy I won't notice it. It's always there but not front of mind (thankfully). Certain external pitches can really be irritating but as @Too Tall notes, willing it away and occupying and engaging deeply in something can reduce or eliminate my awareness of it.

[Too Tall]

Read this:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK233884/

Ding.