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Hearing Aid Advice

post #1 of 13
11/19/09 at 6:29pm
Thread Starter 
My wife is looking at purchasing a hearing aid in the very near future. She's going in for a hearing test/evaluation tomorrow, and I really want to be armed with as much information as possible during the meeting. I'm in the process of doing some research on the various brands and so forth for her, but I was curious if any of you had any advice to offer us.

She'd prefer one of those small ones that is hidden inside the ear canal itself, but she's open to getting one that fits around the top of the ear if it gives her the best performance.

The only brand that I'm familiar with is Starkey, but that's only because their offices are about 15 minutes away from my house.

Price isn't really a problem. I just want to make sure that she gets the best possible device for her needs.

I appreciate any advice.
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post #2 of 13
11/19/09 at 6:33pm
I can only advise from anecdotal evidence, but I've always thought the over the ear variety were more for people with a very dramatic hearing loss (like they were born with it). What's effecting her hearing, is it Tenitis or something similar?
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post #3 of 13
11/19/09 at 6:34pm
Tenitis - hearing damage caused by excessive Pearl Jam.
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post #4 of 13
11/19/09 at 6:36pm
Unintential spelling error, yet still applicable in certain cases.
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post #5 of 13
11/19/09 at 6:36pm
Thread Starter 
Tinitis is a part of it. Her hearing used to be perfect (so she says), but she's been losing her hearing in that one ear for a good 5 years now. She finally got serious about wanting a hearing aid on Tuesday, so I'm kinda scrambling for information now.

Sorry, I wish I had more information for you, but I don't.

I guess that, more than anything, I'm looking for brands to consider/avoid. I don't know anyone personally that has a hearing aid, so I'm having to be pretty reliant on second-hand information that I can glean from the various websites. I'd like to supplement that information with first-hand experience if possible.
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post #6 of 13
11/19/09 at 6:59pm
Again, anecdotal advice, and not actually related to a device, but a good friend of mine has really bed tinnitus, and cutting most of the sodium out of his diet worked wonders.
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post #7 of 13
11/19/09 at 7:02pm
My dad says get a plan that gives you free batteries.
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post #8 of 13
11/19/09 at 7:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by billylove View Post
My dad says get a plan that gives you free batteries.
Duly noted. The place that we're going to tomorrow offers free lifetime maintenance and batteries on all of the hearing aids that they sell, so we've got that part covered. The only problem is that they sell quite a few different brands, and I really don't know anything about them.

Regarding sodium: my wife and I are really conscious of what we eat, and we try and monitor our overall diet to limit sodium intake.
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post #9 of 13
11/20/09 at 11:41am
Thread Starter 
Quick bump. We're doing this later on today, so I'm looking for any last minute product advice if you have any.
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post #10 of 13
11/23/09 at 4:05pm
No advice, sorry, but as a fellow hard-of-hearing girl (a slight loss in my right ear), tell her I said good luck!
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post #11 of 13
11/23/09 at 4:13pm
How did that appt go Judas?
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post #12 of 13
11/23/09 at 4:29pm
What? WHAT?

Ok, kidding aside--if you've got something where you can get a replacement warranty, get it. My stepdad has dropped, lost, sat on, dropped in water, and generally abused at least a half dozen hearing aids in the past 2 years or so. Some they've had to buy replacements for, but most got replaced through warranty.
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post #13 of 13
11/23/09 at 4:30pm
Thread Starter 
It went great, actually. The consultant did an examination and actually recommended that we look into doing surgery on her ear before we committed to a hearing aid. She called this morning and confirmed that her insurance doesn't cover the 15K that the surgery would require, so we ordered the hearing aid about an hour ago. She's getting a Starkey behind-the-ear model for just over 2K (which includes free batteries, free maintenance, and a 5 year warranty). The odds are that she'll get the thing before Thanksgiving, so she's pretty thrilled.

Thanks for asking, and thanks for the advice and well-wishes.
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