Hearing Aids

[Lloyd-ss]

After re-reading my post, I deleted it.
Lloyd

 

[Jojo]

I've had Costco hearing aids for a year now.
I assumed I could better if I paid 3-4X $.
In my case I think I was wrong.
I bought the fancy($$$) ones.
The Costco type did everything the fancy ones did and hooked to Bluetooth easier and sounded better.
I am going back to the $$ expensive place soon for a tuneup.
If I don't get improvement I can get a full refund.
By the way, I don't recall anyone saying the Costco ones have a 90 day full refund policy.
Most audiologist have a similar guarantee.

 

[Toymaker]

I purchased a super cheap pair ($80) some months ago but was unable to adjust the volume low enough to make them comfortable to use long term, so I haven't used them in months. I've recently been researching hearing aids again so this thread caught my attention. At the moment, the Signia Silk 7iX looks to be one of the best, and the price isn't too awful, at $1000 to $1500 per pair.

Anyone familiar with the Signia brand ?

Edit: I've also been researching Sony's CRE-C20 which have received very good reviews thus far and are priced under $1000/pair.

 

[Lloyd-ss]

Thanks again for all the input.

Here is an update on me wearing the hearing aids.......

I have continued to wear the $400 hearing aids on and off for a few days now and have a few observations to report. We had our Christmas get-together on the solstice because some folks were leaving town and it just worked out best. Most of the time it is just me and wife and the cat in the house. We are all pretty quiet except the cat who is very vocal and yowls annoyingly whenever she is awake, demanding to be brushed. With just us around, the hearing aids work pretty well when turned down low. It doesn't take too much amplification for it to seem like I am being yelled at, and putting a pot on the stove sounds like dropping a piece of steel plate on a ship's deck.

We were doing kitchen prep for the get together. We have a large open floor plan and my wife turned on some Christmas music on the far side of the room as we worked in the kitchen. I could hear and understand either the music, or my wife, but not both. So I took the hearing aids out before everyone arrived because I knew it would be total overload. I don't deal well with "people" chaos, but I am fine with "shop" chaos, LOL.

Another thing I noticed when outside is that the parts that fit into the ear canal might not seal very well. These hearing aids have a thin tube that goes over the top of the ear and the "machinery" fits behind the ear like glasses do. But when outside there seems to be a bit of a "being inside a can" sound. If I put my thumbs over them to seal up the ear canals, the sound becomes much more pleasant, and something I might be able to live with.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that I have tinnitus pretty bad. It ALWAYS sounds like I am in the woods in the heat of summer with thousands of cicadas singing away. I never hear silence, unless I try to ignore the cicada noise.

I am leaning toward checking out Costco. There is one in town that has a decent reputation. But I will keep experimenting with the cheapies I have for awhile, mainly to test myself.

Again, thanks for all the input.
Lloyd

 

[Gordon]

Thanks again for all the input.

Here is an update on me wearing the hearing aids.......

I have continued to wear the $400 hearing aids on and off for a few days now and have a few observations to report. We had our Christmas get-together on the solstice because some folks were leaving town and it just worked out best. Most of the time it is just me and wife and the cat in the house. We are all pretty quiet except the cat who is very vocal and yowls annoyingly whenever she is awake, demanding to be brushed. With just us around, the hearing aids work pretty well when turned down low. It doesn't take too much amplification for it to seem like I am being yelled at, and putting a pot on the stove sounds like dropping a piece of steel plate on a ship's deck.

We were doing kitchen prep for the get together. We have a large open floor plan and my wife turned on some Christmas music on the far side of the room as we worked in the kitchen. I could hear and understand either the music, or my wife, but not both. So I took the hearing aids out before everyone arrived because I knew it would be total overload. I don't deal well with "people" chaos, but I am fine with "shop" chaos, LOL.

Another thing I noticed when outside is that the parts that fit into the ear canal might not seal very well. These hearing aids have a thin tube that goes over the top of the ear and the "machinery" fits behind the ear like glasses do. But when outside there seems to be a bit of a "being inside a can" sound. If I put my thumbs over them to seal up the ear canals, the sound becomes much more pleasant, and something I might be able to live with.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that I have tinnitus pretty bad. It ALWAYS sounds like I am in the woods in the heat of summer with thousands of cicadas singing away. I never hear silence, unless I try to ignore the cicada noise.

I am leaning toward checking out Costco. There is one in town that has a decent reputation. But I will keep experimenting with the cheapies I have for awhile, mainly to test myself.

Again, thanks for all the input.
Lloyd

I don't know about the cheap hearing aids but for the more expensive ones there are different domes available which permit or block outside noise.