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New to hearing aids, confused and over thinking

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New to hearing aids. 56 years old high frequency hearing loss.

It’s over whelming all of the choices out there.

The audiologist let me try Oticon intent 1’s in the office to see what they were like. The first thing I noticed is there is a delay in the speaker from when the person talks. You can hear both the person’s speech (live) and there is a very slight but noticeable delay hearing the speech thru the hearing aid speaker.

1. Are all hearing aids like this? Is it something I just have to get used to?

2. Are “nearly invisible” completely in the ear canal hearing aids lesser quality then the behind the ear HA’s? It seems almost no one are using the totally in the ear hearing aids? I am bald and I guess I am a little self-conscience about wearing hearing aids behind my ear.

3. My insurance will cover $3100 every 3 years for hearing aids, but I have to get them from an in network provider. I am double checking, but I don’t think I can use my insurance to get over the counter HA’s.

4. Am I going to be able to play pickle ball, basketball run and bike in behind the ear HA’s?

5. What are the extras that are worthwhile? In my mind, it does not seem important to be able to stream music, or take a phone call thru my hearing aids. Are people using that a lot?

22 people in this conversation15 min readJump to latest

It would be helpful if you would post your so we can see what hearing loss you are working with. Completely in the ear hearing aid () have less functions than Receiver in the canal () aids. These are worn behind the ear with the receiver connected to the receiver in eye canal. These are not really obvious to most people. I usually have to point out that I am wearing hearing aids. Whether any reduced function is important depends on your hearing loss and what is important to you. If you have a Costco available they sell premium models made by the major manufactures for $1,600 for a pair. The aids sold by Costco are rebranded so as not to be in direct completion with audio clinics. After the which is the largest hearing aid dispenser in the US, Costco is the next largest. Lag should not be noticeable.

Edited
@2ball said:

here is a delay in the HA speaker from when the person talks

This is interesting, are you using an open dome? Can you hear this effect from both or just one? If you plug your ears, can you hear the delay?

It could be a comb-filter effect (or coloration pitch distortion), specially considering that you have super excellent hearing below 2K. Shutting down amplification below 2K could fix this but I’ll let the specialists in this forum say if my explanation makes sense.

Hearing Aid Delay: Two /i/ or Not Two /i/?10

A new study looks at how different hearing aid delay times can cause coloration-pitch distortions for vowel sounds, and what can counter it.

In reply to @raylock1

I have a couple of Costco’s near by. What I am not sure of is if my insurance will cover ’s from costco. I emailed my insurance to find out. I hope it works out to where I can buy behind the ear HR’s from Costco and still have enough money left over

I am typically completely “bald by choice” because otherwise I’m at least halfway bald anyway. I also wear glasses, and have enough space between my scalp and my ears to accommodate both my glasses and my hearing aids. I don’t have an extraordinary amount of space there, so this should tell you my hearing aids are fairly unobtrusive.
I second @raylock1 on the Costco recommendation. However, with your level of insurance coverage, I understand willingness to use that. Had I not had hearing aid coverage under my supplemental Medicare Advantage policy, I’d have chosen to go to Costco.

I think the glasses hide the hearing aids even more. If only I didn’t get lasik!

I emailed my insurance company to see if I could buy hearing aids from costco and submit a claim myself. I am also checking to see if they will let me get 2 pair if they are under $3100 total. It would feel like Christmas if they let me do that.

In reply to @2ball

Widex SmartRIC – Widex claims their aids do not have this issue due to the speed they process sound. That’s what they advertise the most: natural sound (and I love them).
I also have Phonaks and I got rid of the effect by killing any mid-low → low amplification (below 1.5K) that the aud. put there.
You didn’t say: open domes?

I’ll answer your questions below::fist: :fist: :fist:

  1. Hearing Aid Delay

Yes, all hearing aids have a slight delay. This is due to the digital processing required for sound. Most people gradually adjust to this sensation.

  1. Hearing Aid Type

“Almost invisible” completely in-the-ear (/) hearing aids don’t necessarily have inferior sound quality to behind-the-ear () models, but they offer fewer features, such as shorter battery life and lack of Bluetooth support. They are primarily suitable for mild hearing loss. Behind-the-ear (BTE) models (particularly those with built-in receivers, or ) offer more powerful features and are becoming increasingly compact, making them the preferred choice for most people.

  1. Insurance and Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids

You likely won’t have insurance coverage for over-the-counter () hearing aids. Most insurance plans require prescription hearing aids to be purchased from an in-network professional hearing aid provider to ensure professional fitting and ongoing care. OTC hearing aids can be used as a backup.

  1. Sports and Wearing

Yes, you can wear hearing aids for activities like playing ball, running, and cycling. Modern hearing aids are generally sweat- and moisture-resistant and have a sturdy design. If you’re active, consider using a hearing aid drying box to maintain your device.

  1. Extra Features

While you might not think it’s important, Bluetooth connectivity is by far the most worthwhile extra feature. It allows you to listen to music, answer calls, listen to TV, and receive navigation instructions directly, greatly enhancing the convenience of daily life. Many people, once they start using these features, become addicted.

Edited
@Tony666 said:

Yes, all hearing aids have a slight delay. This is due to the digital processing required for sound. Most people gradually adjust to this sensation

Personally, I hate this effect (and I never got used to it). Fortunately, there are ways to minimize this for some people, specially for those who have good hearing in the low/mid frequencies: Different domes, lowering gain in some frequencies and trying a different brand among other strategies. The problem is not the delay per se but when the outside sounds and the sound via the mix and are not aligned, specially with open domes.

Edited

Welcome @2ball ! Looking over your and thinking about my experiences with a somewhat similar hearing loss. I was about the same age as you when I got my first hearing aids (Oticon More 2). Shortly after getting them I remember grocery shopping with my wife. We were in the produce department. She asked me to get some broccoli or something, and I heard it twice. It was quite disorienting. It did not take long to get used to it, but as others have said, your experience may differ. Give it some time. How long have you been wearing your aids? How many hours per day do you wear them?

Given the loss:

1: /iic are inherently unsuitable.

2: Oticon VAC+ gain averaging is working against you, so your prescription is likely to be miles off. It really doesn’t do well with steep HF losses.

3: You might run into a similar issue with Costco, but a clinic that understands gain/ matches your prescription is likely to give you a better result.

4: If you’re actually being provided gain where you need it (and more importantly no gain where you don’t), you’re less likely to notice the phase delay and enjoy the improvement more.

Edited

Someone here used a clever setup to measure the delay of Phonak’s Sphere , which use heavy processing (How to measure hearing aid processing delay with $10 worth of equipment). This does indeed delay output, but I calculated that this corresponds to the time it takes for sound to travel about 4.5 m. This is essentially inaudible (a distance not uncommon between stereo speakers). I doubt Oticons are significantly worse in this area, I suspect there is something weird in your audiologist’s setup.

Making phonecalls using your HAs is really convenient- they do not like phones being pressed against them. Also, TV-streamers (almost no delay) are very, very helpful.

No matter what manufacturers say about moist protection, I just never wear HAs when doing anything sweaty. They are just too precious for me- not just the costs, but also the endless fine-tuning.

I found it very useful to get self-fitting tools for my Phonaks (bought NoahII wireless, got the Target software)- made an enormous difference in getting the best out of my HAs.

In reply to @2ball

I got laser correction in 2015, but I often wear glasses these days, because I’m 10 years older and I want to avoid eye strain. I couldn’t have LASIK, because I needed 13.5 diopters of correction for nearsightedness and would have been able to see the edges of the flap. I had PRK instead, great after glasses since age 7 and then contact lenses for about 30 years!

In reply to @2ball

@2ball said:

I am also checking to see if they will let me get 2 pair if they are under $3100 total. It would feel like Christmas if they let me do that.

I’d get one pair now and another in 18 months or a couple years when you can get the next generation aids you’ll surely be wanting then.

It isn’t uncommon to see ppl with ~$3k insurance have to go to practices that will charge ~$6k or $7k. Makes Costco a no brainer if their products and services suit you.

WH

In reply to @bpeckham

@bpeckham said:

Give it some time. How long have you been wearing your aids? How many hours per day do you wear them?

I left the audiologist without any hearing aids, mostly because to the sticker shock $7200 for Oticon intent 1, $5600 for intent 2. so I only wore hearing aids for half of an hour.

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