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First Time Hearing Aid User Questions

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In reply to @Curtiss

I’m a happy Android S25 user, but my understanding, based on what I’ve read on this forum, is yes - the newer Iphones work very well with the Jabra 30s. Your fitter will pair your phone to your for you (not a huge deal), but good to discuss at your initial appointment.

In reply to @MDB

@MDB said:

Telecoil is great IF you have a venue that uses it. If not, it’s pretty useless. (I have telecoil capable aids and have never used it

I also don’t find many venues with Loops. But also help with the assistive listening systems. With telecoils you don’t need to wear a headset. Just get the FM radio, and neckloop and now it’s wireless to your telecoil enabled hearing aids.

Is Over The Counter something that you eventually migrate to for cost and convenience or are the products always a step down from the prescription level products ? It seems that if both products are the same, why not skip the hoopla once have a good idea what you want.

@Curtiss said:

It seems that if both products are the same

Well there not, so this is why prescription only are “different” are for mild to moderate with a lot less features obviously, but they are getting pretty good if the reviews from hearingtracker and the sound lab HearAdvisor are anything to go by.

The Best OTC Hearing Aids in 20252

We break down over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids and rank them based on unbiased testing to help you confidently pick the best OTC hearing aid for your needs.

I’ve tried all the latest Costco aids I hated the Jabra ones - I got the Sennheiser (Phonaks) there are great - get the custom ear molds. Costco also has the best warranty replacement.

Edited

Re: and (assistive listening systems)

The only way you can have access to your disability rights of connecting directly is with a telecoil and in the future adding Auracast. Currently there are thousands (millions?) of these systems (infrared, , ) across the United States and around the world. As other wrote, Auracast assistive listening will roll out slowly (for a lot of reasons). So if you get a hearing aid with only Auracast you are limiting yourself. Instead, get hearing aids with telecoils AND add Auracast.

Edited

There are major brands and some actually own another well known company.

Don’t skimp on your hearing aids, demo several.

Some are better for music if that interests you.

In your first sentence, your concern over “TruHearing” is valid. This is NOT what I refer to below. The “True Hearing” I mention is a way of testing the sound that reaches your ear drum while you wear your hearing aids. Smal microphones are slid into your ear canal then your HAs are inserted normally.

Aurocast is coming but slowly.

has its place when you make a customized profile within your HA app.

If you haven’t done so yet, watch some reviews on the Dr. Cliff youtube channel. Take with a grain of salt.

Gamechanger if you have moderate to severe loss. Watch Dr. Cliff youtube on “true hearing” testing. Finding an audiologist that offers this is critical to the best hearing settings for YOU.

Regatds

Dr Cliff has some good stuff. I might not go through with the appointment after seeing this because I now know that I am looking for a higher tier offering than the True Hearing options and I don’t want to waste their time. The level of care offered ay Costco doesn’t justify spending more money at the local clinician.

Another bit of knowledge gained is the Bluetooth question. I called AppleCare and it was the only time ever that I got poor treatment. I asked about LE and got zero information on compatibility or hardware ready? Asking about bluetooth was another painful question for her and I finally got a short answer of wifi 6.0. There was no mention of MFI or its development. I’m just curious, from a practical standpoint, how much does this matter?

I’m on my 2nd set of Costco hearing aids in 6 years, they are a good supplier and reasonable priced. Lase year I got the Jabra Pro and did not like the sound quality after 2 months, I got the Rexton Reach and like the sound much better. The Rexton is basically all automatic, you don’t need to fiddle with the phone to select different programs like the Jabra needed. The beauty of Costco is you can get fitted for one manfacturer try the out and then switch if you don’t like them.

In reply to @Curtiss

@Curtiss said:

The level of care offered ay Costco doesn’t justify spending more money at the local clinician.

Yes this seems to be the case most people find.

@Curtiss said:

I asked about LE and got zero information on compatibility or hardware ready?

Not surprised, they don’t have anything in this regard yet, there’s been a few posts on the forum about it, use the search button to find some.

@Curtiss said:

There was no mention of MFI or its development. I’m just curious, from a practical standpoint, how much does this matter?

Well been around a long time now and mostly it just works, I wouldn’t worry about this aspect, LEA will arrive in due course as with .

In reply to @Curtiss

Custom moulds/domes go further into your ear canal than earbuds. They may take some getting used to if you’ve never used anything like them but it’s a completely different sensation.

Also re : I’ve worn aids with T-coils for most of my 35 years and there was a time when T-coils were the only real way to use *phone receivers (telephones and headphones) with hearing aids. Modern hearing aids work much better with headphones and handsets held up to the ear even before considering bluetooth. In fact T-coils don’t really work with cell phones…due to the way they work you end up hearing all the chips inside. As sad as I am to see it go I don’t think it’s needed anymore.

MFI works better than Samsung’s (Android Streaming for Hearing Aids) did for my Jabras, but there are still too da**ed many disconnects. I expect my next phone will be -enabled Android.

What do you expect to use the for? I’ve had telecoil for 15 years, and I’ve never been at a venue where I could use it.

Auracast, OTOH, would free me from proprietary microphones and TV Streamers. Resound’s (Jabra’s) TV Streamer 2 is a great device, but it probably costs more than 2.5 times more than an Auracast solution.

BUT … different brands sound different. If you like the Phonak sound, your Costco choice is old tech. If you like the Oticon sound, Philips may not be good enough. If you want Starkey tech, you can’t get it at Costco. If listening to music is important to you, you may listen less with Jabras than with some other brands.

Edited

I just cancelled (but left the door open) with my local place that was going to show me TruHearing HAs. Costco is ten days away and I didn’t want to waste their time. In fact I might not use or much at all but would like to have the option, not necessarily at extra expense or compromising sound quality or other features.

I use an iPhone 17 pro and will stick with Apple. From all I can figure out they have not stayed with the bluetooth evolution. It seems that all the brands have IOS apps where source selections can selected and parameters controlled. I’m not sure how the bluetooth will be limiting other than public address systems.

Hearing aids can be ridiculously expensive, but like with most things, you get what you pay for. My suggestion would be to do plenty of research, then go to a hearing aid specialist (audiologist) who carries a variety of brands. Some are better than others. Some places will allow you to demo the hearing aids for a month or so. Background noise could be an issue with cheaper brands. How badly one’s hearing has deteriorated can also be a factor.

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