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AudioSync NOW™ by Starkey

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First time…I’ll be short and sweet.

My wife is 30 and for the last 5 years has been dealing with hearing difficulties. Took the doctors in our area forever to figure out it was Otoscrelosis. They gave her a completely-in-canal hearing aid that worked well for 2 years until I stepped on it. Expensive accident.

Either way, in returning to the same doctors, we were very unhappy so we turned to a hearing specialist who recommended the NOW 165 ($2000) and he let her take home a model to test. She loved it. Notice the small nuances of sound I take for granted (feet on carpet, smacking of lips, etc).

But, because of our budget, we returned it and tried living with her repaired aid. It was okay for a few months but now it’s buzzing and chirping and vibrating, etc.

But, my questions are…the NOW 165… (a) does $2000 seem too high? I understand if not. We paid just slightly less for her last. (b) we got conflicting stories from several people we visited. Some seem to say that over-the-ear style was mickey-mouse while the specialist told us it was the only way for her to get the power she needed. He was not pushy in anyway but suggested that she had not been receiving the proper amount of volume and thus was loosing detail distinction.

So we are in dire need to choose an aid quickly. She isn’t able to enjoy life with me or our two year old because of the discomfort and lack of proper communication. At the end of the day, if we’re getting ripped off and choosing wrong…at least we know that NOW 165 gave her some real joy in hearing.

Any direction? Opinions. All is welcome. Thanks!
Joel in Southwest Missouri.

I will tell you that $2k is a good price for the NOW 165s. Make sure that you will receive plenty of services that go along with that price. For example, in our clinic, we sell the 165 for $2250 each, but, we include lifetime supply of batteries, lifetime services, 3 year warranties, and no charge walk-ins. There is a NOW 85 model that is slightly de-featured…you may consider that for your budget. Financing may be available as well.
On the other note, anyone who says behind-the-ear (or as you indicated over-the-ear) is mickey-mouse, doesn’t know enough about how hearing aids work, and I would stay away from them. My two cents.

@frankholmansr said:

I will tell you that $2k is a good price for the NOW 165s. Make sure that you will receive plenty of services that go along with that price. For example, in our clinic, we sell the 165 for $2250 each, but, we include lifetime supply of batteries, lifetime services, 3 year warranties, and no charge walk-ins. There is a NOW 85 model that is slightly de-featured…you may consider that for your budget. Financing may be available as well.
On the other note, anyone who says behind-the-ear (or as you indicated over-the-ear) is mickey-mouse, doesn’t know enough about how hearing aids work, and I would stay away from them. My two cents.

More than 55% of HI sold in the US are behind the ear

For your question (b), there is nothing wrong with over-the-ear style hearing aids – or (behind the ear) as they are better known. In the spectrum of hearing loss, a like your wife has is designed for a mild to moderate hearing loss – the small size of the hearing aid limits the output of the receiver inside – or how loud it can be. Depending on her hearing loss that may or may not be a good solution – a good Audiologist can help you with that. I would recommend her trying a few different models – as there are higher powered custom and BTE products out there – with all kinds features to improve your experience with them

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