Soundlens: first impressions

Hi Dave/Robin/Zeke,

Great to hear that soundlens is working out for you guys. Having a hearing loss is the most frustrating of diseases. I got a CIC Siemens in the year 2002 and used it for a week maybe. Had paid about 75k Indian Rupees ($1500) which was a lot of money back then.It stills sits in my drawer and is in working condition :). In the last 13 odd years I have worn them 20 times maybe. So whenever I am frustrated I take them out of the drawer and wear for 5-10 mins and once I am out of the depression attack I put them back in the drawer. The only reason I stopped wearing them was because they were visible. I was a college going kid back then. I feel I should not wait any longer to start wearing hearing aids and am ready to wear one only if they are completely invisible. Unfortunately lyric has not come into India. So planning to go ahead with soundlens 2 110. I like Robin’s fit the best, they seem the most discrete. I hope I am able to get something as discrete. Soundlens 2 110 would put me back by 600,000 INR ($10000) which is again a lot of money. They are no trial periods here like in the US. So if I purchase them I either wear them or have them give company to my older aids in the drawer. All of you please pray for me and hope it works out this time around.

I don’t have the audiology results with me but I have moderate to severe loss in both ears… right ear closer to profound in higher frequencies.

Hi Everyone,

I am brand new to this forum (1st post actually). I am a 36 year old male who has put off HA’s for quite some time now. I recently got into a pretty big argument with someone because I didn’t realize they were talking to me and I walked away ‘mid conversation.’ I went to see an audi in NYC this past Weds for an audiogram and my hearing is just as bad as I thought it was. Based on my results, my concerns, and my budget, I decided to move forward with the Soundlens IIC premium version (whatever that means). I go back for the aids on Wednesday and needless to say, I am both excited and nervous about my first HAs. I will report back results after a few days. Any pointers or suggestions are always welcome.

Best,
Rob

Hi Rob,
how is it going for you with the Soundlens? I’m in NYC too, curious which audi you are using. Looking forward to hearing about your experience!
Dave

@ROBSCOOL said:

Hi Everyone,

I am brand new to this forum (1st post actually). I am a 36 year old male who has put off HA’s for quite some time now. I recently got into a pretty big argument with someone because I didn’t realize they were talking to me and I walked away ‘mid conversation.’ I went to see an audi in NYC this past Weds for an audiogram and my hearing is just as bad as I thought it was. Based on my results, my concerns, and my budget, I decided to move forward with the Soundlens IIC premium version (whatever that means). I go back for the aids on Wednesday and needless to say, I am both excited and nervous about my first HAs. I will report back results after a few days. Any pointers or suggestions are always welcome.

Best,
Rob

Hi Rob, I’m a 33 year old female also in NYC who also just got the Soundlens IICs last week (I think I got premium as well but who knows with prices here). Would love to hear your feedback on it, what type of loss you have, how it’s working for you so far, etc. I also put off HAs for years and I’m finding it to be an adjustment so far. Feel free to post or message me!

@iStay said:

Hi Dave/Robin/Zeke,

Great to hear that soundlens is working out for you guys. Having a hearing loss is the most frustrating of diseases. I got a CIC Siemens in the year 2002 and used it for a week maybe. Had paid about 75k Indian Rupees ($1500) which was a lot of money back then.It stills sits in my drawer and is in working condition :). In the last 13 odd years I have worn them 20 times maybe. So whenever I am frustrated I take them out of the drawer and wear for 5-10 mins and once I am out of the depression attack I put them back in the drawer. The only reason I stopped wearing them was because they were visible. I was a college going kid back then. I feel I should not wait any longer to start wearing hearing aids and am ready to wear one only if they are completely invisible. Unfortunately lyric has not come into India. So planning to go ahead with soundlens 2 110. I like Robin’s fit the best, they seem the most discrete. I hope I am able to get something as discrete. Soundlens 2 110 would put me back by 600,000 INR ($10000) which is again a lot of money. They are no trial periods here like in the US. So if I purchase them I either wear them or have them give company to my older aids in the drawer. All of you please pray for me and hope it works out this time around.

I don’t have the audiology results with me but I have moderate to severe loss in both ears… right ear closer to profound in higher frequencies.

hey All, sorry for the delay. Its almost a year since I got my soundlens. It has been a wonderful experience so far. Audi is awesome. He even gave me a 3 week trial period and if I didn’t like them I could get away with just the shelling cost.

IIC worked only for my left ear as they could not make one that fit my right ear. I went ahead with the one for my left ear. There is a huge retention problem, as every 10 mins or so I need to push it back in. But the way this aid has changed my life… I seriously don’t mind the retention problem. I am loving every bit of my aid and the beautiful experience. I don’t need to read lips, I don’t need to strain to hear… it feels so relaxing. I can be looking away and yet hear people talk. My dad was on seimens CIC all these days. I have now bought him starkey CICs 3 series. He is getting today, hope he loves the experience too.

@iStay said:

hey All, sorry for the delay. Its almost a year since I got my soundlens. It has been a wonderful experience so far. Audi is awesome. He even gave me a 3 week trial period and if I didn’t like them I could get away with just the shelling cost.

IIC worked only for my left ear as they could not make one that fit my right ear. I went ahead with the one for my left ear. There is a huge retention problem, as every 10 mins or so I need to push it back in. But the way this aid has changed my life… I seriously don’t mind the retention problem. I am loving every bit of my aid and the beautiful experience. I don’t need to read lips, I don’t need to strain to hear… it feels so relaxing. I can be looking away and yet hear people talk. My dad was on seimens CIC all these days. I have now bought him starkey CICs 3 series. He is getting today, hope he loves the experience too.

iStay, thanks for coming back to give us a report after so long.

I want to ask you a question, and please don’t take this as a criticism, just want to make you think about something. You said you would not wear an aid unless it was completley invisible, but if you’re sticking your finger in your ear every 10 minutes, how invisible is that?

You mentioned that your loss was pretty severe, and from everything I understand, IIC aids are really insufficient for that kind of loss. Today’s RIC aids are practically invisible, especially if you have any amount of hair around your ears. I wonder if you would be willing to at least test drive a set.

But having said all that, I am very happy for you that things seem to be working out much to your satisfaction. That is really all that matters. “Wonderful experience,” “changed my life,” “loving every bit of my aid,” “feels so relaxing.” Those are the kinds of things we love to hear people say around here.

I just wonder, if you are this happy with a single IIC, how happy could you be with a pair of RIC’s?

Hi Bluecrab,

Thanks so much for your response. The only soarpoint is me sticking my finger into my ear. But other than that like I said life seems so much better now. My Audi did try selling me RICs and he made me try them as well. I am somehow unable to accept it due to whatever social stigma attached to it. Even with the IIC I keep half my ear covered with hair. I now have gotten greedy and feel like getting an aid for my right ear as well. The best my Audi says he can do is something called as a shallow CIC which is in between a CIC and an IIC. I plan to give this a try. Will keep you all posted.