Are Starkey/Audibel Dependable?

Unfortunately, in our town there aren’t a lot of choices. There’s the place I went to that’s tied to an ENT group that has Siemens, Starkey, and Phonak (maybe others), an Audibel, and another independent place that probably carries the same brands as the first place but based on a couple emails with them seems to be one of those tell you anything to get you in the door whether it’s true or not types.

Some reason you have not mentioned your general location?

@Doc_Jake said:

Wouldn’t be my first thru fourth choice.

So what would be?

DD will be along to tell you exactly what you need. IMO, go to Costco and try a few. I’m a big Siemens fan. All the brands have their fan-boys.

I’d be all over Costco if it were feasible but the closest one is a three hour round trip away.

Driving 1.5 hours each way isn’t that bad, since you probably won’t be going that often. I have gotten two sets of aids from Costco over the last 8 years and only needed a few visits the first months I had them. It is well worth the free trial, loss/damage guarantee and no restocking charge to make the trip. Plus, you can save a lot of money while there buying other products they carry. You will probably end up going there just to shop even when you don’t need to go there to adjust your HA’s. Go for it. You will be glad you did.

Slightly OT. I recognized the advantage of a Costco membership five years ago in the photo department. I usually place an order of 200 5X7 whenever I shoot grammar school soccer or basketball. Use to be 39 cents each, now 59 cents, a heck of a lot cheaper than the $1.25 at other places. The savings I get more than makes up for their membership fee.

My reluctance to going somewhere 1.5 hours away is that with the place I trialed the Siemens at I was pretty much there every week for 6 weeks making one change or another. If a three hour round trip that’s a lot of time off work.

Randy
Some have Saturday hours. Have you checked?

Doubledown:

I’ll try and describe what I’m calling a distortion as best as I can. You know how traffic makes a kind of hissing noise when you’re a half-block away or so? That sound through the aids sounded like I was listening to it through a hose, or it was the bottom of a well, or in a tunnel. It also happened as I was putting on and taking off my coat that had a nylon shell. Any sound like that, including my wife’s voice sometimes, had that bottom of a well sound.

As to your other questions: She started me out with double domes but I very quickly complained of a “stopped up” feeling so she switched me to the tulip domes. These were more comfortable and sounded better. Like I’ve read most new users do, I also complained that the high frequency sounds were too loud but that mid frequency sounds were still “muffled” by the domes. I felt that I was hearing the mid frequencies sounds through the domes rather than through the aids. Once I finally got her to give me some volume control and “turned them up” the feeling of the mid frequencies being muffled went away.

The trade off was feedback. Because of the way my ear canal is shaped I never felt the domes got a good seal and once the volume was turned up they squealed a lot. She finally decided that I needed custom molds but by the time I got them I was on the last week of my trial and I wasn’t confident enough that we’d get them right to keep them.

I had a medium receiver in the left and a small in the right. I’m sure part of the problem was me being unable to communicate the issue but also the Audi I was assigned seemed to be as new to this as I am. My bad, I know, for not asking for someone else sooner but if I go back to them I’ve already told them I want someone else.

Randy

— Updated —

I did, and they do. Along with evening hours until 8:00 three nights.

Randy

Um bongo,

bte can provide more gain. but I think I am focusing too much on his bad ear. a rite probably would be better.

Nobody here knows if randyp1234’s audiogram is accurate and I was speculating. but clearly what I am concerned about is not what he meant by distortion. but it remains to be seen if this distortion is masking the issue I am concerned about.

randyp1234,

I might be blowing the whole dynamic range issue out of proportion.

@japple said:

What’s crazier - driving 1.5 hrs one way or spending 5-6k on hearing aids?? The Costco I went to is a 3-hour round trip.

I don’t know your exact situation, but it can be done.

I’ve had 4 visits so far and no more planned.

The COSTCO in East Peoria, is about an hour away… certainly isnt three hours. I live in EP and know how far Decatur is. You should go check them out…