Skip to content
HearingTracker
Log in

Program the Hearing Aids yourself

This topic is closed.

31 replies15.2k viewsLast reply

Jump
Link to this topic

Thank you! Bringing down those frequencies helped quiet a bit. I’m still a little edgy yet though. I wonder If I they are too strong for me? I just bought the hearing aids about two weeks ago. I’m really loving the fact I can adjust them myself on the road while I travel. I’m in meetings everyday and my old hearing aids were not doing very good. I had the type that were small and went down in my ear canal. They worked great but I was always needing them to be serviced. The last time I had them worked on by my hearing instrument specialist back home he recommended open fitt hearing aids for me. He tried a set on me and they were wonderful. I was hearing better than I had heard in a long time. The only problem was the price $4500.00 for two. So thats when I looked for something online and found Hearsource.com3 How long have you had your hearing aids?

JenAir,

Turn down your overall gain. (Over on the left side). I have had mine for a few months and I too am on the road a bit. I have had no real issues with them once I got the feel for the adjustments. I have them dialed in quite good now. Really just couldn’t be happier.

Good luck :smiley:

P.S. Have you done your coaching appointment yet? They spent about an hour with me on the phone teaching me. Was well worth the time. Real sharp folks. Top notch.

perhaps what david is not really saying is that
on the other hand, you do not get , as it can not be done online…
Rem is used to verify what the output of the HI at the eardrum level…

That is, if the fitting software prescribes gain of abc, you need to verified using rem. This is a hughe deal. Imagine this, you go to the optic store with a prescrition, the optician needs to use a lensmeter to find out that
what the Dr prescribed is what you are really getting…

In addition, a good ear impression- is really needed to get a good custom aid… I would nt like someone with no training, taking an impresion in my ear…

In reply to @xbulder

@xbulder said:

In addition, a good ear impression- is really needed to get a good custom aid… I would nt like someone with no training, taking an impresion in my ear…

Who does the impressions when buying from HearSource.com1? Can’t help but wonder which company makes their aids.

I don’t know who makes them. My research is that almost all hearing aid chips in the USA today are made by a company called AMIS1. Similar to most computers manufacturers having the chip inside supplied to them by Intel. And similar to a computer, the meat of the performance of the hearing aid is the software that is loaded onto the chip. As far as manufacturing a hearing aid, it doesn’t look to hard to me. A small mic and speaker, a microprocessor chip and maybe a few other simple transducers?

I purchased hearing aids, so no earmold was needed. But I suppose that if you wanted a custom made hearing aid you would need to go to a local audi or office and send it to them.

In reply to @ed121

The great thing about AH is that you can discuss your needs with them, they can do the programming, and you can download and program the aids later that day. That beats all heck out of having to schedule an appointment for 3 weeks from now, driving to the audie, having the same discussion, getting the programming done, leaving the office, then deciding you liked it better the other way or need a tweak. With AH, it’s another phone call (or you can revert to the last settings anytime you choose), etc. etc. that same day. With the audie, it could be another three week process.

I have NEVER had that problem. I am fortunate enough to have an audi who is a complete SAINT! If I send her an email saying that the programming isn’t working she will always get me in within 1-2 days MAX. If it is something that is really big or annoying she will sneak me in quickly after closing, or on her lunch or something. If there is any sort of problem, I never have to wait. I have been blessed with an AMAZING audiologist, and I know it!

In reply to @wantahear

@wantahear said:

Who does the impressions when buying from HearSource.com? Can’t help but wonder which company makes their open fit aids.

A while ago someone in the forum said (that when he/she bought the HI they send a kit so you can ask a family member to take the impression )

Personally, to say the least it is scary- If you are say saving 500 or more per instrument- and you have to have it - get it done by an audi or a his and pay his fees…

Very interesting thread. On the right track. My wife tells me I need an but when I look at the prices, I go into sticker shock! :confused: These things cost more than my new 14GHz quad computer.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but, technically, HAs seem to be sound equalizers with frequency selective (Automatic Gain Controls). Bottom line, you want to amplify just those frequencies we can’t hear well, without causing ear-blasting damage in loud environments.

Now, what self-respecting engineer would want to have to ask an audi to adjust his equalizer for him? We want to fiddle the controls ourselves. :smiley:

Moreover, IMHO, anyone who can operate a computer could probably adjust his own HA - and that is a big percentage of the population.

Hearsource.com seems to be headed in the right direction (better / faster / cheaper, like our computers). Still more expensive than it should be but a good start. :cool:

My question: My hearing loss is less than most on this forum and I could probably get by for years with a unit that boosts frequencies below 500 Hz. and above 2kHz. My midrange is fairly flat. Can someone nominate an inexpensive unit that can do this?

there has been a series of articule in the hearing review (prof trade magazine)
regarding online fittings, the articles cover ear impressions, fittings and online … It has been scientifically documented that such types of fittings
are suboptimal to say the least…

As per a HI cost more than a PCS, remember HI are medical devices as such they are subject to regulatory issues, also i believe 20 or so % of HI are return for credit, which means they are sold at a loss meaning someone has to bear with the price… That said, if you go to other countries- it is quite posible to buy the same aid at a lower costs…

Often times, the not enough volume has been argued… But it seems, from the shorter lifecicle of products… this should not be a convicing explanation…

Most big comp. put as much as 20% of their gross sales in R+D

All this has to come from somewhere

Well, IMO, manufacturers are no where near pushing the state of the art in electronics with their products.

State of the art is when Intel puts 500 million transistors in its processor chips and sells them profitably for around $230 retail! Moreover, consider that Dell can buy these same chips from Intel and put them together into a complete working computer that retails profitably for about a thousand $$$.

Now contrast that with the HA industry that starts pricing at $1500 and up to $5000 (per ear) and you have to admit that something is terribly wrong, here.:confused: :mad:

Clearly we have to separate the device cost from the fitting service but IMHO, “adjusting” should not cost more than a few doctor visits…

perhaps the difference between intel and HI is that HI are medical devices. An so there are subject to regulations. I had also heard that the cost of return for credit (those aids are return and could not be sold- someone must pay for those). there is the RD issue which goes up to 20% of the gross sales …

Nah. Transistors don’t care if its medical or not. The only component that could be claimed to be “medical” is the part that fits in the ear canal next to the skin.

IMO, the finest electronics in the world should not cost more than a few hundred dollars.

Today’s HA market is skewed toward those with serious hearing problems and these people may need greater care and cost.

But there is a sizable percentage of our (aging) population with hearing problems that would buy reasonably priced HAs if they were available. Googling on the Internet I find that there are about 150 million retired people in the US. If 20% have mild hearing problems, that would be a market for 30 million units. That is a sizable market that is being excluded today because of the high prices and all the fuss with having to repeatedly go to a pro for adjustment.

Those with mild hearing loss could do quite well with simpler units that they could adjust themselves. That is what I am looking for. If I could plug my HA into a USB (or wireless) port on the PC for adjustment, that would be great.

There are plenty of us who would use an HA only occasionally - e.g., to better hear lectures, sermons, social gatherings, TV, etc. I would certainly try generic ear buds first because that would limit the need for medical attention and cost. Putting the electronics and battery in the pocket would be fine.

If HA companies were smart, they would be all over this entry level market because they could up-sell these customers later as their hearing capability declined with age…

Active discussions

What the forum has been talking about this week.