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Borderline for hearing aids?

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I use Phonak Lumity L90, which is overkill for my level of measurable loss, but I mostly wanted it for auditory processing issues, and it has a lot of speech and noice cancellation features that help with that. You can find the Target software used to program them, and you’ll also need a Noahlink Wireless to connect to them (or maybe a different device, depending on the aid manufacturer). I thought most of it was pretty intuitive, and Phonak also publishes user guides for the software. There’s a section of this forum that focuses on self-programming.

In reply to @Neville

Yes, I was holding the phone to my left ear. And in my work life I had a cell phone starting with the old brick models glued to my left ear whenever I was out of the office. I don’t know that that would affect my hearing, but my tinnitus is bad in the left ear, negligible in the right.

In reply to @billgem

Our medical insurance is good but does not cover aids at all. I am definitely going to look into online pricing. I located an audiologist that will adjust and tune aids for a fee and they sell the brand I am thinking of investing in. I probably won’t do Costco. My husband is thrilled with his from Costco and I have recommended them to friends, but based on some feedback I don’t think their aids will work for me. However some of the discount HA providers seem sort of shady. I found one that has several DBA’s/LLC, all the same people offering aids at a similar discount. Couldn’t find anything except glowing reviews which in and of itself is a red flag (no one is perfect) and then some obscure posts by people who tried to return aids and they would not refund money… I am an older parent putting a child thru a PhD in the medical field and needless to say, I would like to save some money if possible.

In reply to @LawyerFL

Thanks for this input. A friend with tinnitus very recently began using Widex aids after trying and Costco. He is beyond thrilled with the Widex aids. I know this is highly individual, but Widex is at the top of my list.

In reply to @SigoEsperanza

I bought a pair of Oticon hearing aids from Hearing Revolution and had nothing but a positive experience in dealing with them and the price was great! They referred me to a reputable audiologist in my area. Actually I had my choice of audiologists. My only complaint is that the one I chose didn’t use real ear measurement. If I had it to do over again, I would do some research so that I could pick one who does employ real ear measurement.

Hearing Revolution ( www.hearingrevolution.com7 ) is the direct-to-consumer arm of Hearing Care Solutions which is a major provider of hearing aids to insurance companies for their patients.

Zip Hearing is another very reputable on line, discount seller of hearing aids which uses the same model as Hearing Revolution, i.e. selling to customers on line but then providing a local audiologist fir delivery, fitting, and service. I have not found their prices to be quite as good as Hearing Revolution although they are still heavily discounted from the sticker price. I would never recommend using an on line seller without first doing some research to make sure that they are reputable.

Your hearing loss is not much different to mine. I got hearing aids last June and I am so glad I did. It was a shock how much difference they made. Yes I could manage without, but I was fed up with constantly asking my husband what he (or someone on tv) said and it is so tiring concentrating all the time. Another consideration for me was that my father and grandmother had dementia and anything to maintain brain function is a plus. I would say, if you can afford it, give them a try, you’ve nothing to lose.

Thanks for the feedback. I am going to do it. I feel much better about the decision given all the comments here. Your really is the same as mine. Do you mind if I ask what brand you chose?

I chose the Phonak Slim 90s. I chose the audiologists I felt I could trust locally and they don’t do a wide range of brands. I had planned on getting aids lower in the range, but the 90s were in the sale and ended up being cheaper.

Both manufacturers and clinics will run sales, so it could be on either end or a combination of both. Sometimes manufacturer sales are pretty broad but sometimes they are clinic-specific or something in between.

Edited

My is pretty much the same… and I was having awful problems understanding speech. The difficulty hearing alone is distressing, but it leads to a sense of isolation and the psychological effect of that snowballs over time. Don’t be like me and put up with it for a decade. I’ve learned to never wait, never ‘put up with it’, and the best thing to do is help the hearing as soon as possible.

I also have high frequency loss and tinnitus. I have been wearing Oticon Real 1’s for about 2 months and I am not sure if they are helping me. I still have the tinnitus and it seems louder than before I was wearing the ’s.

How can hearing aids help if the tinnitus is what is blocking me from hearing high frequency sounds.

How can I test the hearing aids to see if they are helping me.

I would consult with an audiologist who is also a tinnitus specialist. Not all audiologists have expertise in dealing with tinnitus.

Yes, that is true, but any relief is welcome. I listened to the Widex tones thru headphones on a youtube video made by Hearing Tracker and I did experience some momentary relief with certain sounds. It didn’t disappear but it wasn’t “front and center” like it sometimes is. So for me it is worth investigating, especially if an audiologist can tweak the frequencies to tailor this process–and that is what I need to find out.

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