Newbie looking for info

I have worked in secure areas and SCIFs in the past. If I had to go back in, my current RIC HAs wouldn’t be able to be approved. I did some investigation when I had to make a trip to a secure building last year and they had a list of pre approved devices. If you go with CIC with no bluetooth or other connectivity there’s a chance. All the modern RIC and BTE HAs are forbidden. There are some exceptions, but they are few. I do not have approval to share our list, but this10 is an example of another technology another organization has put out in a public manner of breast pump devices. I wish they were as liberal with hearing aids as they are with breast pumps.

WH

Yep it’s security related. Bluetooth is not necessarily prohibited. I have a list of approved units but as a complete newbie, I have to sort through the different types of HAs for my specific hearling loss before getting to this particular issue.

In my recent research, I just don’t see ITC/CIC units talked about that much so I wanted to ask about them compared to RIC. My perception of recommendations based on recent research is like 90% tilted towards RIC HAs but as a zero experience user, the RIC HAs look like the large old school HAs from years ago. But I am assuming these RIC units are more popular than I realized…presumably because they work better and users find them reasonably unobtrusive. I’m just trying to get smarter.

Thanks!

Not sure if this is of interest?

Bluetooth hearing aids in secure facilities

Could you cite the suit? It seems unlikely it applies to national security situations, but I am curious. I have a list of HAs which SSOs are allowed to approve certain ones, and others forbidden. It covers other medical devices as well. Each situation, device, facility, user, etc is unique and would require approval by the SSO of that facility. The list is controlled information, so I can’t share it. WH

I appreciate the input so far. I can’t share the approved devices. There are a number of Rexton and ReSound options on the list however, that I assume are mostly available through Costco.

I’ll also mention that I have been an amateur sound engineer for the last decade at my church. My left ear got injured 2 years ago through unexpected/unprotected gunfire and I have cut back on sound engineer duties to the point where I only do the audio mix for our internet stream which is something I can do wearing headphones. My natural hearing is now such that I have not been trusting it to do live audio mixes in the building but I would enjoy continuing sound duties if the hearing aids enable it.

This is subjective but if the latest RIC/BTE options are no go as suggested by WH, how much of a step down in performance is a roughly $1500 ITC or CIC option? Never having worn one, I really don’t have a sense for how much the occlusion would bother me but I think it might be problematic for sound engineering compared to the open receiver designs I see in RIC units.

It’s likely I’m going to retire in the next 24 months so it’s theoretically possible I could just wear these outside work but that doesn’t seem like a plan that this forum would recommend. A separate option since my insurance would buy new hearing aids 3 years down the road is to stick with an approved device for now and buy new ones at the 3 year point when I’m likely to be retired.

Costco won’t have any Resound models. They’ll have Jabra models that are very close, but if it has to be an approved model that may prove to be an issue. I don’t know that you’ll be able to find an ITC or CIC for $1500. I’d expect Costco’s to be about $2500

My last HAs (which I wore for 6 years) were CIC / ITC which I was drawn to because I thought they were less ‘noticeable’. I definitely felt the occlusion effect but I could deal with that. What I didn’t like was the sound (which I guess is due to the occlusion, but not in the way I expected). Because the ITC blocked my entire ear with the exception of the vent, they replaced my hearing. I could definitely hear better in some situations, but there were situations in which I actually felt they made it worse - for example trying to order in a cafeteria. I was never able to get them adjusted to get them to sound better. When I was ready to replace them about a year and a half ago my new audi convinced me to trial a behind the ear (RIC) style and the difference is night and day. Because these ones don’t block my entire ear, and I can still hear ‘through’ them,I feel like these ones are ‘aiding’ my hearing instead of replacing it. Everything sounds much more natural, and I have not come across any situations where I feel they are worse than no aids - in fact they are a big improvement. I can’t say for sure that the entire improvement is due to the style because I also changed brands and have newer technology, but I do feel like a lot of the improvement is due to the style. My hearing is actually not that bad (relatively) anyway, so maybe someone with a more severe loss would have a different experience - I really don’t know. I would not go back to ITC or CIC now. It is possible to get ITC HAs without bluetooth capabilities though, so that may be better for your security issues.

Losses of that configuration often have a genetic component. If you have siblings, encourage them to get tested.

It’s not a completely outrageous loss for a CIC/IIC. That is, it’s possible you might do very well in a IIC. It’s going to depend on the anatomy of your ear. If you happen to have ear canals that are on the large, deep side such that sufficient venting can be added, it might be fine. Benefits of IIC if you’ve got the right kind of ear are good retention and comfort, nice fit under ear phones, better sound localization. You won’t know until you try it. However, sometimes people might get a CIC/IIC first and convince themselves it’s okay, but then complain a year later about intractible occlusion issues but now the hearing aids cannot be returned. In an ideal world, it might be valuable to try a RIC first and then get an IIC so that you can compare.

If your workplace has to approve your device, will they also chip in?

It’s interesting that you mention genetics. This has a definite genetic component. My mom and several members of her family have moderate to severe hearing loss and it’s in their left ear in all cases. Seems weird.

In my case, I had substandard hearing in my left ear my whole life, even as a kid. It was always deficient but the gunfire event (single shot and outdoors but I didn’t have ear protection) a couple years ago “broke” something in my ear. My hearing went from workable but not good to I feel mostly deaf except for bass frequencies. I went from stereo hearing to what feels like 90% mono hearing and that hasn’t been fun. I hoped the ENT could find a wax buildup or fluid on the ear or something correctable but he said nope.

At this point, I need to schedule an appointment with Costco and start looking at specifics.

@ruggb1 said:

I don’t think the Oticon charger is a power bank so it must be plugged in to charge the HA.

Oticon has the SmartCharger that does have an internal battery - I got one instead of the standard charger (no internal battery) with my Real 1 aids. The following URL has a brief description and picture:

https://www.oticon.com/solutions/rechargeable-hearing-aids4

thanks, good to know. How do you like your Oticon? What is your opinion of the phone app?

@ruggb1 said:

How do you like your Oticon? What is your opinion of the phone app?

The Real 1 mini-RITE R aids with vented molds seem fine for me - the wind noise rejection is better than the More 1 aids that are now my backups. Useful for me as I commute to work on a bicycle . I do like how the Real 1 aids work when hiking or walking my dog - I can hear birds and other natural sounds better than with older aids.

I think the app could be better but I don’t need it for much. I do shut down all apps and then power off and start my iPhone (12 mini running 17.2.1) after I charge it and that seems to make things work a bit better with the app. Sort of a reminder of how well the early versions of Windows worked with add-on hardware and their associated drivers in a PC

If you have little to no hearing in one ear, you should consider trying CROS / BiCROS hearing aids for your single-sided deafness before buying “regular” hearing aids. I’ve worn Phonak bicros for over 7 years and it’s made a world of difference for me.

A CROS hearing aid offers no amplification of sound and simply routes sound to the ear with better hearing ability. A BiCROS system reroutes the sound to the other ear and amplifies it to account for some degree of hearing loss in the ear.