Best/worst hearing aid brands?

@Hearcare said:

I’m happy to voice an opinion.

For mine, Phonak and Oticon are the clear performers in the high end segment.

I like Bernafon in the low-mid end…specs don’t read that well but their aids just “work”.

Hello Hearcare,

You like Phonak and Oticon for high end segment. What does that mean? High end in price or high frequencies. My second question is the same for Bernafon in the low-mid end. Do you mean price or frequency?

Thanks for your time.

He is talking about quality.

Hope this helps

@electricrelish said:

Hello Hearcare,

You like Phonak and Oticon for high end segment. What does that mean? High end in price or high frequencies. My second question is the same for Bernafon in the low-mid end. Do you mean price or frequency?

Thanks for your time.

bernafon have some good products. It is true that their products are not as advance
as Oticon but they are quite good. Quality wise it is identical to Oticon.

Just as Rexton is as good as Siemens if not identical

I like the siemans products for the sound quality.

currently have the Siemans Nitro 700 SP BTE with TEK system:)

the oticon sumu is another product that has good sound, nevertheless not bluetooth.

I tried some of the phonak products and did not like the nadia V :mad:or the extra 411:mad:

I have nothing good to say about America Hears aids. I had to send them back several times the first year for such things as shutting themselves off when there was a loud noise such as a car door slamming or my dog barking. They said they put a filter in the aids. If so, why? If it is a design problem, they should have offered to refund my money. If it was just a problem with my aids, they should have replaced them with good ones. The right one quit working at about fourteen months. I will not pay to have a defective aid worked on. The left one amplifies sounds but it also distorts to the point I cannot understand words.

If you decide to try America Hears aids, be sure and not let the trial period slip by. They will keep working with you until the trial period is over then except for adjustments, you are on your own.

I would suggest you trial the more expensive aids first then try America Hears. I believe you will then recognize the poor quality of the sound reproduced by America Hears. I did just the opposite. I did not try the better aids until I realized I could not hear clearly with the America Hears aids. The better quality sound is worth the higher cost.

My insurance company will pay $1,000 per ear every three years for new aids. One year to go and I will just have to pay the difference and get better aids.

UPDATE
Well, my left aid quit almost exactly 2 years from the date I bought it. I went ahead and sent both of my aids in. They replaced both receivers, microphones and speakers. I asked them to remove the filters they had put in as they made sound even more distorted. I received them back and the sound is still distorted. They now turn themselves off at least 50 times a day. Half of the time they will turn themselves back on. The rest of the time you have to do it manually. This was the second time in two years they replaced the speakers and microphones. A waste of $300 for the repair and $2,200 for the aids. Good luck if you by AH aids.

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On my travels I get to see lots of people who are unhappy with their aids.

The biggest losers for me are:

Miracle Ear. Seriously, every time I see one it’s junk, and the patient claims never to have been happy. Now sure they may have many satisfied patients who never have cause to come see me, but they sure do have a lot of unhappy ones.

SeboTek. They claim (on their website) that they invented the RIC after God, yes God, gave them a ‘vision.’ Then they show an office building that looks like a massive sky scraper, ignoring the reality that they rent a small unit within the building, and the vision from God was in fact a patent they purchased from Siemens. Every aid I have ever seen is garbage, especially the RIC that has one rear facing microphone. It’s rear facing because on the initial design sweat would fall off the patient right into the mic and kill the aid. So they put a cover over it to stop this happening, which resulted in a rear facing mic. Great for eavesdropping on people behind you, not so hot for normal conversation. These guys are based in Oklahoma, where they seem to have quite a following, and advertise a lot there.

Some Dude In Louisiana. There’s a crook in Louisiana who buys cheap parts from China and assembles his own hearing aids. I forget the name, but I see two or three of his dissatisfied patients every single time I go to the south of that state. Unfortunately I forget his name. It begins with B and sound French.

Those are the companies I would avoid. Other mainstream brands like Oticon, Phonak, Widex, Starkey, ReSound all have something good to offer. It’s then just about deciding which has the best overall package that fits your needs, and makes you happy.

I agree with ZCT.

And who is “the best” is everchanging. Patients would be shocked to see how often new models of hearing aids are released. New hearing aid technology is already old, just like my iPhone :rolleyes:

That is what professionals are for. I know, I know, professionals are all evil crooks and can’t be trusted to suggest even a place for lunch. But the truth is that they are in the know for the best technology in the hearing aid world. And most manufacturers nowadays post their “white papers” on their websites so that consumers can see where their technology is derived from.

dr.amy