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Hearing aid fitting: In desperate need of improvements?

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Based of the sequence of events both from providers… myself and patients and how I fit patients and what the computer says is right is not. everyone on this thread is experiecing that. I am the solution. I wanted everyone to be aware and know Ryan Conklin is the solution. Im glad Im ruffling some feather so u know where to get it done right. They stole millions off of wokeness from me and cant do the job per your comments not mine

In reply to @kevels55

I think there are real similarities between treating people who are (hard of hearing) and people who have sleep apnea. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea over 35 years ago.
Sleep apnea: my medical treatment only made sure that I had a mask on and my machine turned on. I certainly didn’t feel better. I had to go to the apnea board forum to learn enough to start getting better.

HOH: that’s why I’m here.

I feel privileged to read posts by providers who apply their skills and set hearing aids up properly.

Thank you for caring. Thank you for taking time to help.

I feel sometimes that I’m able to hear better. Other times I think I should be starting to find a good service provider. But I don’t know how.

In reply to @DaveL

I’ve been going between different providers over the years because my initial audi wasn’t able to meet the budget constraints I had when I first went shopping for hearing aids.

Now that I’m in a better place, I’m considering returning to my initial audi because I really liked their service, they still have my file after all these years, despite it being over a decade old with a set of hearing aids I don’t have anymore… If you’re interested in the provider I’m referring to and don’t mind commuting here, shoot me a DM and I’ll let you know who it is.

In reply to @DaveL

I tend to go with my gut feelings @DaveL, especially when choosing a new A.uD, a subtle question here and there, tells me whether this person is likely to be, competent… I observe their computer skills closely, without trying to be obvious, I then ask to watch them actually program my aids, with the monitor also facing me, I will ask if they are a former NHS A.uD, always a good point, if they are… Any Bullshit, I will usually spot fairly quickly, I will have researched the aids I am after, perhaps intensely for several weeks beforehand, maybe this might entail 100 hours or so of learning? I do not go in there to ask for their recommendations, I tell them exactly what aids I require, no ifs, buts or maybe’s, that is what I want… I am most certainly not one of there “run of the mill clients”, I know exactly what my requirements are, above all else, I try to be firm & fair, and always extremely honest & polite, what you see, is what you get, I expect my A.uD to be in a similar vein, i’e honest & upfront, any bullshit, then I’m gone… Once you acquire a good A.uD, you tend to hang to them, they are a rare breed, my own particular A.uD, is so fast on the keyboard, her hands are just a blur, she is absolute lightening when programming aids, perhaps a throwback from her NHS days, when each client was allocated only 20 minutes for fitting! Cheers Kev :wink:

I work for a large school board with many kids. My fist Audi was a wonderful referral.
When she sold her business I moved on. Next referral was awful. One partner was good. Then she retired. I would get referred down to recent Audi graduates. That didn’t work well for me. They sold my second pair of Phonaks. I almost was hit on construction sites. I couldn’t hear behind

I appreciate your suggestions. You help a lot

Hi Dave…The problem as I see it for you, is you are relying on “Workers Compensation” to supply your aids, much like the NHS in this country, they will give you good aids, but not necessarily the best aids, or indeed the aids, you want & need… I have said this before, and I will say it again… If you want to hear the best you can, buy your own, it might be a bit of a sacrifice (monetary wise) you are in your 70’s I believe, tis no use waiting & struggling with hearing loss, when you could hear probably much better with a set of the new spheres, especially in the loud work environment you are in… I realised a long time ago, the only way to hear better, was to buy them for myself, I have had literally dozens of ill-fitted aids over the years via the NHS, they supply good aids, but because they don’t have time to fit them properly, you end up with sheer frustration, and years of hearing anxiety… If you can afford them, do yourself a favour… You will be a long time dead! My Extreme apologies for being so blunt Dave, sometimes we have to take the bull by the horns! You can still take the Workers Comp aids, they will make good back ups, that way you get 2 sets of aids, for the price of one :smile: Cheers Kev :wink:

I will be interested if I find an Audi with real skill to set them up. I had 2 that were terrible.
My current guy is two cities away. I just had . but he didn’t do a new hearing test. Starting to wonder if he cuts corners.

I do hear better after was done.

I blamed my hearing aids because they didn’t work well. It’s the person that sets them up that is so important.

They’re “ medical equipment”. Yet the quality comes from the expert. I need an expert!

As you are no doubt aware Dave, hearing aids will never be the absolute & perfect solution, they will help greatly with most situations, but in some adverse listening environments, you are pissing into the wind! Again, as I have said on many occasions, hearing aids are a compromise, we have to find that happy medium, this is usually achieved through the best A.uD we can find or indeed , if you can’t find an expert A.uD, then become an expert yourself, necessity is the mother of all invention, as the saying goes… But, I am certain there are many suitable A.uD’s in Canada, you may have to travel a bit, just ask your fellow Canadians on here, if they would recommend their A.uD… In the end Dave, hearing aids, cannot give you, what you grieve for, a perfect hearing solution… It isn’t going to happen in our lifetime, hearing aids are an imperfect solution, aids being the operative word… Accepting our loss, with limited solutions, is the only way to move on! Take care, cheers Kev :wink:

Just asked another local provider if they did . The answer was an unapologetic curt no - with almost an undertone of “Get lost” (This was an outfit that describes itself as - “we are BSHAA and HPC registered with RHAD and FSHAA qualifications…”).

Just did a quick google which maybe sheds the light on why:

Puretone Shop8

Inventis Trumpet REM System - Puretone Shop

Inventis Trumpet REM audiometer is an advanced Real Ear Measurement system, capable of performing quick and accurate in-situ measures.

These suckers are over £6,000.

Fairly Cheap @glucas, when you consider what some high street Audiologists are charging, in some instances, that price would only cover one set of aids! Sell around 3 or 4 sets of aids, and your Kit is paid for… Cheers Kev :wink:

Edited

You might be right Kev. I know you were once a high flier in a corporation and are au fait with these kinds of price considerations. I am guessing that the economies of scale could work like that. Maybe some additional costs come in as well, such as training and maintenance of these things. However, my guess is that this puts the price up for the average consumer, who doesn’t want to foot the bill. I’ve found out that the 2 outfits who are doing are charging 6k. Now of course, that means that your sums are correct, and the costs are more than recouped by the audiologist, but we have to pay.

Of course that leaves us with the status quo. Some high quality practices charge lots of money for this service and others cannot and will not make it available. I don’t know where the truth lies. My view is that what probably happens, too often, is that the people who have a simple test + fit and go back once or twice for adjustments, will often have a sub-optimal experience. However, that’s not to say that all people are unhappy, after all, a pair of aids is better than no aids at all - we have seen some posts on here where people are happy with their aids, whether from Specsavers, hearing aid wholesalers etc.

However, I am still suspicious that there must be a large number of sub-optimal fits because it is very difficult to determine if there is still room for improvement on the table especially as there are no scientific tests applied after the fitting to check this. I think it is a depressing situation. We have the NHS providing some very good care in patches where it is available, but without the very latest tech being available and then we have the private sector selling the latest tech, but at a high charge if you want the most optimal fit.

Are you getting me confused with someone else… @glucas? I have been many things in my life, I don’t believe a high flyer was one of them :rofl: I worked mainly in a supervisory capacity, most of my life, I was a construction contracts manager, around the age of 30, with around £3 million of new build houses, at any given time on the books, perhaps 45 tradesmen (I use that term loosely :joy:) I started at the bottom, and worked my way up, but I was never truly ambitious, people just kept promoting me…They asked me, I did not apply, maybe we had a total workforce of 80 men, then my world collapsed, with profound/ severe , I went from contracts manager to gutting fish, as no one would employ me, except in mundane tasks, even so, I still eventually got promoted to night shift supervisor, in the largest Pelagic Fish Factory in Europe, at that particular time… My last job of work, was with Criminal Justice, as a Community Payback Supervisor for approximately 12 years, I then retired… High Flyer, I was not! But perhaps a good supervisor is more akin to the truth, I believe I had good people management skills, I found it easy to motivate people, by leading by example… Cheers Kev :grin:

Over the years @glucas… I drank copious amounts of the “Low Flyer” as we call it here in Scotland…The Famous Grouse Whisky :rofl: :upside_down_face: :joy:

Interesting fact: in Türkiye, is mandatory in children up to a certain age (I can’t remember what age).

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