Hi, new here. I went to an audiologist and she said I should get hearing aids it would really benefit me due to not being able to hear my kids and wife well. Along with any sort of crowd or group setting with back ground noise or multiple people talking. I do notice I have a hard time hearing in those setting and my wife and kids who are 5 and younger get annoyed I can’t hear. What’s your thoughts is it something to deal with or off my chart is it a case hearing aids would benefit me?
I think would offer some benefits, you have enough high frequencie loss, what was your word recognition score (WR)
And you admitted you have trouble hearing in certain situations, kids, wife, background noise, all higher frequencies, why not trial a set and see for yourself?
What’s your thoughts is it something to deal with or off my chart is it a case hearing aids would benefit me?
@user215: Nobody can answer this question for you. As @tenkan suggests, you need to try some properly-fitting hearing aids and come to your own conclusions…
[Addendum: I would also ask you to think about which of the two needs your money more…]
Welcome to the forum.
If you look at this chart you can see what letters you are missing in your hearing. You are showing the classic signs of hearing loss.
If you go to Costco they give you a 180 day trial full refund. So within those 180 days you think they don’t help return them.
But no one but you can make the decision do they or don’t they help with your hearing loss.
The benefits are likely to be subtle and they’ll take some getting used to. They may not help in noisy settings. My take is that over time your hearing is likely to get worse and getting used to hearing aids now will be easier than waiting.
See if your audiologist will let you wear aids on a trial basis. Because, as has been stated, only you can determine whether aids will help. And the trial period should be at least a couple of weeks because your brain will need time to adjust. And remember, aids help. They don’t fix.
That’s a grey-zone hearing loss. Someone might come in with that loss and say “I don’t notice any difficulty” and then a clinician will be unlikely to recommend anything. Or they might say, “I’m struggling” and then the clinician will suggest giving something a try.
If you decide to try something, check whether you can try a remote mic along with the hearing aids. Hearing aids may only provide a moderate benefit given your hearing loss is limited to just the higher frequencies. But individuals with “normal” hearing and auditory processing issues in complex environments regularly use technology to good effect. Either way, check return periods and fitting fees–the best way to know is just to try. In most cases, your investment to try is more about time than money.
I should have added in my previous post that - notwithstanding any vested interests on the part of the audiologist to sell you something - you should try some aids out to see if they help you.
As others have suggested, only you can answer this question. BE SURE to buy from a provider that offers a LONG, full refund, return period. Costco does. Several reasons for this: NOTABLY, it takes a while to have adjusted for YOUR needs. Initial settings that meet your will likely NOT be suitable in actual use. For example, MY initial settings amplify the sound of crinkling wrappers such that my wife eating popcorn out of a package drives me insane! (a short drive). It also takes a while to get used to hearing with HAs!
ONE important point, HAs are NOT magic. They HELP, but in noisy situations, it may still be hard for you to hear/understand someone directly in front of you, let alone those to the side or behind you.
BTW, I suggest sensitivity training for your wife if she gets annoyed because you have a physical issue!
That is THE COOLEST poster I’ve ever seen for describing hearing loss! Seriously, I wish someone had shown me this decades ago. Seeing really IS believing. And I am actually chuckling to myself as I say, 'Yup! That one’s gone … Yup! Can’t hear that either without aids… Nope! Not that anymore either…" and so on.
I was intrigued by your ! I don’t know how common that is in terms of being fit for hearing aids, but I’ve never seen one like that with nearly all the loss in the upper freqs. As others have posted here, that’s where the nuances of speech would be missed, so your word comprehension would likely suffer even if you hear the tap running, the doorbell ringing, and can understand what someone says if they’re talking loud at a party right at you.
I also agree with others who’ve said here that a trial is the ONLY way to find out if hearing aids work. I can’t think of any other way to punch up the higher frequencies. On the other hand, ALL OTHER sound will be perhaps unnatural, tinny, or even distorted as you work to correct just that sliver of high frequencies.
You will be an excellent case study to come back here and tell is what DOES work, so I’d say go for the trial, but actually consider finding a VERY qualified audi - and that may not be one at Costco (sorry to offend anyone), mainly cuz the Costco model will be for “assembly line” in and out pretty quick. A competent, patient audiologist may also want to take you on as a patient to work with you over time. If your hearing starts to drop in other frequencies, you’ll have that relationship built and someone to keep you hearing comfortably.
BEST OF LUCK in getting this challenging hearing situation resolved to your liking. If you are getting annoyed with spouse, kids and others close to you, it’s time to do something about it.
Try them and decide for yourself! In some states (Massachusetts is one of them) you can try them for 30 days for a small charge.if you keep, them yiu pay the full amount.
I think that the only benefit you might notice in the short term would be to hear your wife and kids better. Even then you might be bothered by their voices sounding so shrill. Notice my lavish use of subjunctives. YMMV.
I think it’s worth a try. The return rate for cases such as yours is probably high, and that’s the reason why Costco says you don’t need aids. I had to go to another Costco to get my aids. Once I had them, all Costco stores maintain them.
I am located between 3 Costco locations. I had a very bad experience at one location and refuse to take my aids there. The audiologist reset my aids while we were talking without asking and reprogrammed them to what he wanted. I had come in due to an issue with my custom molds. He ordered new ones from a different supplier. The programming results were so bad I went back to my previous location to have my old settings restored.
One good thing about costco is the 6 month trial. If a new version like KS11 or others come out you can return them and upgrade. I did that with their KS8 to KS9. No problem. I assume that still applies.
Good luck
Oticonian/Disposablyte
Melbourne
United States
YMMV.