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Digital vs Analog

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I have 2 Qualitone hearing aids and use a HATIS headset at work. Every 18-24 months one of my hearing aids will break where I need to get it sent in to be fixed. Last time I had it fixed was about 1 year ago and my audiologist said that they had a very hard time finding the parts to fix it and It might be the last time it can be fixed. Is this true? Will I have to switch to digital soon? I’m very worried about this. My DB loss is about 80-85 in each ear and my audiologist doesn’t think I will like the digital BTEs as much. I work in a call center and my job is on the phones all day long and am either hoping I don’t have to switch to digital. If I do though will they work good enough for me on the phones? Are they just as powerful as analog hearing aids. I was told no. Will it be a big adjustment for me? I have a lot of concerns. Thanks

Tom

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I have a very profound loss and my digital aids and my old analogs aids are about 2db different in terms of power. Whoever said digital aids wouldn’t be powerful enough for you is talking rubbish.

I’m wearing Phonak Naida Ultra Power hearing aids.

As worrysome as it is sometimes to switch from what you are used to hearing to something new, it usually isn’t as bad as you think.

My suggestion if you are thinking of jumping into the digital hearing aid market, is to consider a few brands to try. My suggestion is to start with Oticon or even a Bernafon. IMHO, as well as numerous others on this forum, state that the sound quality of an Oticon is very good. Siemens would be a second brand to try. Phonak/Unitron would not be a desireable choice due to their automated program toggling.

Other than that, if you are currently using a , I don’t see why you couldn’t use the phone all day long with a digital aid. You may require a manual (rather than an automatic setting)Telephone program that you can have customized for your liking with respect to clarity and volume.

There shouldn’t really be any other issue. Good luck.

This sounds good. I just dropped off my analog aid to get repaired now I just gotta pray that another one doesn’t break before this one gets fixed if they can fix it at all. When u say “try them out” what do u mean by that? I thought I would just go by what my audiologist thinks. There is not much time for experimenting for me cuz of my job situation.

Are the digital aids more durable than the analog ones? Ill actually have to get 3 of them as my job requires a backup in case one needs to be repaired. My insurance won’t even pay for them which is ridiculous. I work for a major company (AT&T). How much am I looking at here for 3 digital hearing aids. Do the digital aids break down more than the analog ones? I’m finding my analog ones break down every 18-24 months.

Tom

Digitals are more durable now . Analog aids are rare these days. Give digitals a try. You don’t want to go back if you like digital sound. Besides, digital hearing aids have assistive devices for telephone use.

A lot of digital aids have really good water resistant ratings. They also are way more durable. You can also hear better with them.

Price wise will depend on what technology you want. The more features the more money.

I wore analog aids for 16 years and only need 1 repair. Worn digital aids for nearly 2 years and never needed a repair. Think repairs will depend on how you look after them.

Why would you need 3 hearing aids? Doesn’t your audiologist offer loaners why your hearing aids are being repaired?

In reply to @bagman428

Most, if not all, clinics have the capability of offering a trial period, and/or a demo of digital hearing aids. This gives you an opportunity to try the hearing aid in your own environment with a certain time period without the worry of being stuck with that hearing aid if you didn’t like it. Ideally, you want to go to a clinic that has someone who has experience in transitioning an analog hearing aid user to digital, also they should be well experienced in fitting either Oticon/Bernafon/Siemens hearing aids.

As for durability, modern behind the ear hearing aids are far superior to their analog predecessors. Things like wind noise, moisure buildup, microphone clogging, internal corrosion etc have been significantly reduced. General build quality has more or less stayed the same for all manufacturers.

Last I checked Unitron was still selling there Analog US 80 PP. I have a few clients who I’ve tried to switch over to digital with no success and they can’t get away from this aid. Some even buy a spare (incase they stop selling them). It should be an affordable aid too (we sell it for roughly $1100 with service package/etc)

Mark

@mtnickel said:

Last I checked Unitron was still selling there Analog US 80 PP. I have a few clients who I’ve tried to switch over to digital with no success and they can’t get away from this aid. Some even buy a spare (incase they stop selling them). It should be an affordable aid too (we sell it for roughly $1100 with service package/etc)

Mark

I’m not sure where you are located, but we have not had access to a US-80PP for about 4 years. As much as Unitron claimed that their 360 was the natural evolution from their analog predacessors, it just didn’t cut it.

Alternatives to this hearing aid which are still available are: Siemens Nitro SP, Oticon Sumo XP (analog programmable), Resound Sparx to name a few.

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