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Getting new Oticon Real1 aids from VA

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I had my hearing test this morning, my hearing is stable, no change to report. I will be getting the Real1 aids from the VA in October, might have been sooner but I have couple of out of state trips scheduled. I will also be getting the Oto therm ear molds instead of the acrylic ear molds. The Oto therm molds are hard when at room temperature and soften to conform to the ear canal when at body temperature. My More1 aids have been adjusted to better word recognition for me, and I was told the Real1 aids will be even better for my word recognition issues.

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Edited

Honestly i am not sure why, other than i do volunteer work at the clinic, I do my own research to understand my hearing loss and health issues. I have a 50% disability rating, for hearing loss. My volunteer work is with the my brothers and sister veterans that are struggling to understand their hearing, their aids, and the irritation of what so many see as the stigma of wear aids.
All i really do is to be available to talk to my fellow brothers and sisters. And yes I help the clinic and my audiologist with technical issues. I am a retired IT Professional.
I haven’t asked for anything but to be able to understand conversations.

For the first time I am not that excited about getting new hearing aids. Most of my thoughts are that I should for the first time have a backup set of hearing aids that won’t be such a struggle to hear with. My OPNS1 aids are much less capable at allowing me comfortable hearing in noisy situations and they aren’t that great at allowing me to understand conversations. So with my hearing not changing much I will have a dependable set of backup aids with my More1 aids, I will have two sets of aids that can fully connect to my Samsung phone, iPad and by way of the connect clip to my Fire tablet and
Laptop. Not to mention the TV adapters. I also will not need any extra devices over what I all ready have.
I am getting the rechargeable aids with the smart charger. And both the Real aids and the More1 aids can use the same charger so I won’t need to carry multiple chargers with me on trips, unless I decide to make sure I have a backup charger with me. The only real unknown is the OTo therm ear mold material. My audiologist recommended it because I have had so much trouble in the past with ear molds slipping and causing feedback and less speech understanding.

Edited

When I first was getting my aids from the back about 20 years ago all the way up until 2018 I was only able to get new aids every 4 to 5 years. I was rated as a disability rating of 10% disabled.November of 2018 I was using a different VA clinic in a different state, my hearing loss was worse and I was reevaluated and given a disability of 50%, and since then I have been getting new aids a lot more often. Since that November I have received 3 sets of aids and will be getting a new set this next month. But I have to say my audiologist has been extremely proactive at helping me and everyone else that is his patients to get the best care possible. My audiologist is a PHD in audiology and a professor at the state university of audiology. He is also I believe still the board president of audiology in this state. To look at him you would think he was a twenty something year old but he has children in college.

In reply to @billgem

I was originally told every 4 yrs. I did get my More1’s after less that 2 years with the OPN S1 because they said with my loss I needed a backup set. Not sure it has anything to do with my disability rating since my hearing is only at 20% but I do have two other 100% ratings to go with it. I have nothing to back it up but I just think the has loosened their restrictions over the years and are very concerned with customer satisfaction. I do know that my clinic is awesome. Great people.

I just was looking at my records from my hearing test on Friday, while my tone test showed o real change my word recognition scores have dropped 20% in my right ear and 10% in my left ear, it is time to really give a serious thought.
I guess I will also see what the VA Benefits board says as I am reopening my hearing loss disability claim.

@cvkemp said:

change my word recognition scores have dropped 20% in my right ear and 10% in my left ear, it is time to really give CIs a serious thought.

That’s sad news Chuck.
Strange too, that you are still benefiting from your Mores!
My was too good for a disabilty claim, even though my loss has increased, go figure.

I am at 50% disability from hearing loss. I have open a claim for my Blood Pressure issues and just reopened my hearing loss claim. To answer your question, my More1 actually give me at least a 50% increase in word recognition. I do a lot of streaming audiobooks, and I use the Fire Tablet to stream text to speech from the Kindle app. I read a long as the Fire reads the books to me. It does seem to help. My audiologist, with the help of Oticon company audiologist has made some really great work at adjusting my aids so I can understand conversations as good as possible. I also have acrylic ear molds with my More1 that really helps, the Real1 aids are being ordered with OTo therm ear mold material, the ear molds are hard at room temperature but soften and conform to the ear canal after they warm to body temperature. The concept is a tighter fit while be more comfortable.

@cvkemp said:

OTo therm ear mold material, the ear molds are hard at room temperature but soften and conform to the ear canal after they warm to body temperature. The concept is a tighter fit while be more comfortable.

Are those different from the VarioTherms?
Sounds like the same principle.

I believe the same principle, but a different company. I know the would not recommend it if it wasn’t a good option.

A little OT but when this subject came up I decided to drop my audiology dept a note asking when I was due for a new test. Having previously got use to the 3 mo wait for appts I filed it away to follow up on. Imagine my surprise when they called me Monday and wanted me in the next day! Told them I was impressed but couldn’t because we were out of town. She asked when I would be back and I said Wednesday. She said how about Thursday morning! So my morning is full tomorrow. At a minimum I will have a new test to have any needed adjustments made. Also will have the firmware updated on my More1’s. I’m still on 1.3

Yes thatvhas been my experiences to get appointments muvh faster than expected

In reply to @flashb1024

@flashb1024 said:

WRS was too good for a disabilty claim, even though my loss has increased, go figure.

I also am rated for hearing loss and am at 60% based only on of less than 40% in both ears. They are stingy as hell in giving up compensation. I was 1% in 1 ear and 3% in the other ear from getting 100% rating. They have exactly zero idea how much this affects every day life. BUT, they do at least issue really good hearing aids. They just upgraded mine last year. The hearing aids are excellent, but I still can’t hear for squat with even tiny background noise…
Best wishes,
Dan

Edited

I have learned it is better to ask than not to. There isn’t a chance at all if you don’t ask.
I have an American Legion benefits officer here at the state level working 3 claims for me at this time.

I have 50% disability, 10% for my tinnitus, and 40% for my hearing loss. My audiologist saying i should be getting at least 50% for my hearing loss and the 10% for my tinnitus. And then there is the documented fact that my BP issues are due to the stress from not understanding conversations. My physician monitored my BP this last hearing exam i had last week. And my BP won’t spike as i was trying to figure out the words in the word recognition test.

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