Got my first set of hearing aids today.

Getting old I guess. I can see much better now however! 8)

I did to until my batteries died

Jeff,  good luck with the hearing aids.  My advise, wear them, don't give up, get accustomed to those new things and enjoy life.
I've used hearing aids since the early 80s.  Getting new, top of the line, devices every 3-5 years.  My hearing function, today, is very limited and unless I wear them, can not have a simple conversation with my wife.
My biggest issue is in noisy environments (eateries) being one of them.  Not enjoyable for me, at all.

I like the little gizmo that came with mine that adjusts the hearing sensitivity.
When we are in a restaurant and there is a bunch of loud people around us, I can just shut them off !

jack L

Alpena Jeff said:

Getting old I guess. I can see much better now however! 8)

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ROFL! ;D 
Years ago I worked with an 84 year old gentleman that wore hearing aids. He loved them except at supper time with the family. He said the silverware clattering on the china drove him nuts.

kdbgoat said:

ROFL! ;D 
Years ago I worked with an 84 year old gentleman that wore hearing aids. He loved them except at supper time with the family. He said the silverware clattering on the china drove him nuts.

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I guess I never realized how much hearing loss I had. My favorite word was "huh"
As corny as this sounds, birds chirping this morning, hearing the coffee pot turn off, floor squeaks when I walk across the room, my bones creaking in the morning.
I lost all need for vanity years ago. After nearly 45 years with Judy, who do I need to impress anymore. They are very comfortable and I can hear again. Nuff said!

Most folks with a hearing loss loose it over time and forget what "normal" sound levels are. When I first went to aids I had to put them on in the morning, sit in front of the TV, have my wife set the volume to a level normal for her, then "adjust" my aids to a comfortable setting. Then force myself to leave them alone for the day,,,,,,the world was a very noisy place!!
Don't even start me on Tinnitus.>>>Dan

Utclmjmpr said:

Most folks with a hearing loss loose it over time and forget what "normal" sound levels are. When I first went to aids I had to put them on in the morning, sit in front of the TV, have my wife set the volume to a level normal for her, then "adjust" my aids to a comfortable setting. Then force myself to leave them alone for the day,,,,,,the world was a very noisy place!!
Don't even start me on Tinnitus.>>>Dan

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I have Tinnitus as well. Crickets in my head 24/7
That is what sent me to the clinic in the first place. No cure.
It's also just freakin great that ins. won't cover any of this. I go on Medicare November 1 and they're no help either.
Not a political statement! Please don't go there!
I still feel blessed. My overall health is good, worse things could happen!
Jeff

I've had my behind the ear (BTE) hearing aids for about 8 years now, and they go in when I get up, and usually only come out for showers and bed time. My Medicare Advantage Plan is with United Health Care, and they provide hearing aids through Hi Health Innovations with a ~$350 copay each depending on the style. Mine are tuned to boost the high frequencies more than the lower range, since that's where my loss is the worst. They also heavily attenuated the frequency that matches my tinnitus, making it almost unnoticeable with any other background noise. Hi Health aids start at $799 even without insurance. They don't have bells and whistles like Bluetooth or remote controls, but they do have adjustable volume and programming, and seem to be a quality product that just gets the job done.

:'( I'll be getting hearing aids this month due to tinnitus! Fortunately due to serving three years active duty in the ARMY I finally got approved for them. Had the CRICKETS in my head since I was in the military! 

Loud rock music as a teenager? Check. Around airplanes for 35 years? Check. Tinnitus? Check. Still holding out on hearing aids. Huh, what did you say?  :

Dutch, my audiologist did basically the same thing. Mine mask the 24/7 "whine" to a point where it's at least bearable.
Jeff, I hope your new aids help with the tinnitus!

As corny as this sounds, birds chirping this morning, hearing the coffee pot turn off, floor squeaks when I walk across the room, my bones creaking in the morning.

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Ain't it wonderful to regain what you've been missing for years? And to stop saying Huh? all the time?

I just got a new set of the BTE type in January, my third set of aids in several years. I had tried another brand of new ones back in November but they just weren't doing the job to my satisfaction ,so I invoked the customer sat guarantee and tried another provider/brand. Much better.  Individual needs vary widely, so don't be afraid to use all that service and warranty that was almost surely built into the cost of the aids. The hearing aids themselves are worth maybe several hundred dollars each; the rest of the high cost is for audiologists, testing & adjustments, warranty repairs, etc. Take full advantage.

What I have is the Oticon brand. Very light and comfortable, forgot I had them in early on.
They help with Tinitus but still have a few crickets in there. They are programmed for my high range loss, they are wifi but haven't messed with that yet.
Lifelong friend of the family has her own business so I have these on trial for a couple weeks. She's been doing this for 30 years and gives me the aids at cost. Hasn't charged me for an exam yet. The aids are still $6k or so.
I just got them yesterday afternoon.

I go get my first pair of hearing aids tomorrow. Yep, I have crickets in my head too, and high frequency loss. My wife is thrilled that I'm finally getting them. I'm anxious to try out directional restaurant mode.

Nicest thing about the new technology is a little device, at least for my brand is,,,,, compilot.  Its a small box about the size of a tictac container with a cord attached to it.  It pairs to my cell phone and television via bluetooth.  When a call comes in I push a button and hear the conversation in stereo right in the middle of my head.  When watching TV its the same thing with the TVs volume down to zero.  Most quality hearing aids have something similar.  Almost as good as hearing aids themselvesl

That's great that you are wearing them Jeff. I have friends that have them, but avoid putting them in. I would think that the benefit would out weigh the inconvenience.  Hopefully I won't find out for a while yet.

Here is a thread on hearing aids that I started when I got my first pair 5 years ago. I only wore them for about a year and gave up. They worked great for conversations but terrible for music. So since I mainly listen to music and rarely talk to anyone I find it easier just to not wear them and say huh a lot.

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,70117.0.html

I got some BTE hearing aids through the VA several years ago.  Like others here, noisy background was just blocking out conversation.  The aids worked reasonably well, but I have to admit, I have not worn them as religiously as I should have.  But, things changed for me last November.  The day before Thanksgiving Day, I woke up with literally no hearing in one ear.  After several tests, including an MRI, the doc guessed it was a virus in my inner ear and gave me a steroid injection directly through my eardrum.  Then I was on oral steroids for about 10 days.  No help.  Today, the resulting tinnitus sounds like the sound of old non-digital TV with no signal, just the hashy sound of TV snow.  Still almost no sound on the side except the hash.


Anyway, I went to the VA yesterday.  They are providing me with what is called "Crossover" hearing aids.  One device goes in my "good" with the correction needed for that ear.  Another device go behind the bad ear and is simply a Bluetooth device that picks up sound on the side and transmits it to the other side.  I still won't have sound direction detection, but I'll be able to hear sounds coming from that side.  Better than what I've got now, hopefully.  I'm to get the aids in 2-3 weeks.  We'll see how in goes.


Besides hearing loss, what ticked me off is I had just bought a $350 Boze noise cancelling headset.  Loved it.  Then one ear went dead (don't think its related to the new headset    ).  I still use the headset, but the stereo sucks.

Alpena Jeff said:

gives me the aids at cost. Hasn't charged me for an exam yet. The aids are still $6k or so.

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Wow, that's even more than I thought  . People are just going to have to speak up for awhile longer