Hearing aid suggestions for my father.

[Zombified]

My father has broken one of his hearing aids and I might be looking for new ones real soon. I understand Costco's price on hearing aids is much better than others, but I also found www.mdhearingaid.com which right now has a half price sale on their reasonably priced hearing aids. The reviews on mdhearingaid.com seem to be mostly positive, but I am concerned that they don't require a hearing exam to purchase. There are other obvious reasons that mdhearingaid.com is not ideal, but I was wondering if anyone has used them and how their experience has been. Any other suggestions are welcome as I have never gone down this road before.

[The Annoyed Man]

I have no experience with mdhearingaid.com, but I did fairly recently try out a hearing aid in my left ear for two weeks, after having suffered a sudden and unexpected near total loss of hearing in my left ear back in May. It didn’t work for me. What I hear unassisted in that ear can best be described as listening to a blown speaker through a foam earplug. It’s mostly just clicks, thumps, and buzzing noises, with at best about 12% speech recognition. All the hearing aid did was amplify what I was hearing on my own, and it was REALLY annoying so I gave up trying. In any case, while demo'ing that $2,600 hearing aid, it was suggested to me that Costco's prices were a LOT cheaper for basically the same unit. Had it worked for me, that’s who I would have likely bought it from.

[Pawpaw]

Hearing aids are not a one-size-fits-all solution. They do not work at all like eyeglasses. You would think that it's only necessary to amplify the frequencies where he has loss, but that's only a starting point.

Getting a good result begins with a complete hearing test with an audiologist or, at least, a hearing aid fitter like you find at Costco. They have to be programmed for your father's exact hearing loss. After that, it may take several more trips for minor adjustments before he gets a satisfactory result.

My recommendation is that you take him to Costco. They'll do the testing, program the aids (called "fitting"), and then do a Real Ear Measurement test to verify they're working correctly. They'll also take care of any future adjustments and repairs at no cost for 2 or 3 years.

Costco is the most cost effective solution unless he's a veteran. The VA provides hearing aids for free, if he qualifies. That's where I get mine.

[03Lightningrocks]

[chasfm11]

I agree with the statement that hearing aids are not a one-size-fits-all solution. I tried several brands/types and they all failed for me the same way. Each provider told me that my hearing isn't bad enough yet for me to tolerate what their products did to me, not for me, and that I would be back when that changed. I've talked to many others since then who share my experience.

My hearing loss is probably damage from noise. It isn't clear where it came from. The symptoms for me is picking out consonants spoken by women in noisy environments. Occasionally, I can have trouble with men's voices in the same environment but mostly I can hear men and detect what they are saying, even when the background noise is significant. When the environment is quiet and the person speaking is fairly close (not much more than social distancing measurement), I have only an occasional word that I don't pick up in that condition.

The reason that I share this is my observation that many people that I know, perhaps 75% of them with hearing aides, don't use them. They probably have hearing loss like mine and are finding, as I did, that the specific appliance that they bought is, at best, a limited solution. The hearing aides that I tried amplified the background noise and not the speaker's voice range. I could hear women no more clearly with any of the settings that they gave me on the VERY expensive models that they allowed me to test. I have several friends with hearing aides that do use them and they seem to have some of the same problems that I do in the same environments with their appliances working.

I'm not suggesting that hearing aides don't work. I'm sure that they do. But I urge you to make sure that whatever decision you make actually meets your father's specific needs. Rather than focusing on the loss itself, I suggest trying to match the device to his symptoms. The bluetooth interface that many have for links to things like a phone is valuable, I believe. I know a couple of guys who really like that. But consider testing the device that they are offering in the specific circumstances that either you or your father has noticed the greatest need before you buy. Just my $.02 worth.

[Zombified]

Hearing aids are not a one-size-fits-all solution. They do not work at all like eyeglasses. You would think that it's only necessary to amplify the frequencies where he has loss, but that's only a starting point.

Getting a good result begins with a complete hearing test with an audiologist or, at least, a hearing aid fitter like you find at Costco. They have to be programmed for your father's exact hearing loss. After that, it may take several more trips for minor adjustments before he gets a satisfactory result.

My recommendation is that you take him to Costco. They'll do the testing, program the aids (called "fitting"), and then do a Real Ear Measurement test to verify they're working correctly. They'll also take care of any future adjustments and repairs at no cost for 2 or 3 years.

Costco is the most cost effective solution unless he's a veteran. The VA provides hearing aids for free, if he qualifies. That's where I get mine.

My father is a veteran but last time I took him to VA office he didn't qualify for medical. Is there something different about the hearing aids that I should look for? I don't think he can wait for a couple months while I go through the appeal process.

[Zombified]

I'm not suggesting that hearing aides don't work. I'm sure that they do. But I urge you to make sure that whatever decision you make actually meets your father's specific needs. Rather than focusing on the loss itself, I suggest trying to match the device to his symptoms. The bluetooth interface that many have for links to things like a phone is valuable, I believe. I know a couple of guys who really like that. But consider testing the device that they are offering in the specific circumstances that either you or your father has noticed the greatest need before you buy. Just my $.02 worth.

I appreciate your comments and agree with your observations. He has dementia and a total denial that he has any health issues. He claims he can hear just fine. When he wears his hearing aids we can have normal conversations as apposed to everyone yelling and repeating everything 3 or 4 times. Your comments have helped me decide that the cheap route is probably not the right one in this case.

[Archery1]

My wife just got hers from Costco. Having gone through the big-name and independent hearing clinics over the years for myself, mother-in-law, and father-in-law, even the VA, I was thoroughly impressed with Costco's hearing services. Excellent in my opinion and a tremendous savings? I would shy away from any service that's not an exam and tailored units!

[oohrah]

Hearing aids are not a one-size-fits-all solution. They do not work at all like eyeglasses. You would think that it's only necessary to amplify the frequencies where he has loss, but that's only a starting point.

Getting a good result begins with a complete hearing test with an audiologist or, at least, a hearing aid fitter like you find at Costco. They have to be programmed for your father's exact hearing loss. After that, it may take several more trips for minor adjustments before he gets a satisfactory result.

My recommendation is that you take him to Costco. They'll do the testing, program the aids (called "fitting"), and then do a Real Ear Measurement test to verify they're working correctly. They'll also take care of any future adjustments and repairs at no cost for 2 or 3 years.

Costco is the most cost effective solution unless he's a veteran. The VA provides hearing aids for free, if he qualifies. That's where I get mine.

My father is a veteran but last time I took him to VA office he didn't qualify for medical. Is their something different about the hearing aids that I should look for? I don't think he can wait for a couple months while I go through the appeal process.

You get VA hearing aids if you can prove a service connected hearing loss. Sometimes, just the audiology exam on the discharge physical is sufficient evidence (that's how I got mine). You do not need to qualify for VA medical (reserved for low income vets) because it is a disability.

[oohrah]

I will add that this is one thing you not try to save money on. With hearing aids you really do get what you pay for. What is quality of life worth?

[RPBrown]

I agree with the statement that hearing aids are not a one-size-fits-all solution. I tried several brands/types and they all failed for me the same way. Each provider told me that my hearing isn't bad enough yet for me to tolerate what their products did to me, not for me, and that I would be back when that changed. I've talked to many others since then who share my experience.

My hearing loss is probably damage from noise. It isn't clear where it came from. The symptoms for me is picking out consonants spoken by women in noisy environments. Occasionally, I can have trouble with men's voices in the same environment but mostly I can hear men and detect what they are saying, even when the background noise is significant. When the environment is quiet and the person speaking is fairly close (not much more than social distancing measurement), I have only an occasional word that I don't pick up in that condition.

The reason that I share this is my observation that many people that I know, perhaps 75% of them with hearing aides, don't use them. They probably have hearing loss like mine and are finding, as I did, that the specific appliance that they bought is, at best, a limited solution. The hearing aides that I tried amplified the background noise and not the speaker's voice range. I could hear women no more clearly with any of the settings that they gave me on the VERY expensive models that they allowed me to test. I have several friends with hearing aides that do use them and they seem to have some of the same problems that I do in the same environments with their appliances working.

I'm not suggesting that hearing aides don't work. I'm sure that they do. But I urge you to make sure that whatever decision you make actually meets your father's specific needs. Rather than focusing on the loss itself, I suggest trying to match the device to his symptoms. The bluetooth interface that many have for links to things like a phone is valuable, I believe. I know a couple of guys who really like that. But consider testing the device that they are offering in the specific circumstances that either you or your father has noticed the greatest need before you buy. Just my $.02 worth.

I have to agree. I have had 3 sets of hearing aids over the last 10-12 years. All have worked to some degree but none have worked where I really needed them to which is noisy environments such as restaurants. All of the noises jumble together and I cannot pull out an individual conversation. I usually just shake my head and then after we leave I ask my wife what was said.
One caution I want to throw out is if you go to one of the places that gives 30-90 days “fee trial”, you pay for them up front. If you continue to have issues, be sure of the cutoff date for refund. They all try to keep you coming back for adjustments until that free trial date has past then you are stuck with an expensive set of aids that don’t work

[Pawpaw]

Hearing aids are not a one-size-fits-all solution. They do not work at all like eyeglasses. You would think that it's only necessary to amplify the frequencies where he has loss, but that's only a starting point.

Getting a good result begins with a complete hearing test with an audiologist or, at least, a hearing aid fitter like you find at Costco. They have to be programmed for your father's exact hearing loss. After that, it may take several more trips for minor adjustments before he gets a satisfactory result.

My recommendation is that you take him to Costco. They'll do the testing, program the aids (called "fitting"), and then do a Real Ear Measurement test to verify they're working correctly. They'll also take care of any future adjustments and repairs at no cost for 2 or 3 years.

Costco is the most cost effective solution unless he's a veteran. The VA provides hearing aids for free, if he qualifies. That's where I get mine.

My father is a veteran but last time I took him to VA office he didn't qualify for medical. Is their something different about the hearing aids that I should look for? I don't think he can wait for a couple months while I go through the appeal process.

You get VA hearing aids if you can prove a service connected hearing loss. Sometimes, just the audiology exam on the discharge physical is sufficient evidence (that's how I got mine). You do not need to qualify for VA medical (reserved for low income vets) because it is a disability.

That is not entirely true. Once you get into the VA medical system, you can get hearing aids pretty much automtically. Hearing problems are one of the top issues for veterans.

[Pawpaw]

Hearing aids are not a one-size-fits-all solution. They do not work at all like eyeglasses. You would think that it's only necessary to amplify the frequencies where he has loss, but that's only a starting point.

Getting a good result begins with a complete hearing test with an audiologist or, at least, a hearing aid fitter like you find at Costco. They have to be programmed for your father's exact hearing loss. After that, it may take several more trips for minor adjustments before he gets a satisfactory result.

My recommendation is that you take him to Costco. They'll do the testing, program the aids (called "fitting"), and then do a Real Ear Measurement test to verify they're working correctly. They'll also take care of any future adjustments and repairs at no cost for 2 or 3 years.

Costco is the most cost effective solution unless he's a veteran. The VA provides hearing aids for free, if he qualifies. That's where I get mine.

My father is a veteran but last time I took him to VA office he didn't qualify for medical. Is there something different about the hearing aids that I should look for? I don't think he can wait for a couple months while I go through the appeal process.

How long ago did you try? With the improvements Trump has put into the VA, things are much better now.

I recommend you find a Veteran's advocacy organisation to help you out.

This link may be helpful: https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/ben ... chap01.asp. You're on your own to find an advocacy group.

[Oldgringo]

I bought my first pair of Hearing Aids at Costco in Kalispell, MT for ~$2,000 in 2012, my second pair came from the Rockwall Costco in 2017 for $1,700. They have been serviced/adjusted all across the country since then and I'm okay with Costco's hearing aid testing, services and products. If you buy them with your Costco card, the Costco 3-year warranty is doubled.

You may get the advertised free hearing test and better hearing aids from your local audiologist for ~$6,000. I dunno', give 'em a try. Good night and good luck.

[oohrah]

Hearing aids are not a one-size-fits-all solution. They do not work at all like eyeglasses. You would think that it's only necessary to amplify the frequencies where he has loss, but that's only a starting point.

Getting a good result begins with a complete hearing test with an audiologist or, at least, a hearing aid fitter like you find at Costco. They have to be programmed for your father's exact hearing loss. After that, it may take several more trips for minor adjustments before he gets a satisfactory result.

My recommendation is that you take him to Costco. They'll do the testing, program the aids (called "fitting"), and then do a Real Ear Measurement test to verify they're working correctly. They'll also take care of any future adjustments and repairs at no cost for 2 or 3 years.

Costco is the most cost effective solution unless he's a veteran. The VA provides hearing aids for free, if he qualifies. That's where I get mine.

My father is a veteran but last time I took him to VA office he didn't qualify for medical. Is their something different about the hearing aids that I should look for? I don't think he can wait for a couple months while I go through the appeal process.

You get VA hearing aids if you can prove a service connected hearing loss. Sometimes, just the audiology exam on the discharge physical is sufficient evidence (that's how I got mine). You do not need to qualify for VA medical (reserved for low income vets) because it is a disability.

That is not entirely true. Once you get into the VA medical system, you can get hearing aids pretty much automtically. Hearing problems are one of the top issues for veterans.

apples and oranges. If you qualify for VA medical (low income) that's one thing (I do not). Not everyone can get into the VA medical system. But, even if you do not qualify, and you have a service connected hearing loss, you can still get a hearing disability and hearing aids.