Help needed with hearing aids!

iqmdublin

Hi, my cousin is having major trouble with his hearing, and I thought I’d ask yourselves for some help!

He has 90% hearing loss, and used to get on much better in the past with Analog hearing aids. Since he switched to digital, cause they weren’t making the other ones he had anymore, he can’t listen to music properly, go to pubs, and it’s very difficult for him to manage in normal social settings. It’s very much affecting him and getting him very down.

I had spoken to an audiologist myself about it when getting my aunts hearing aids adjusted, and he said the type he has aren’t suitable (the inner ear smaller ones), and that he needs to have the larger ones and find someone who can adjust them correctly.

I’ve told this to my cousin, and he doesn’t think it’ll work, he’s given up really. He’s spoken to 5/6 specialists already, paid a fortune, and doesn’t think anyone will be able to get him sorted with a working set of digital ones.

And then he said there’s no places which even make analog anymore.

Would anyone be able to point me in a good direction?

lowelife

I am also around 90% loss and its been around that point for sometime now.

I only every used digital behind the ear version of the hearing aids so can't comment on then vs analogue.

But, it has always been my understanding that that super discreet versions of the hearing aids (in ear canal) will only suit people up to a certain loss level, your cousin is way beyond that from what I know.

My latest set of hearing aids have been a game changer for me as they allow me to stream calls, music, online meetings etc directly to the hearing aid.

Much better in social enviroment as well with the built in programs to suit certain enviroments, but as with all hearing aids its damn near on pointless in a crowded enviroment, as due to the nature of the aids, they just can't really choose which sounds to amplify, they amplify everything and everyone. So anything for me outside maybe small group of 5 and minimal background noise you may as well admit defeat.

So I think a good set of behind the ear options and they are not huge by any means, most decent suppliers will give you a trial at least.

Terminator

As you mentioned, with that level of loss you need a full shell in-the-ear or behind-the-ear aids. Discreet aids will not give you enough power.

I started off with analogue aids 40 years ago and the switch to digital is frustrating at first but you get used to it. Streaming audio is really really cool!

A fitting formula that worked for me was NAL-NL2 (very close to analogue for my particular loss) combined with turning off or toning down some digital features that promised the moon but ended up being distracting.

Another thing to consider is self-programming where you can experiment with adjusting gain levels and special features to see what works.

looksee

I have some chargeable ones and the ability to charge them overnight is great, I was getting fed up with the eternal batteries everywhere and having to buy them. The over-ear bit is slightly bigger but not an issue. Other than that I am not as impressed with them as I hoped I might be, Specsaver's top of the range. I think next time I will go back to the business I used to go to, the aids were more expensive but better I think. I just got fed up with your man's talk talk talk, he could talk for Ireland and you were not much wiser when he had finished.

ash97

Mod: you should be aware that this is an Irish site. There is no point advertising American clinics here. Do not shill on this site and do not post in this forum again. Post edited.

iqmdublin

Thanks for the posts! I’ll pass on the info to himself, seems he basically has to avoid the style he has at the moment and go for the larger ones

iqmdublin

Would anyone have someone specific they could recommend he get in touch with? Instead of just the usual outlets? Or is he better off going through the government offices?

Terminator

If his aids are still under warranty he could request a exchange of some sort to the fuller sized models that are more suitable for his loss. Then its a process of finding a fitting formula that suits his loss best. This may require a few return visits for adjustments usually 4 weeks apart to allow for gradual acceptance of the new sounds.