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Phonak is the rock of the group. Oticon is pretty good, and Quattros are too new to tell regarding durability at this point. Quattro doesn't have Android streaming yet so you may need to wait or go with Oticon and get the Connect Clip to stream from Android.

I'm not sure I understand your question.

@@DrCliffAuD I think he's looking for free advice on getting his existing hearing aids adjusted; Not a lot to do with the thread!

yeah I want to know too

I adjust online hearing aids all the time. I even help with aids that can't be adjusted.

Hi Annalise, there are many factors when it comes to using hearing aids successfully. While he does need a good hearing aid capable of treating the type and severity of his loss, chances are, the hearing aids he tried were not fit or programmed properly for him. All hearing aids require very specific programming to an individuals hearing loss prescription, and must be verified using Real Ear Measurement. "Clarity" is often affected by High frequency amplification. "Volume" is affected by Low frequency amplification. If he was fit/programmed improperly, he would not perceive additional clarity from his devices.

If your mother was a candidate for hearing aids, she would have received benefit if it was fit and programmed correctly by the professional she went to see. Based on your comment, it sounds like the devices were never adjusted appropriately. If ordering a hearing aid online is the only way she would consider attempting hearing aids again, I would say it is worth a shot. Just know, a properly adjusted hearing aid using Real Ear Verification will always outperform a hearing aid that is sent in the mail without a proper fitting. Any chance you could send me a copy of her most recent hearing test so I could see if she is still a hearing aid candidate? cliff@appliedhearingaz.com

I would strongly suggest you try other providers. Personality connection is very important. The Hearing specialist has no way of knowing what we are experiencing if we don't tell them. Trust and open communication with the hearing professional What may be a super one for me may not be for you. Connection is key.

Casey Cross am

The VA only fits the best hearing aids from the major manufacturers that they work with. If the high pitched ringing is tinnitus then he is likely part of the 40% of individuals who do not receive relief with hearing aids. If he was fit to his prescription with real ear measures, then he is unlikely to receive additional benefit from going to another provider. However, I will check within a professional forum to see if there are any good providers in that area.

I am a vet and used Audiologists in several different VA Centers over the years. If the professional you got was not a good fit ask for someone else. It's done all the time. We all have people we hit it off with better than others. My 60 some years experience with audiologists is one size doesn't always fit.

Hi Rick. I haven't personally worked with any Hi Health Innovations hearing aids, so I can't give that many specifics on their products. However, they appear to have some budget conscious devices. While they will not have the same features and capabilities of more expensive hearing aids and well known brands, they could provide some benefit. As always, it will largely depend on if the hearing care professional you see is using best practices when fitting the devices. This includes Real Ear Verification to ensure you are meeting your prescription, fitting a proper dome or ear mold to ensure that the sound doesn't just leak out, and using validation measures to ensure that you are perceiving benefit in your day to day environments. It also does not appear that they offer any assistive listening devices such as TV or Phone Streamers, or remote microphones.

Appreciate your reply. Their owned by United Health Care; inwhich I have my medicare health care plan with. I've uploaded a current hearing test and are ready for me to order. They'd be programmed for me.

This is the #1 problem with these types of companies. UHC attempts to cut costs by circumventing "Best Practices". I guarantee the hearing aids will not be programmed exactly to your prescription. The only way to ensure you are meeting your prescription of amplification is to have them programmed using Real Ear Verification. Will you get some benefit?...Maybe, but you won't get max benefit. I wish you the best of luck regardless.

Hi BT. I probably will never be able to do a full review of Costco hearing aids because they are only available to Costco. Bernafon makes Bernafon hearing aids. The William Demant holding company owns Bernafon. William Demant also owns Oticon.

Thank you! Bernafon technology sounds similar to the Oticon open technology and it is it is the same manufacture as suspected. Not sure about the audiologist who work at Costco. I assume it depends on the store and the person you see on any given day. I am in the market for a new set of hearing aides. I tried out the Oticon open and loved the way it handled the various environments and how fast it changed to adapt. I couldn't notice it changing, and the sound quality was exceptional. Probably has a lot to do with the audiologist being exceptional too. I haven't been able to try out the Resound Linx 3d's. But, I want to use my Android phone and go directly to the phone without a clicker or a middle device and I want to stream music and other devices like the tv. I have not bee able to ever hear what that sounds like. Very hard for me to talk on a smart phone. I have profound loss. I hear that Android has added G.722 codec for HA support the the next generation of smart phones. It's coming soon and will be previewed to the the Android 8.1 (preview 2). This will open up many more choices for purchasing HA's in the near future! I don't want to get sucked into paying for iPhones again! lol.

Hi Nena, it sounds like either the hearing aid is malfunctioning, or is programmed incorrectly. However, it is important to know that hearing aids amplify all sounds and some can be annoying until your brain acclimates to the change in volume. I highly recommend you consult with an audiologist to have them do testing on your device to determine the problem.

Hey Bill. Thanks for your comment. I 100% agree with you. There are a lot of audiologists who have their heads in the sand when it comes to where the future of hearing aids is headed. To ignore these changes instead of developing ways to make this transition better for patients would be bad for Audiology and Hearing aid wearers alike. However, if we do it with the intention of "making money in the new environment" we would be doing it for the wrong reason IMO.

On line and over the counter hearing aids are designed for folk with mild and moderate loss---and from my experience the lower half of the wide moderate category is more like the severe than the mild. Fitting aids for hearers with moderate-severe, severe and profound loss is not an easy or one time to get it right thing. More frequently than not they require multiple follow-up visits. I would like to hear more about "locked software" problem that is built into the store brands like Miracle Ear.

Karl Hallsten good response. I would like to hear more about it too. This whole industry is more confusing than buying a used car!

Buying online might be the future, but only if you can prove "your " integrity. I haven't been sold I on it yet...

You're preaching to the Choir BeachGunner. I got so sick of preaching REMs to providers that I just decided to teach consumers instead. REMs are taught at nearly every single AuD program, yet for some reason, not all of them do these as a standard of care. Not sure about Hearing Instrument Specialist training, since most HISs aren't formally trained. You are right to a large degree regarding the initial programming of a hearing aid. If a clinic doesn't verify the fitting, then it is impossible to improve the fitting beyond what online tech support could accomplish. However, there are a number of in-clinic functions that can be accomplished from expedient cleanings, preventative maintenance, device repairs, diagnostic testing, cerumen management, identification of ear related conditions, and aural rehabilitation. There is definitely value in having a local clinic for support.

Agree. I'm going to go with a local audiologist, but right now I am in the process of deciding who that is going to be. I was referred to the in-practice audiologist from the ENT I saw, and she is supposedly well versed with tinnitus management, so we shall see. I'm certainly going to question her on the REM's issue. I can't tell by visiting their practice webpage if they do them or not. Anyway, thanks again for all the great information. I like the fact that you changed tactics and are now educating guys like me on REM's. It will certainly force practices to either up their game, or lose business.

Yes, unfortunately your options are very limited with those devices which is compounded by technology that just isn't that good.

Generation old tech, 3 tier tech level, dispensing model that can't follow all published Best Practices. Price is low though.

Not even close. An amplifier increases volume of all sounds. Some of them emphasize the gain in the high frequencies, but their lack of customization and features provide limited benefit, if any benefit at all. One research study I've read even indicated that based on cost/benefit that some companies that manufacture hearing amplifiers should actually pay you money to wear them because they decrease hearing performance.

It is basically the older version of the ReSound Smart App for the LiNX version of their hearing aids. Beltone dispenses private labeled ReSound hearing aids that are locked.

There are a bunch of name brands out there, but the 6 major manufacturers are Phonak, ReSound, Oticon, Widex, Signia, and Starkey.

The ones you are referencing are not hearing aids, they are personal sound amplifiers (PSAPs). They increase the sound of all frequencies, much like turning up the volume of a TV. For most people with hearing loss (High-Frequency Loss), this causes an upward spread of masking which just makes things louder but not clearer. This is just one aspect of how a cheap amplifier is no where even close to as good as an actual hearing aid that can be frequency shaped specifically to one's hearing loss. Hearing aid batteries can cost a low as $2.50 for a month supply so I'm not sure I really understand your comment about "expensive batteries". Also, if you thing the $5 - $10 PSAP isn't just a money grab, you are mistaking. Hearing aid companies have two missions, turn a profit and help people hear better. Just like ANY company in the world, they have a responsibility to make money just like you do in your profession. If you feel they charge too much, so be it, but this has allowed them to produce products that blow away hearing aids from prior years thanks to the massive amount of money they put into research and development.

I understand your point, but it's absurd. I'm a hardware design engineer and I also get questions from customers like "why does your device cost as much as a smartphone?". We make specialty devices sold in hundreds of pieces instead of millions like the ones made in China, so we gotta turn profit somehow, right? Nevertheless, costing 1000 times more than "cheap crap version" is absolutely absurd. Galaxy S8 Bill of Materials totals to $300 and you get the phone for $800. (not even a x3 profit!) Total cost of all electronics and materials inside of the most expensive hearing aid is less than $100 guaranteed, and that's for the ones with wireless charging, bluetooth and everything your heart can imagine. Cost of material for "basic version" that would only have a rechargeable battery and a USB port for charging and EQ upload is probably less than $10. For a normal "poor" person, they would pay $100-$200 for this and it should be an equivalent of BMW and the company making it would still have x10 - x20 profit.

I don't disagree about the hardware costs with you. Nor can I argue your perception of value about any product that exists on the market. But a professionally fit hearing aid isn't just about "cost of materials". Once you start playing the "cost of materials" game, everything is way overpriced. Better products aren't made by just calling China and telling them to make something better and smaller. If you really want to see what goes into making hearing aid technology, visit one of the major hearing aid manufacturers so you can see what really goes on when developing a hearing aids, custom products, and warranty service. Then go to a hearing aid clinic to see the how they diagnose, fit, program, and provide years of service for patients with hearing loss. Then let me know what your perception of this value is. Until you completely understand the full scope of treating hearing loss, this discussion is moot.

I think that in couple of years (maybe a couple of decades even, there are a lot of technically illiterate old people that just need the service), there will be a $100 product and young people will tune it themselves via smartphone or something similar. I'm trying real hard to find something good for my mother in law and I found Oticon OPN... The cost is like two years of saving all the money we have left after paying the bills, food and mortgage, it's really ridiculous, maybe I live in the wrong country... Finding any data and even the price is sometimes hard, I feel like It's like "if you ask the price you can't afford it"...

Not sure what country you are in, but there are programs like Starkey Hear Now for individuals who literally can't afford hearing aids. If you live in the US call 800-328-8602, or outside the US call 866-354-3254.

Ask to Anamika then people like me would do without, 1800 for entry level on SS is not possible, I have a pair for eBay Siemens pure BTE RIC that completely gave me the gift of hearing. They do need programmed but if I can’t afford that I don’t have to watch the news with the TV as high as 75 to barely hear it while the wife goes crazy. It would be nice if the government wouldn’t pass laws to keep the prices high so only the few could afford the works.