Hearing aid advice sought!

J

jimbob1977

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Hi there!

I'm posting this message on behalf of my nan who is both partially sighted (hence she cannot use the web herself) and hard of hearing.

She currently uses the Oticon Atlas hearing aid, but finds it very difficult to pick out individual speakers in a group conversation. The aids are not NHS and she paid quiet a lot for them (around £3000 I think). After several adjustments by the company she bought them from, there is no great improvement for her and she is considering a different hearing aid.

The trouble is; she is worried about spending the money (as the new ones are very expensive) and finding that they are no better than the old ones. She is considering Oticon Delta aids - but there cost is around £5000 and she wants to be very sure that they will give her some improvement.

Has anyone had experience of the two aids and can you please let me know if the Delta aids are a lot better as my Nan wants to find out as much as she can before making a final decision.

Thank-you kindly for any help and advice you can give! - sincerely - Jamie :eek3:
 
This may not be the case in the UK, but I've always had a 30 day trial period on my hearing aids - a few years ago, I tried 4 different aids over the course of a summer! So she could ask her audiologist or GP if that's an option.
 
Try The Starkey Hearing Foundation. They dont limit their assistance to the USA. The Starkey Hearing Foundation site has info and have the nan file an application and it will cost her very little like $100 per hearing aid.

Richard
 
If you are going to spend the money, don't just think of replacement, think of enhancement. If she likes the aids she has for most situations better not to trade them out.

Maybe finding an attachment or personal FM to go with her aids for groups could be better? I use a Phonak HandyMic with my aids for noisy places and wear my two aids alone in quiet situations.
 
It really depends on her degree of her hearing loss..if it is severe then I seriously doubt any hearing aid will help her pick out the individual speakers in a conversation. She needs to discuss her expectations from her hearing aids with her audiologist and go from there.
 
I think Shel is right on this one.

I remember asking my audi about digital aids and she told me that with my loss there is no HA on the market that will help me as the hair cells are too damaged for me to be able to make sense of speech.

You may want to ask your audi what s/he thinks.
 
It would help to know what degree hearing loss she has (mild, moderate, severe, profound). The Oticon Delta is considered an "Open fit" hearing aid, most commonly used on those with normal low frequency hearing and a mild-to-moderately severe mid-high frequency hearing loss. All hearing aids come with a trial period (45days), worst case is she's out $300 for the restocking fee is she sees no benefit.

In terms of hearing in background noise, here is what I tell my patients. 1. No matter what I fit you with, you will always have SOME level of difficulty hearing in noise. I could fit them with the BMW of hearing aids, and I still tell them the same thing. Some hearing aids handle noise better than others, hence why some are more expensive than others. 2. The reason why you can't hear well in noise is because our ability to hear in background noise is predicated on having two normal hearing ears and a brain. When the ears change with hearing loss (SNHL), the signal from the ear to the brain changes, I cannot do anything to get that back.

The hearing aids I have had good success with and my patients report a good level of benefit in noise are the Siemens Centra, GN Resound Pulse, and Delta. All can be fit "Open" if that is what she needs. All of these hearing aids utilize the ONE technology to really help in background noise....Directional Microphones. The only thing I ever fore-warn someone who has worn aids before but never utilized D-mics is that they may not like them. Mainly because they are used to getting sound 360* around them, with D-mics the hearing aid attempts to drop the noise from the sides and the back. The result, occasionally I will get someone come back and says, "The hearing aids get too quiet in noise", because they were used to getting everything with the old aids. Just an FYI, never a reason to deter someone from trying them.
 
i realy like my ergo a lot and it was only like $700 USD I'm thinking if the ones she has are open fit, she could get some closed fit ear molds and it might help, also find ould if NHS will provide adaptive tech for a computer because their are some awsem things for deaf/blind users.
 
Steve, would "open fit" hearing aids be useful for someone with 40-50 db loss in low-mid tones who previously had very good hearing in the high tones. Before I lost the hearing in the high tones 6 years ago, I didn't wear a hearing aid in that ear. In the other ear the loss is 70-110, and I have always worn a power aid in that ear.

I just went to an audiologist looking to replace the digital hearing aid I currently have for the good ear. She basically asked what I would like and printed off several sheets of hearing aids in different price ranges. I started to do some research and read something about open fit hearing aids being good for people who have lots of trouble with itching from molds, ear infections
 
busymomof3 said:
Steve, would "open fit" hearing aids be useful for someone with 40-50 db loss in low-mid tones who previously had very good hearing in the high tones. Before I lost the hearing in the high tones 6 years ago, I didn't wear a hearing aid in that ear. In the other ear the loss is 70-110, and I have always worn a power aid in that ear.

I just went to an audiologist looking to replace the digital hearing aid I currently have for the good ear. She basically asked what I would like and printed off several sheets of hearing aids in different price ranges. I started to do some research and read something about open fit hearing aids being good for people who have lots of trouble with itching from molds, ear infections
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If your hearing loss reaches 40-50dBHL at 250 and 500Hz, then no, open fit would not be appropriate (the Oticon Delta can be fit for flat 80dBHL hearing losses, but it's not "Open" for that person). The premise behind open fit hearing aids is to not occlude the ear canal of someone who has normal low frequency hearing. Otherwise if I plug up their ear to much they will immediately state they sound like they're in a cave or have a cold. Not much you can do about that with normal low pitch hearing.


If your ears itch has your Audiologist looked into hypo-allergenic molds? When you say ear infections are you talking outer ear (ear canal), or middle ear (fluid)?
 
First, if you can, install a "trial" version of zoomtext on your computer- it lasts 60 days, and will allow her to get a chance at seeing a few web things (my friend who has 20/600 vision uses the "10" setting on it, and it goes up to -36-)
Ai Squared Products - ZoomText Magnifier

As for the hearing aids, as others have said, seek out aide from various sources, and give alot of different aids a try until you find one. Just because it's expensive, doesn't mean it's going to suit your own needs.
 
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