Low End Hearing Aids, eg Phonak Naida III UPs.

NaidaUP

NaidaUP

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Has anyone ever only got the low end / standard hearing aids every time they upgrade and found noticeable improvement over their last pair?

Reason why I'm asking is with the
Phonak Naida IIIs
Phonak Naida III daz
Phonak Naida S III
Phonak Naida Q30
there seems to be big improvement in the features

But when I personally look at the
Phonak Naida IXs
Phonak Naida S IXs
Phonak Q90s
i don't see a huge improvement in the features.

Has anyone always been happy with the low end hearing aids?

Reason why I'm asking, is my Dad asked if I wanted to get the top of the range hearing aids (which got me thinking), the next time I upgrade, altho that won't be anytime soon. I've been very happy with my Naida S IIIs and as these are my first digitals aids, I have no experience of upgrading as such :)
 
Wirelessly posted (Blackberry Bold )

I went with an entry level Phonak and while it helps, I regret not spending the extra money for additional program options (it only has one listening program & tcoil).

I won't do entry/basic again ... It was the worst $500 I ever "saved".
 
Friend of mine told me she only paid $1,000 for a Phonak Naida, which surprised me.

I'm used to price tags of $6,000 for two hearing aids.

Have prices really come down a lot for quality hearing aids, or did she buy a low or mid-grade hearing aid?
 
I have what I thought was a higher end hearing aid, Starkey. After trying a Naida at the audi's office a couple weeks ago, my Starkey's are crap. Get the best one you can afford. Not only will you have better results, the aid will last you longer and you won't have to buy new ones as soon, saving money in the long run.
 
Years ago, I do agree that the low end hearing aids were not that good but it seems to me, that the low end hearing aids are actually becoming a lot better where's the high end hearing aids, are not changing that much.
 
HOH-ME said:
I have what I thought was a higher end hearing aid, Starkey. After trying a Naida at the audi's office a couple weeks ago, my Starkey's are crap. Get the best one you can afford. Not only will you have better results, the aid will last you longer and you won't have to buy new ones as soon, saving money in the long run.
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Your Starkey's are properly classed as high end hearing aids, but you've realised that the Phonak Naidas work better for you.

Some people seem to get on with certain brands and maybe your brain/ears seem to like the Phonak Naidas more. I've only ever had Phonaks myself.
 
Anij said:
Wirelessly posted (Blackberry Bold )

I went with an entry level Phonak and while it helps, I regret not spending the extra money for additional program options (it only has one listening program & tcoil).

I won't do entry/basic again ... It was the worst $500 I ever "saved".
Click to expand...

What Phonak HA do you have? Must be difficult for you as a lot of HAs need 2 hearing aids to benefit from more of the features.

To me, my basic Naidas are extremely good. With my Phonak Superfront, I always had to adjust volume depending on what situation I was in. With my Naidas, I've never touched my volume, all thanks to Soundflow. :)

I only have FM program and Soundflow. Soundflow is what works best for me. I personally don't see the need for more program's.
 
NaidaUP said:
Your Starkey's are properly classed as high end hearing aids, but you've realised that the Phonak Naidas work better for you.

Some people seem to get on with certain brands and maybe your brain/ears seem to like the Phonak Naidas more. I've only ever had Phonaks myself.
Click to expand...

I've only had Starkey because that is all I have ever been offered. I tried the Naidas for all of 5 minutes so I don't know that it's a brain/ear thing vs just better quality. The options and the functionality of the Naidas seems to be far more advanced as well.
 
I have a Naida III UP daz , and have been very happy with it.

But I would consider it a high end hearing aid. It Doesn't have all the features of the IX, but it isn't a cheap hearing aid. I know people who have far less.

Really, I would say it's good to buy the best you can within your budget and then not worry about it.
 
Digital hearing aids haven't really been around all that long, how many upgrades would people normally have gone through if your loss isn't progressive? The only reason I've ever gotten new ones is because I needed more power. If you've had the same degree of loss how often would really need to be getting new ones?
 
ambrosia said:
Digital hearing aids haven't really been around all that long, how many upgrades would people normally have gone through if your loss isn't progressive? The only reason I've ever gotten new ones is because I needed more power. If you've had the same degree of loss how often would really need to be getting new ones?
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HA's don't last forever. I've been able to keep my HA's for about 7 years on average. My latest pair, however, are 2 1/2 years old and even with the minor changes in my hearing, they just can't get them programmed to work for me. Of course when I bought them they should have "lasted me for years". My first HA's were analog, horrible. I got my first digital ones in 2000 or so. They were a huge improvement over the analogs. When I first got these, they were much better then my old ones but they just haven't lived the life they should have.
 
HOH-ME said:
HA's don't last forever. I've been able to keep my HA's for about 7 years on average. My latest pair, however, are 2 1/2 years old and even with the minor changes in my hearing, they just can't get them programmed to work for me. Of course when I bought them they should have "lasted me for years". My first HA's were analog, horrible. I got my first digital ones in 2000 or so. They were a huge improvement over the analogs. When I first got these, they were much better then my old ones but they just haven't lived the life they should have.
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They smoked? Were sedentary? Spent wild nights out at the bars? :hmm:
 
NaidaUP said:
What Phonak HA do you have? Must be difficult for you as a lot of HAs need 2 hearing aids to benefit from more of the features.

To me, my basic Naidas are extremely good. With my Phonak Superfront, I always had to adjust volume depending on what situation I was in. With my Naidas, I've never touched my volume, all thanks to Soundflow. :)

I only have FM program and Soundflow. Soundflow is what works best for me. I personally don't see the need for more program's.
Click to expand...

I have the Phonak MAXX (entry digital).
I don't have any hearing at all on my right side, so I only use the one HA for my left.

If I'd realized at the time how much of a difference spending an extra $500 or even $1000 would have made, I would have saved up/financed and got the better HA especially since because I only have one aid-able side and have APD.
 
Anij said:
Wirelessly posted (Blackberry Bold )

I went with an entry level Phonak and while it helps, I regret not spending the extra money for additional program options (it only has one listening program & tcoil).

I won't do entry/basic again ... It was the worst $500 I ever "saved".
Click to expand...

Been there done that....

What you buy for hearing aids has to be your decision since you're wearing them. If you don't expect much, or want much or care much about the quality of hearing then really it's an easy purchase. In that case, if the low ends are working for you and it's not breaking the bank, than that's what you should continue to do.

However, if you value things such as clarity of speech, TV, Music, nature or language study, then you need to look at the high end. I "saved" too when I bought my first digitals and I'll never make that mistake again. Thank God when I'm able to make another purchase, I'll be able to get the insurance coverage for part of it....

Laura
 
Lau2046 said:
Been there done that....

What you buy for hearing aids has to be your decision since you're wearing them. If you don't expect much, or want much or care much about the quality of hearing then really it's an easy purchase. In that case, if the low ends are working for you and it's not breaking the bank, than that's what you should continue to do.

However, if you value things such as clarity of speech, TV, Music, nature or language study, then you need to look at the high end. I "saved" too when I bought my first digitals and I'll never make that mistake again. Thank God when I'm able to make another purchase, I'll be able to get the insurance coverage for part of it....

Laura
Click to expand...

It's not about not caring about quality of hearing.

Some people purply can't afford more expensive hearing aids.

Myself, I've got the Naida S III and the Naida V from the older software.
I notice NO different between the two even tho the Naida V should be a lot better. Maybe I'm too deaf to notice the different or maybe its just how it is.

I know I've read about people only getting low end hearing aids and been very happy. Even tho they are low end hearing aids, everytime you upgrade, they've always been a big improvement so they've always been happy.
 
Bottesini said:
I have a Naida III UP daz , and have been very happy with it.

But I would consider it a high end hearing aid. It Doesn't have all the features of the IX, but it isn't a cheap hearing aid. I know people who have far less.

Really, I would say it's good to buy the best you can within your budget and then not worry about it.
Click to expand...

That's very true. Altho its classed as low end, it has awful lot within the hearing aid :)
 
ambrosia said:
Digital hearing aids haven't really been around all that long, how many upgrades would people normally have gone through if your loss isn't progressive? The only reason I've ever gotten new ones is because I needed more power. If you've had the same degree of loss how often would really need to be getting new ones?
Click to expand...

Hearing aids won't last a life time. Average life is 5 years before manufactures would say no to repairing them. If they are still going them that's good. Some people like to upgrade due to improvement in features. Many reasons as to why people upgrade.

I know LoveBlue upgraded from Oticom Sumo to Phonak Naida as she wanted more features. Oticon Sumo and Phonak Naida basically are the same power and both use 675 batteries.
 
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