I've been debating with myself about how to post in this forum.
IRL (in real life), I find I spend a lot of time being polite and talking about trivial things that no one cares about so no one gets upset.
I do post at one other forum, a skeptical forum, and that is my major intellectual outlet. I ended up there accidentally because I was trying to figure something out and I found it helpful to post there. I ended up staying because I enjoyed having a place where I could discuss any issue without having to worry about being polite.
I find it hard to get good information about hearing loss, hearing aids and other hearing related technology. So ... at the risk of being a real PITA -- I'm just going to go ahead and post some stuff even though it may make me seem disagreeable -- particularly in this thread.
Frequency shifting is old technology. An Israeli hearing aid company had a reputation for doing this at least as far back in the 1990s. I recall audiologists talking about this technology at HLAA meetings I was going to in the 1990s. I think it may have been the early 1990s, but I don't recall for sure. I also don't know when other companies started implementing this technology. But I do know that this is not new technology.
Not all audis are enthusiastic about the technology -- some claim they think it makes sounds more muddy if so many more sounds are being shifted over to a narrow bandwidth.
I admit I never tried it -- its not easy to try a lot of different technology because audis expect you to pay for your hearing aids in advance before you even try them. Perhaps I should have been more aggressive in trying more aids even so, but I had other issues going on at the last several times that I was purchasing HAs that affected my ability to try a variety of aids. And also, I had decided to trust my audi when she said that if I wanted to get the frequency shifting feature I would have to give up other features that I cared about more.
Its not as easy to try different HAs now as it use to be say in the late '80s. I remember my audi setting up several diff analog HAs at a fitting and I would tell her which one I liked best. I don't know anyone who was able to do that after digital aids became more common. Now it seems to be .. pay in advance and only get to try one pair at a time. Imagine trying to buy a car that way and then having to stretch out the process of buying, trying it out, waiting for a refund so you can try another model, buying it, trying it out, etc over weeks maybe even months. Its pretty crazy, IMHO.
Hearing aid prices defintitely vary widely by hearing aid dealer. There's a lot of variability in the prices that various hearing aid dealers can get with hearing aid manufacturers -- it all depends on how good they are at bargaining.
On one hand that's probably good -- if you ask around you may be able to find a brand that you are interested in trying at a price you can better afford. On one hand that may not be good -- a HA dealer my not realize how much his or her opinion on what brand to fit a patient is influenced by the business deals he or she has with the manufacturers. In an ideal world, an audi would only be allowed to get paid for their time, regardless of what model hearing aid they fit you with. I don't normally have a problem with capitalism -- but HA dealers are basically treated like car salesmen by the HA manufacturers despite the fact that they are selling medical devices. This this can't help but effect what models many hearing aid patients are exposed to. I don't think that medical devices should be sold the same way non-medical consumer products are.
OK, those are my comments for today.
72 year old male in Ohio. Have worn high powered analog HAs since about age 10. Profound loss in both ears. Have had mostly Zenith Regents, if I can get them. I bought one of the last Bosch body aids made, about 6 years ago. When it needed repairs I did it myself (I am a retired Electrical engineer).I buy up "vintage HAs" on Ebay and repair them if need be. Batteries ( 2 AAs) last about a week. The regent took 2 N cells but I made a battery pack for it that accommodated 2 AAs Now I am starting to looK at digital aids,etc. Can anyone talk to me about improving my hearing?