Got a hearing test done recently… and was told I had the standard hearing loss for my age. I enquired about a bog standard hearing aid that would pick up the higher end of spectrum noises. …. "Oh no you need an individual approach, back 5 or 6 times to get it just right for my condition" ???
The number / cost of generic eye glasses makes me think that a similar approach to hearing aids must be out there. Does anyone have thoughts? Experience of such a device?
Cheers
Hearing aids
suchis on 20/07/2014 - 11:16
There are hearing aids that you can get online and tune yourself, provided that you have a compatable computer and software. You'll also need to make sure these will fit your ear and be comfortable for you.
There are audiologists out there who will charge extremely high prices for the hearing aid and the tuning however there are also audiologists who will charge a reasonable price for the same service. The aim is to shop around and talk about what you want and don't want.
Talk to your health insurance company and find out how much you are covered for. They may have arrangements with specific audiologists which might end up cheaper than buying things online.
My personal feeling is that it is better to get an expert to tune the hearing aid and look after the general health of your ear at the same time.
I have very small ear canals/tubes which constantly fill up with earwax so I had to be careful which hearing aid I chose. I was lucky to find a very caring audiologist who charges a reasonable price compared to other companies.
I found that having an individually tuned hearing aid was the best option for me. I didn't mind having to go back a couple of times to get things fine tuned. All the visits in the first year were covered by the combined initial price of the hearing aid plus tuning. This arrangement might not be available with all companies so don't assume anything.
How old are you and are you covered by any government programs involving funding for hearing aids?