The 67-year-old hearing test results! You need hearing aids.

[stumat]

Went for my follow up visit and based on my test and comments about my hearing the audiologist (who I am impressed with) is recommending a Phonak Audeo Lumity hearing aid. I think it has 22 bands of EQ, which is kind of cool. It would cost me about $2,500, a lower performing Phonak model about $1,600. And I would get multiple follow up and adjustment visits with the audiologist to really dial in the EQ and performance.

I have United Health Care Medicare Advantage which has several hearing aid makers and models that they will subsidize. One is their own brand called Relate which is by far the cheapest. Or I could do the Costco thing for $1,300. Here are my test results, and the the brands UHCMA works with.

Chart looks pretty crappy after 3,500 hz.

I realize for music listening no hearing aid is ideal, and I guess I can remove it and just use computer EQ if necessary. I am more concerned about my overall hearing correction and the hope of dialing back my ever present tinnitus than I am about music listening.

Anyone, especially you audiologists on the thread, have any good things to say about the Phonak, or the other brands listed below in terms of preference?

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I bought the Phonak a month ago. Being in UK it cost over £3000. The immediate thing I noticed was how incredibly bright my system was. I had previously regarded it as warm and laid back.
Birdcall can also sound incredibly shrill rather than sweet.


It's very early days and I'm nowhere near mastering the various settings
The audiologist insists that sounds will sound extremely bright for a time because I haven't heard these frequencies in a long time. She said the aids are "training my brain" as much as my ears.

I won't be making any major hi-fi purchases until things settle down.

 

[LGD_]

Chart looks pretty crappy after 3,500 hz.

I realize for music listening no hearing aid is ideal, and I guess I can remove it and just use computer EQ if necessary. I am more concerned about my overall hearing correction and the hope of dialing back my ever present tinnitus than I am about music listening.

Anyone, especially you audiologists on the thread, have any good things to say about the Phonak, or the other brands listed below in terms of preference?

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I'm 74, and my hearing loss is very similar to what you've posted....

I used Phonaks for almost 9 years, until about six months ago when they started going flaky.
Their music program was pretty good, once properly dialed in by the audiologist, and I used them to listen to music - a lot.
I couldn't listen to any music without them and thought they sounded pretty good.

To replace them, I decided to try Widex based on the many reviews read online about their excellent music sound.
I got the RIC - 440, with the 312 battery.
They are so much more powerful than the (old) Phonaks, that most of my visits to the audiologist have been for him to dial them down.

Regarding music listening, which is of major importance to me (why else would I be on this forum, lol):

The Widex music program, out of the box, was horrible - totally un-listenable - heavily peaked about 1 - 2 khz.
I tried several times to tell the audiologist what I needed for music, nothing worked, I couldn't communicate my needs to him at all on this.
I almost gave up on it, then....

I remembered that I can get very good SQ (with NO hearing aids) listening on my PC, with foobar and headphones (Shure SRH -1540),
Using an EQ curve created with it's equalizer. (Electri-Q). So I printed out the EQ curve and asked the audiogolist set the music pgm response to duplicate it....

Viola !
I now see what the "Widex Sound" is all about.
Music is clear, very clean and I'm really enjoying it with them now, often for several hours at a time.
Although I thought the old Phoneaks sounded pretty good, these are noticeably cleaner - gone is the slight IM distortion the Phoneaks had, which is very pleasing..
Yes, I'm only hearing to 8Khz, but when (without the HA's) I only hear to maybe 1 or 2 Khz - being able to hear good sound to 8Khz is totally wonderful.

Some more notes:
1. When listening to music, resist the temptation to crank it up. Doing so will fatigue your ears sooner, and with the HA's it really is more enjoyable at a lower volume.
2. When ordering the HA's, be sure to request the widest range "receivers" (the in- ear speakers). Get the ones that go to 8Khz (not all of them do).,
3. When selecting which "domes" (rubber thing that fits into your ear), pick one that goes deep into your ear, WITHOUT sealing.
If it seals, you will not hear any bass, The HA's don't work at bass freqs - so it needs to get around the domes.

Sorry for the long post, I hope it is helpful....

 

[August West]

I will go to the consult in two weeks to go over all this stuff and what my Medicare Advantage will cover. I really liked that audiologist and she was super informed, and I told her my audio addiction. If you don't want to post, please PM me with the hearing aid brand you arrived at and like so much. That is encouraging news.

Of course we could also discuss progressive lenses, but that is for a different forum. Oh to have my 20 year old ears and eyes again!

I have Widex Moment 220's. And they are life changing.

 

[Balle Clorin]

At 64 My left ear is better than my right and sometimes I notice a shift in the sound image to the right, sad but that is life my doctor told me . But I can still enjoy the guys

 

[DMill]

My father in law clearly needs hearing aids, but is steadfast that he can hear fine. Quite honestly it’s annoying. A big thumbs up to members here that see the benefits. It’s refreshing.

 

[rcstevensonaz]

My father in law clearly needs hearing aids, but is steadfast that he can hear fine. Quite honestly it’s annoying. A big thumbs up to members here that see the benefits. It’s refreshing.

Share the recent research that untreated hearing loss may be a contributing factor to dementia onset.

Annoying the heck out the kids has its advantages... less so, the wife; but the dementia angle changes the calculus on when to pull the trigger.

 

[Petrushka]

I’m going to try the Apple aids when they become available.

 

[Esprit]

I’m going to try the Apple aids when they become available.

Me too

 

[EasyC]

Me too

You can use the AirPods Pro 2 with an audiogram already.

Customize headphone audio levels on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

Amplify soft sounds and tune audio for your hearing needs.

support.apple.com

 

[vertumno]

As someone with T and Hyperacusis, I live in fear of ever being prescribed ototoxic medications..as well as MRIs....

You fear MRIs because of the noise related? It worries me too but you can wear your own earplugs in addition to the cans they provide for additional protection, still I’d rather avoid it