Less Expensive Alternative to Help With Hearing Loss

Hey there,

I have bilateral aids, they are pretty high tech lol. You have to get aids that can be calibrated to address your loss. I also have the loss of lower tones and am hypersensitive to the high pitched/loud sounds. It took a few times of tweaking, but I'm adjusting now. My audiologist goes on the computer and adjusts how they amplify. She very aggressively turned up my background noise reduction feature and turned on the feature the takes the sting out of the high pitches. I'm just going by what she recommended and tells me lol but supposedly she is able to amplify those lower tones w/o amplifying the sounds I still hear well. These are Bluetooth compatible and I have them hooked up to my cell phone and car phone. Little wireless computers in my ears lol Some music still sounds slightly distorted to me but so many songs that I was sad I couldn't hear "correctly", sound better to me!

Yep, they are so pricey and insurance coverage for them sucks. I was lucky that my insurance paid a good sum so I was able to afford them. It was $6000 for the 2 aids, I'm sure because of all the bells and whistles. But the audiologist scared me a bit, telling me that hearing is a much about our brain as it is our ears and the longer I went without hearing the more my brain "disconnects" from those sounds until the loss is permanent so even fluctuating hearing loss isn't good for our long term hearing prognosis.

That's what I was told anyway.

~Mary

Wow now those sound like what I need...I have hyperacusis as well (certain sounds bother me or frequencies)  my right ear is still pretty good my left one sounds like someone talking in the bottom of a metal garbage can....do you know what brand they are,,,,my audiologist is young and seems to learn or want to know about any technology out there....how big are these aids?...he was telling me about aids u can calibrate....when an ent told me hearing aids won't help me I knew they must make some that would....I cant talk on phone in my bad ear are you able to do that now?...thanks for all the info

Hello Bluesmann, The brand name for the device for which I spoke is "Listen Up" I have one and they help me, only the earbuds go in the ear, its pretty much like a headset amplifier with individual ear buds marked left and right with a volume control on the device. I bought mine for 9.99 online 

Bertman 

Wow...for $9.99 they are worth a shot for anybody! If they don't work or make things worse or sound annoying, you didn't break the bank trying them!

Hello Mary, You are so right, that's why I thought I would share this information. All I know is they do help me. If you google "Listen Up" you will find several merchants that offer this item. 

Bertman 

Of course!! I'll share anything that might be of help or even open a new avenue of possible relief. My aids are Phonak brand. There are "tiers" and mine are the 3rd tier up from the base model. Even the base models are pricey, $3000 for a pair. They are rechargeable so, no batteries. I put them on the charger when I go to bed. Being on the charger after 2 hrs (that's a full charge) doesn't hurt them so no worries that they are on the charger all night. They are very small and available in all kinds of colors...she matched mine to my skin tone and I'm not lying when I tell you that unless I tell someone I'm wearing them, nobody notices. My first day wearing them at work I announced I had my new aids and turned my head to the side (I wear a cap with my hair put up under it cuz I work with food) my coworkers said Where are they? Lol They are the type with a small unit behind my ear and a teeny wire with a lil bud on the end that threads down into my ear. I'm the same as you...my right ear is so much better than my left ear. I could NOT answer the phone with my left ear prior to the aids but I can now! Gotta hold the phone a lil farther back so the sound goes into the amplifier. I am not completely deaf in my left ear but enough loss that using the phone on that side was impossible and I always seated myself on the left of people so they were talking into my good ear. My right ear has mild loss also, hence the bilateral aids so that I'm even lol I couldn't wear them to work, they drove me nuts...all the loud background noise...I got a whopper of a headache in one minute I couldn't wear them to loud, boisterous places like a restuarant on a Fri night or the bowling alley. So I was taking them in and out and doc said that's no good...so they tweaked and gave me 13 levels of volume control and upped my bkground noise reduction. So I turn them down at work and that's working out well. I told them that even things like the microwave beeping was PIERCING with the aids in so they turned on another feature that is supposed to react to those noises and take the sting out and although I'm still sensitive to loud, high pitched, abrupt noises I will admit that at least the microwave beeping doesn't send me thru the roof. They are comfortable and easy to put in/take out. I know I will continue to have her adjust things as we go along. She doesn't even have them calibrated to where I need them to be yet. She said if she did I wouldn't be able to stand it...gotta work my way up to hearing more normally again. For reference on that...I've noticed the more permanent loss for between 2-3 years. It would be an assault on the brain to just jump right in to where I will eventually need them.

That being said, I'm sure everyone's experience will be different. There are down sides that I'm still adjusting to...the sound of my own voice, the sounds of crinkling wrappers, the inability to sometimes determine where a sound is coming from, the sometimes "tinny" way certain things sound. But it is nice to have the tv volume on 18 when I'd need it on 38 previously. Lol I guess I'm committed now and will continue to try to move forward with hearing aids as a part of my daily life. I had bad headaches (which in turn made my "daily dizzy"worse)the first couple of weeks and also thought they made my tinnitus worse, but that has evened out. I don't get headaches anymore from the aids. I feel like, at this point, my tinnitus is no worse than it always has been.

Can we send pics here? If so, I'll send you a pic of the aids.

Again, best of luck. None of this is easy but what else can we do? ~Mary

not sure if we can send pics or not I can google them but you sound very very similar to me...I cant talk on phone in left ear.....to be able to again would be amazing.....my left prob has 20% hearing id guess...they did my test but I don't pay attn to it I know how I hear...lol.....my right has a little reduction to to loud music for years I suppose....

Bertman

Hello Bluesmann, I think you are talking about the "Listen Up" device, this is a hearing amplifier only, it magnifies the surrounding sounds, I found it really helpful watching tv, so did my neighbors, lol

Bertman 

I ordered a pair look forward to trying them...from the reviews I've read it takes a bit of tinkering to get them set right but once that happens people love them......I will post my results

Hello Bluesmann, I have never tried aftershocks, I pretty much have my hearing loss in control at this point, of course the left ear is done for. But me and the right ear are still communicating  with the listen up device, I am always up for trying new things though, with meniere's the equipment has to progress along with the disease. and boy I know you know that! 

Bertman 

Oh boy!! I'm so excited for you! I hope they do the trick.

Thanks I'll let you know supposed to arrive tomorrow

I got my iPods.....I haven't tweaked them or anything and can already hear a person across the rom form my bad side....so far I am elated.....I will keep you all posted....I turned the tv up and listened to someone talk right next to me and could hear them.....then I shut out outside sounds....ive only begun to look into what all they can do but so far I'm pleased....I hope they work in a real world environment as so far I've just tried them at home...but I did have to turn the tv down and could understand speech much better....wish me luck

Oh my gosh!!!! This is fantastic news. You must be over the moon. I'm so happy for you. It's a whole new world again