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Dad wants hearing aids. Any words of wisdom on these?


JL Sargent

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I wish you good luck with this. My bride is deaf in one ear and is limited in the other. After three surgeries to implant the inner workings (stirrup, anvil, etc) out of various materials that did not work I have recommended that she get fitting with these devices,. She is vain and refuses so I applaud your dad for getting them. I have talked to several folks that have them and it seems to be universally said that they are a P.I.A. but better then without.

I had a director at a place of work that bought a set of aids with remote control for volume. We met everyday, I mean every day at 0600. At 0600 the senior manager would walk in and start to belittle everyone in the room. The director would enter prior to 0600 and adjust his volume to the conversation in the room. I got great satisfaction from watching him jump to grab his remote for volume down when his underling started his daily rampage.

My Mom wears them and the levels never are quite adequate. It seems there is not a good "gain limiter" in her's.

So, no hard data or blind A/B/C comparisons under laboratory conditions therfore I can't post charts or graphs with the hearing aid outside the home in an open field without corners.

My opinion is that hearing aids help but you must match the brand/model to your needs. Expensive! They are like glasses. I wear glasses now and it has unfortunately changed my reading habits and I don't get the enjoyment of a book I once did BUT, I can still read a book.

Again, best of luck. I wish him well.

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i have them in both ears. I have the "in ear" ones, although with 75% loss in one ear, and 50%-60% loss in the other, the doctor said i should probably have "outside" the ear ones. Mine cost $5,000. Not perfect; but, better than not having them. I struggle with telephone calls as I get some feedback. Perhaps the outer ear ones wouldn't be an issue in this regard.

takes a couple weeks to get accustomed to. at first, things were very loud. I was told that my brain had to adjust to hearing things that i hadn't been hearing. Despite the cost … the week after getting them, I met the actress Rhona Mitra at an event. As we talked I only had to ask her to repeat herself once. After that day, i said i wouldn't complain about the cost again -- and i haven't.

I do endorse getting them -- it's just so much easier than missing out.

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My 76 yo father (deaf in 1 ear) has a pair. The "deaf" side broadcasts to a receiver on the "hearing" side, so maximum auditory stimuli can be processed. But, if you approach him and vocalize something on the "deaf" side, he might look away from you, at first...

Our family always lets him choose where he wants to sit at restaurants (based on ambient noise), and where he wants everyone else to sit (based on their voice characteristics and his degree of personal interest). It's GOOD to be the King!

I also have a cousin who married a deaf woman, and they have a deaf daughter. My cousin's wife remains deaf, but their daughter received cochlear implants that changed their lives.

Lots of technology out there, and while I personally know little about it, I'd still be happy to ask my father what brands/models have/haven't worked for him.

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What? Sorry....bad joke. On a serious note....glad to hear your dad is accepting of hearing loss and wants to correct it. My dad could care less that we have to yell at him or make sure he is looking at us before we talk.

Edited by philly0116
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