I guessed that aids would enable me to clearly hear conversations & TV again but was worried that music, at best would sound processed & echo/reverb drenched. It hasn’t. It sounds perfectly natural to me & I would be surprised if someone with near perfect hearing was hearing a significantly different sound to me.
I must stress that my hearing loss is gradual, age related & almost equal in both ears so I don’t have the dreadful problem that some here have of losing most or all hearing in one ear. I suspect this type of loss is more difficult to compensate for so, as @anon4489532 says, the sound he hears is not the same as before whereas I believe mine either is or is pretty close.
@0.0 Thanks for your concern but, as I said in an earlier post, I was more annoyed than distraught. Several here have far more serious hearing issues than me. My aids have enabled me to enjoy my music once again exactly as I remember it used to be so, at present, my hearing problems are no more than a minor inconvenience.
Think you are spot on here & my hearing problem, gradual deterioration, is probably the easiest to deal with effectively. I didn’t put off treatment for vanity reasons. It was simply that until recently I didn’t realise I had a serious problem.
My audiologist says about 4/5 years on average. This may make the annual cost, in my case, around the £600/700 mark but I believe the technology is improving all the time so, assuming continued hearing loss, I may well want/need better aids in the future. The joy of getting older…
I also reckon 4 to 5 years, although they may need servicing after a couple of years. This normally takes at least a couple of weeks and for that reason most hearing aid users have confronted the truth that doing without them for two weeks would be awful and so buy a second pair. For example buy the latest model a couple of years later and keep the old ones as spares (but get them serviced before putting away in a drawer so they work the day in the future when they are suddenly needed).
In any case it’s not a big cost in Naim-world terms.
With my aids I get a five year guarantee and free annual checkups during that time. I can also see or call my audiologist at any time for advice or tweaks. Most tweaks can be done remotely using the Starkey Thrive app - I see the audiologist on the phone, just like FaceTime and he can control the aids from his end.
Be aware that the big chains tend to push particular aids. The independents are truly independent and may well give more unbiased advice. I was fitted with mine in early December and only paid last week, so about nine weeks later. I can hand them back at any time over the next two months for a full refund if for some reason I don’t like them.
My audiologist was a big fan on Oticon until the Starkey Livio Edge AI appeared, which is what I have. There is one make of aids that promotes themselves as the aid most worn by musicians and they have lots of advertising with cool looking people either playing or listening to music. I asked about those and he said that they were not up to much, despite being able to sell them.
I was quite limited as I wanted both the standard and the cros aid to be rechargeable and very few companies make them. Oticon only make a cros with a battery and GN ReSound’s cros is attached to the hearing side with a wire, which is particularly useless. Luckily the Starkey is one of the best and has wireless cros. They are set to switch to car mode once the car reaches a certain speed, but that’s a bit hit and miss. You can also set them to translate, which amazingly seems to work. When we finally get to France I shall try it out.
Yes, agree there is a third category and a colleague of mine also falls into that group too. I spoke to him today about his experience. He uses Widex in ear aids he said.
I’m in the UK which you can probably just make out from my avatar.
I’ve had Widex aids. They are supposed to be best for music. But they were no good for me and I had two new pairs in two years, also tried their latest top aid a year ago. I thought they weren’t at all musical.
For me GN Resound are the best, but I know someone on the forum here who preferred Phonak and HH has gone for Starkey I think it is.
I have been wearing hearing aids for about 3 years due mainly for tinnitus and high end loss ,hardly conducive for hifi listening ! mine have several setting to combat the Tinnitus. Maybe I can’t hear what i used to but hearing loss was a gradual process over many years until the tinnitus became overwhelming, Hearing aids have given me a quality of life as well as hearing, I thought id lost. As lisenting I think is a largely subjective and an intensely personal experience I amhappily listening to my star hearing aids proudly in place
I’m in UK and use a private audiologist.
She is truly independent and provides a solution based on extensive discussions about perceived requirements/ lifestyle / results of hearing tests AND more importantly HOME DEMO’s of usually 2 weeks.
In her opinion if you have them and don’t wear them cos they aren’t the right match then she has failed.
She only supplies the Statement level offering from whichever manufacturer is deemed best fit for the client in my case Phonak.
Yes they are the most expensive in the range but she says she has tried offering SN3, 202/200 and 252/300 but finds that upgradeitis sets in usually at 6-12months.
Again the cost includes 5 year guarantee all maintenance (ear buds / wax filters) and 3 monthly check ups including micro-suction if needed.
HTH
Good on you, @Canaryfan! We all need encouragement to deal with medical issues, especially ones that are a bit embarrassing and/or freighted with emotional baggage. (Yes, I promise to get that colonoscopy soon.)
As one with tinnitus/hearing loss in one ear, I also want to suggest that we forum dwellers discard any impulse whatsoever that balance pots should be perfectly centered. Given Naim’s hair-shirt ethos, they wouldn’t have included a balance pot if it wasn’t necessary – whether to correct an imbalance in one’s room or in one’s hearing. So grab your remotes and start tweaking until things sound right!
@JimDog Not sure of your location but there are several other routes…
In UK
Private independent audiologists most providing hearing tests and micro suction for ear wax (mine also has a link with a consultant ENT surgeon for when it gets tricky)
High street pharmacists
High street optician chains
As someone above said these tend to sell on price and have targets for units sold
Some independent and small local groups of opticians have started adding an audiologist to their business models
Private ENT consultant surgeons do ear wax removal and there are private consultant audiologist for the more serious types of hearing loss.
IMHO go to an independent Audiologist it’s a bit like buying HiFi you build a relationship and they provide to best solution for you and your situation.
@JimDog
I was lucky and managed to get seen at the RLI on referral from my GP, but would have no hesitation in finding a suitable private audiologist if I wanted to explore improved aid options in the future.
Quite significant to remember to budget for, at least for many people living on a pension - which is by when the need is most likely to become more pressing.
At a very rough estimate that is probably around 3/4 of my average annual spend in today’s money on hifi over the past 50 years… and there was me thinking that having got my system to where it is my only future expense would be repair or replacement if something failed, which hopefully would be minimal!
I had very similar thoughts as you when I was first told the cost of the aids & their expected life time.
I suppose you have to ask yourself ‘do I want to actually hear the Hi Fi I am spending £1,000 pa on?’
I spent £750 last year for a Karousel for my LP12, probably the single biggest ever sound improvement I have ever made to my system. The sound improvement from from the hearing aids was way, way more than the Karousel bought to my vinyl. It also had the added bonus of being able to talk to people without the embarrassment of having to ask them to repeat everything & to watch TV drama/films without needing the picture/actors facial expressions to try & fill in the words I was continually missing.
I wouldn’t have wanted to spend the money on hearing aids any more than anyone else but needs must…
‘You don’t know what you have until it’s gone’ is all too true with regard to hearing & a few hundred pounds a year to hang onto it seems money well spent to me even if the 500 series system has to wait a little longer!
