ANA Discussion Forum
Watch and Wait => For those in the 'watch and wait' status => Topic started by: judyl on November 17, 2021, 08:35:24 pm
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I commented on the hearing aid post with a question about telecoils, but I thought it best to start a new topic. I have been on observation (W&W) for the past 4 years with a stable AN. Symptoms are left-sided hearing loss with 80% word discrimination, but it feels like it is greater because I don't have a problem with volume, it's what is being said that I usually miss, often near the end of a sentence. I was diagnosed due to recurring vertigo but in the past few years, I feel like episodes have lessened.
Last year I tried a Kirkland 9.0 hearing aid but I didn't like that it had disposable batteries and there was no remote support. The main reasons I returned it was because I was still misunderstanding what others were saying, and it didn't help me using a land line telephone. Recently, I went for an audiologic evaluation at an audiology office in my insurance network and my audiogram was essentially unhanged from previous tests. I learned the Phonak Paradise has a telecoil option with rechargeable batteries and from what I read, telecoil may be used with a landline phone. https://hearinghealthmatters.org/hearinprivatepractice/2015/program-hearing-aids-t-coil-use/ I asked the audiologist about this and she told me it works with ho magnet up to the phone, but I cannot find this anywhere on the Phonak website. The Paradise can also stream audio with a built in microphone that can pick up your voice when on a Bluetooth connection. I also watched this review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0uFiHl3UY4
The Costco Kirkland 10.0 hearing aid is said to be the equivalent to the highest level Paradise (P90), also offers remote support, and is rechargeable so I could certainly go there, as they have a much more generous return policy with a full money back guarantee. However, they are out of my insurance network so I would incur some out of pocket cost. With the audiology office, since I have hit my maximum out of pocket costs, I would not pay any out of pocket costs if I get one this year, but I am only given a 30 day trial with essentially $150.00 fee if I return it within that time and do not select another. However, that hearing aid is slightly lower in technology than the equivalent that Costco sells.
Also, I'm wondering if I would a better quality service from the audiology office than Costco that uses hearing aid technicians rather than audiologists.
I have an appointment with an ENT to discuss hearing aid options and will ask him about the telecoil use with a telephone.
Has anyone tried the Paradise or used a telecoil with a landline phone?
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I got my hearing aids from Costco and highly recommend them. Not all Hear Specialists are good (but then again, neither are all private audiologists ;) however, you can certainly talk to them and see how much they include you in the decision process. I went with the Jabra HA (Same as the Resound One 9) through costco. I would also recommend Hearing Tracker forums as there is a lot of great info about hearing aids - that's where I learned quite a lot :)
https://www.hearingtracker.com/