Hearing aid may not help

[Syl]

I had my hearing evaluated 2 wks ago. It's worse on paper than I expected. I can hear many sounds, but there are some that I don't hear at all, such as the crickets at night. I know I have some word recognition.

My question...Is there anyone with some hearing left in the AN ear that tried hearing aids, but found them useless?

My audiologist doesn't think I'm a candidate for a hearing aid, but suggested I try one anyway.  I will see my ENT next month and want her advice before I spend any money.

Syl

[jazzfunkanne]

Hi i had a hearing aid in my AN ear and got on well with it, my hearing was down alot.

[sgerrard]

Lucky me, I get to hear crickets any time I want, day or night. They are everywhere! (My tinnitus, in case you're wondering).

I have been wearing a hearing aid about six months, and it helps. It is not perfect, but it is especially good with voices. You do need to have pretty good word recognition, otherwise you just hear loud distortion instead of soft distortion. My hearing is down a good 50-60 Db in my AN ear, over all the highs and middles, and even some in the lows. Without an aid, I can't hear much of anything with it. With amplification, I can hear conversations quite well, and can pick out a high pitched bird call 100 yards away - although I can't tell which direction it is, because I hear it only in the amplified ear.

I think mine came with a 30 or 60 day trial, where you can give it back and get a full refund. I did have to pay upfront for it, though. I decided to keep it, because it helped so much with conversations - much less use of "what" required. The modern digital aids are pretty good, if you have any hearing left to work with that isn't distorted.

Steve

[Syl]

Thanks Jazz and Steve. It gives me hope.

Syl

[AMD]

HI there,

I got a Miracle Ear hearing aid when I was around 22 or 23.  The AN was most likely very small at that time (undiagnosed, of course).  My aid helped out for approx. 3-4 years until it was hard to hear with that as well.  Of course, it was because my hearing was progressively getting worse with the growing AN.  I also work in surgery (noisy) so even with a "top of the line" digital aid, it didn't help me to recognize words.  I already was experiencing poor word recognition and a hearing aid will not help that.   

Good luck to you

Amy 

[wcrimi]

How much does the typical high quality hearing aid cost?

[LADavid]

Hi Syl
I have no hearing in my AN ear and only about 50% in my "good" ear.  I wear a hearing aid in that ear.  Aids do the best they can.  They amplify sound -- all of it.  If you're in a conversation with someone in a noisy restaurant -- you not only get what's being said to you -- plus what's being said to everyone else and the Muzak system.  But in public, I couldn't survive without it.  I believe mine is the top of the line -- a Widex Inteo -- it runs $2,700 -- I wore a loaner of less quality while the order for mine was placed.  It was not comparable.  But if you have decent hearing in your "good" ear, I would not go to the extreme that I had to.
David