Hearing Aids?

Loose, I hear 'ya. My Mom was the same way. It took a year of gentle nagging to persuade her to take the time visit & revisit the audiologist to tweak the fit and audio adjustments so that her aids were fully adjusted to her liking. She was so embarrassed to be seen in public wearing devices that made her "feel old."

Loose- My mother in law is 90 and she didn't want to go out anywhere w a cane. Someone might see her and thing she had gone "round the bend"!!!

Hi: I also suffer from 50% hearing loss in my right ear. I purchased an expensive behind-the-ear aid and was never happy with it. Out of desperation I heard that Cabela's sold hearing aids for hunters. They have a 100% money back guarantee so there was risk to me. I bought the Walker Game Ear IV HD model for $199.00. I was amazed that it was far better than my expensive audiologist prescribed aid (which, by the way, cost nine times the Walker aid!). I listen to classical music and jazz and have thousands of records. I now enjoy music as much as I did before I suffered the hearing loss. If you have any questions I would be happy to share information with you. Sincerely, Rob.

For those that are just trying on hearing aids for the first time, it will most certainly take awhile to get use to... It feels like having your ears plugged all the time, let alone, we don't realized that you want little movement on the fit of your hearings aids, just like creating a suction... Hearing aids is highway robbery and that is why I recommend COSTCO and use their prices to compare with others out there... Good Luck....

Some thoughts from one who wears hearing aids -

I've been in this audio hobby for nearly 50 years and have worn aids for the past seven. The question of comparing before and after is difficult to answer because for most of us, hearing loss is gradual. Studies show that most adults begin to lose high frequency hearing by our late 20s. Still, I was not aware of my hearing loss until my late 40s. And then I (stubbornly) waited another ten years until it got bad enough where I had to do something about my loss.

As others have noted, significant improvements have been made with these devices in recent years. Three points should be made. First, modern digital aids can be fine tuned at several frequencies between 250 and 8K CPS. Second, sounds can not only be boosted but masking can be introduced to help intelligibility. Third, great PATIENCE must be exercised during the fitting/adjusting process. Expect to make several trips back to your audiologist for proper adjustments. And keep in mind that the industry focuses on speech, not music, so not as much is known for best settings for music listening. I probably went through 3-4 adjustments before we got the full frequency balance of music set for my aids.

After all that, it is certainly worth it for me. And for those who fear they may lose enjoyment of music, let me say I enjoy it more. Plus I have amazed a few non-hearing aid wearing friends with my ability to still distinguish subtle sonic differences in equipment and software.