Self-fitting OTC hearing aids

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So we’re telling hearing aid stories:

I was a rock and roll DJ for 14 years at several different (small market) stations. Headphones blasting, free concerts, up close, studio speakers, etc. Yeah, I did some damage.

A bit over 10 years ago I got a Costco hearing aid for just the left ear, which showed the most hearing loss - largely at the top end, but a little thoughout all the frequencies. Worked for a while, $1500, didn’t use it all the time but it was fine.

Flash forward 10 years and I’m not hearing again, so I took the test, again at Costco. Hey, it’s free! Saw the charts with hearing loss in both ears, worse in the left, Mrs. Goofy is getting tired of me saying “What? What?”

Tried two different generics, both were merely amplifiers so far as I could tell, and they worked reasonably well. Until Thanksgiving when my nieces and nephews would say “Uncle Goof you’re squealing again.” Apparently that was pretty much non-stop, although I could year it. Feedback loop, high end, inaudible to me, audible and annoying to everyone else.

Went back to Costco, got a pair (this time) of Rexton for $1500, individually tuned to each ear, and programmable by direction (a help in shows where people behind me are talking; I can just tune them out). Works through the app on the phone. It has several other modes: party, live music, television, etc. none of which seem to make much difference. The “direction” mode does, tho.

That said, they work great, I can hear again, I have a little travel case to self charge in the suitcase if needed, and it’s totally worth it to me.

I don’t think I’ll be going for the Apple Ear Bud solution, I’d feel ridiculous with those white things hanging out of my ears, everybody would think I’ve regressed to my rock and roll days.

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22

He isn’t the only one. I live in a small condo. My furniture is 45 years old, with inherited bits dating from the 60s. My car is an 11 year old compact station wagon. I demand my “geezer” discount at Tim’s and Arby’s, to save $1. I shop at Salvation Army stores.

Seems no-one has uploaded the Midas muffler commercial I remember, so here is a VW commercial instead.

Steve

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23

@steve203 both DH and I are dedicated LBYMers who still live like graduate students. He’s more extreme than I am but I still shop at thrift stores and drove my 1998 Honda until I gifted it to my mentee in 2017. I consider my 2017 Impreza to be practically brand new. We live in a small 1987 ranch house. No frills.

That being said, there’s no point being a millionaire if we deny ourselves the comforts of life. I decided to not stress over any expense that represents less than 0.1% of my net worth. If I want a slightly more expensive cosmetic or jewelry I buy it.

I especially spend on my health and fitness which includes the best available medical care. Since hearing aids fall into the health category I bought good ones which are tuned to my specific hearing loss (like my glasses are tuned to my specific vision loss). But I didn’t spend $7,000 – I went to Costco and spent $1500.

Wendy

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24

The greatest comfort is waking every morning, and knowing I will not spend the day being yipped at by a “JC”. Everything beyond that is gravy.

I need my stack to last at least another 30 years. If the current administration decrees an end to the SS benefits I paid for, so the money can be handed to the “JCs”, I can afford that. If the current administration decrees an end to Medicare, so that money can be handed to the “JCs” too, that will hurt. What would coverage from a for-profit insurance company cost, for someone in their 70s? Five figures per year? Six figures per year? No running nekked either, as I’m sure a law would be passed requiring everyone pay their tithe to the insurance industry. “Personal responsibility”, they would call it, to pay for health insurance we already paid for. I would even have some hang time in that situation.

Steve

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25

If I had a large hearing loss, I’d go the $1,500 Costco route. Fortunately, I have a mild hearing loss that doesn’t require much amplification, so the $200 model will do. But I wouldn’t know that without doing a bit of research on the topic.

I did go to an Ear Nose and Throat doctor for a professional hearing test, and had an MRI done to rule out anything other than age-related hearing loss. So I’m pretty sure the problem has been diagnosed correctly. I just refused to get rogered on the solution.

None of the people selling $2,000 hearing aids are going to say, “Oh, you have a mild hearing loss, the $200 model at BestBuy will do just fine”. Just like a Medicare insurance salesman never said, “Oh, you have enough in assets to not need a Medigap plan, or LTC insurance, etc.” Why would they want to lose the sale?

intercst

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There does come a time when you realize you can’t possibly spend it all. Scrooge McDuck lighting cigars with $100 bills is not my style.

Then it becomes more fun to give it away. Family and heirs first. They seem to think it comes in handy. And they get it at an age young enough to enjoy it.

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27

I too have tuned hearing aids but still find noisy rooms a problem.

As to fine tuned vision, I got implants for my cataracts and they gave me near perfect vision. Much better than the coke bottle glasses I used to wear for astigmatism. If you have cataracts, do not delay. The implants they have these days are wonderful. I wish I could find something like that for hearing.

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I had a 1987 Toyota Celica convertible that went through a muffler in about 6 months (apparently some design flaw in the exhaust system caused condensate to accumulate in the muffler and they rusted out in short order.) I think Midas gave me about 8 free ones before I sold the car in 1994 and bought a Nissan Maxima.

intercst

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My 85 Mazda ate mufflers too. I got 3, maybe 4, freebies from Midas. We are spoiled by the stainless steel exhaust systems now. I used to eat a muffler and pipe in 2 years tops.

That isn’t the Midas ad I had in mind. The ad I remember had a limo pull up to the Midas shop. The driver tells the Midas guy “Mr Overcash would like to know the details of your guarantee”. The Midas guy climbs into the back of the limo. The secretary offers him a cigar. He recites the provisions of the guarantee, and Mr Overcash nods in approval. Then the Midas guy ask “why would a man like you even bother with a guarantee?”. Mr Overcash replies “how do you think I got to be a man like me?”

Steve

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I just looked at the photo, and it really looks like a knockoff Apple Airpods Pro 2 model. LOL!!!

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You got that backwards. The long skinny thing on the Audien device goes into your ear canal, not dangle from it. If anything, it looks more like an earbud.

intercst

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The people at Costco are not on commission, nor do they get any kind of bonus for the number of hearing aids sold. (Yes, I asked. And no, it’s not the same as Bel-Tone or other places.) And in fact, the technician I worked with the first time said something remarkably close to that. As I recall (it’s been around 8-10 years) it was something like “simple amplification would work for your right ear, for both ears, actually, but one of these can be better tuned to give you more high end response in your left ear than one from Amazon.” At the time the technology of “buy generic” wasn’t as developed as it might be today.

There was literally no pressure to buy, and she presented the options clearly. I chose to buy one anyway because I could afford it and I like “hearing”, the same reason I buy glasses, (I like seeing.) Mostly “readers” will do, but there are times when I need the prescription version, and I have them to correct for occasional double vision.

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33

At Costco

Same experience.
Apparently I have mild hearing loss in the “gun shot” range.
The technician said “now we have a baseline, you don’t need aids, come back in a couple years, n we’ll test again.”

AI provides this:
{ “Shooter’s Ear”:
A common pattern of hearing loss in shooters is a “notch” or dip in hearing ability at frequencies around 4,000 to 6,000 Hz. }

I’m not a “shooter”.

I like Costco.
:peach:
ralph

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