Migraine

My Dad is reluctant to buy himself a good hearing aid and is driving those around him crazy with the cheaper ones that keep going out on him. Though I don't live with him, I want to get him a really good one. Does anyone know if this is possible? Can one order something like this? Do they need to be fitted or something? He mentioned to my sister that a friend of his has a cool remote-controlled one. I could use advice from anyone who knows anything about this. Thank You!

Hi,

Unfortunately, I know too much about them

I have 80% loss in one ear and 50% loss in the other. With those kind of numbers the "in the ear" models won't do me any good because they don't have the power to do the job. If they did, the amplifier and speaker are so close together all I would hear is a feed back squeel.

I had some Starkey's that lasted for many years. Now I have Phonak digitals. Analog are cheaper. The Phonaks were 1800 each about 5 yrs ago. There is no comparison between the quality of a tuned for your ear digital and a tuned for your ear analog.

The cheapies just amplify all sound. I suppose that will help with very litte hearing loss, but you really need to amplify the sounds that you cannot hear and leave the ones you can hear alone.

They do need maintance. The sound quality deterioratets. My provider does most of that at no charge unless they have to go back to the factory. Moisture is the biggest enemy of hearing aids. It comes from having them in your ear all the time and collects in the tubing. Taking care of that is the most important thing you can do to keep them functioning.

Hope that helps, Bob

Bob, this is good info. So basically, this is something I can't do from a distance for my Dad? Someone needs to go through his provider? The thing is, he doesn't want to spend money on himself and would get something cheaper if given the $, using the difference on other people. I want this to go only for him. I know he would SO enjoy it if he had it. It's just getting my Dad to do something only for himself that's the problem.

.

Yes, well, being a dad and grandpa, I understand completely. I hate having them in my ears and wear them only when necessary. I do it for my wife and family.

He needs to have a hearing test. There are models in a lot of price ranges, with the digitals being the top of the line. With my hearing loss, they are the only ones that really do me much good. I still can't hear if there is any back ground noise, like in a car or a crowd.

What ever kind he gets need to be fitted and programed for his ears if they are going to make much difference in his hearing.

Bob