I'm disappointed that the first reply in this thread wasn't "Huh, can you speak up please?!"

🙃

johno1234:

 

You absolutely can't get them wet. They're not really that useful when running and biking and can create a bit of wind noise so I would leave them out for that. Walking, absolutely leave them in, unless it is pouring rain. I always leave them in for golf. Golf is more about the banter than hitting the silly little ball so essential to be able to hear!

 

Mine cost around $6k with govt subsidy - maybe I should have shopped around a bit more, but the user guide says:

These hearing aids are classified IP68 (depth of 1 meter
for 60 minutes) and designed to be used in all daily life
situations. Therefore you do not have to worry about
exposing the hearing aids to rain shower or sweat.
However, these hearing aids are not intended to be used
in water activities that includes chlorinated water, soap,
salt water or other liquids with a chemical content.

So no need to panic when its raining - they should be designed to handle it - Though yesterday's rain in Auckland....

Also, you usually get a drying box to store them in overnight - Just a plastic cup (around $10) with a desiccant pod that dries them up overnight.

4 drying capsules for around $10. Each capsule lasts around a month or two.

I wear my Phonak Audeo BTE aids for 15 to 16 hours per day.

At night I put my aids on a bedside cabinet and open up the battery (#13) compartment wide for ventilation.

I have never used a drier.

Also you may be able to get assistance from Veteran's Affairs - https://www.veteransaffairs.mil.nz/a-z/hearing-aids-and-appliances/

When I get to the age of requiring Aids, I qualify as I served prior to 1974.

magnetonz:

 

Regardless of what hearing aids are purchased, please insure them somehow.

Father in law has lost his multiple times now as they are so small, they drop out and he doesn't notice until he realizes he can't hear properly again.

Yes you pay the excess, but there is no way they could afford to replace them at full retail cost otherwise.

 

After 45years of working in noisy workshops I need hearing aids. Hearing loss is different between each ear.

I had a test done at Triton about 3 months ago and am booked to see an audiologist in a couple of weeks to discuss my options on hearing aid type, ACC funding, etc.

This looks like a rather complicated process? Has anyone been down this track? What was involved and how did it go?

I have also had tinnitus for years. Do hearing aids make any difference to this?

Edit. 

Forgot to add that Specsavers said to show them my test results to see what options they had.

I didn't have an ACC angle - good luck - that's what ACC is for I would have thought. Matter of convincing them that it is work related damage and not a degenerative condition. 

Never had tinnitus so couldn't say if hearing aids help.

robjg63:

 

Mine cost around $6k with govt subsidy - maybe I should have shopped around a bit more, but the user guide says:

 

These hearing aids are classified IP68 (depth of 1 meter
for 60 minutes) and designed to be used in all daily life
situations. Therefore you do not have to worry about
exposing the hearing aids to rain shower or sweat.
However, these hearing aids are not intended to be used
in water activities that includes chlorinated water, soap,
salt water or other liquids with a chemical content.

 

So no need to panic when its raining - they should be designed to handle it - Though yesterday's rain in Auckland....

 

Wow that's cool. Mine are not waterproof and I was told to be careful about that. I guess they are like phones and watches - some are some are not.

Gordy7:

 

I wear my Phonak Audeo BTE aids for 15 to 16 hours per day.

 

At night I put my aids on a bedside cabinet and open up the battery (#13) compartment wide for ventilation.

 

I have never used a drier.

 

 

 

Same brand as you (Phonak Audeo P50-13 BTE) and I wear them around 14 hours a day.

Auckland is super humid.

I figured using the plastic cup and drying tabs as suggested, was a very small price to pay and supposedly helps them stay in good condition.

In case anyone is thinking about the rechargeable vs replacing batteries.

I get about 8 days off each set of batteries. Takes a minute to change and you get 3 sets (6  batteries) for around $5.

I didn't think it was worth paying quite a bit extra for rechargeable and I know rechargeable batteries in any device, do have a finite life...

I lost hearing in my left ear some 20 years ago, as the result of an acoustic neuroma tumour/surgery to remove. I persisted with single-sided hearing until early 2021. Since then I have been wearing a "behind the ear" Oticon Opn S 1 miniRite hearing aid in my right ear and their version of a CROS aid in my left ear, sending sound from the left side over to the aid in my right ear. These were obtained from Bay Audiology and came with a 90 day money back guarantee. I had several visits during the 90 day period to tweak them as almost certainly if you've never worn hearing aids previously, they will need some adjustment to get them right for you. In hindsight, I should have got hearing aids years before I did - they have made a huge difference.

These work fine with an iPhone to stream directly into the hearing aid, but with my Android phone it required an external device (Oticon ConnectClip) to enable this - however, it does have the added advantage that you can use it as a remote microphone, if for example you are in a meeting and wish to hear the speaker better by placing it close to them, or you give it to SWMBO in a large store who can tell you she has now moved to aisle 9 and wants your opinion on curtain fabric 😃 Also lets you stream from devices other than your mobile phone - TV, laptop, etc.

I can't comment re tinnitus, as I have it in my non-hearing ear, so the usual trick of creating sounds to distract you doesn't really work for me. Likewise the question asked about how well hearing aids work in a noisy environment - mileage seems to vary for different people and in my case as I have no sense of directional sound, the "hearing in noise" settings on the hearing aids don't do much for me. Others I've spoken to seem to think hearing aids have helped this.

Mine are not rechargeable and I get about 6 days from the actual hearing aid and about 10 days from the CROS aid. Bay Audiology sell a range of "white label" batteries in bulk packs and these are considerably cheaper than the supermarket equivalent.

k1w1k1d:

 

After 45years of working in noisy workshops I need hearing aids. Hearing loss is different between each ear.

 

I had a test done at Triton about 3 months ago and am booked to see an audiologist in a couple of weeks to discuss my options on hearing aid type, ACC funding, etc.

 

This looks like a rather complicated process? Has anyone been down this track? What was involved and how did it go?

 

I have also had tinnitus for years. Do hearing aids make any difference to this?

 

 

 

Edit. 

 

Forgot to add that Specsavers said to show them my test results to see what options they had.

 

 

 

I am about to have my first hearing aids fitted this week through Specsavers.

The process was easy. First appointment was to do a quick check to see if I had hearing loss.  No charge for that.  Second appointment ($59) was a full hearing check in a soundproof booth (took around an hour I think) with numerous noise tests to determine the level of loss in each ear. Then we chose a type of hearing aid. They had demos to look at.  Chose type I wanted (incl that it was rechargeable) then based on the top three things i wanted to achieve (hearing in crowds/office, hearing at home, tinnitus) we chose the device. I also considered smartphone suitability.  Note that my brother has hearing aids already so I had discussed it with him and had an idea what I wanted before choosing and funnily enough it was one they recommended.

Apparently they do help with tinnitus according to the audiologist.

Good luck with this.  Heaps of people have told me it makes a great difference to your life. 

I'm on my second set of hearing aids. I got this pair in 2019 and they are Phonak Marvel Audeo M70-R. I also have the charger case and Perfect dry Lux drier. Probably superseded by a newer model already?

My first set were still going great so I donated them back for use where needed by people that can't afford them.

I mainly changed for the wireless charging (no more batteries) and bluetooth technology connectivity.

Android Samsung phone sends calls via BT which works well.

They gave me the ear moulded bits with my first pair but I didn't really like them and just used the little round silicon? standard parts.

With this pair I am again using the little round standard things. I don't like too much bulk in my ears so the actual hearing aid is behind the ear connected by a clear tube (with a wire in it) and all told very discrete. Mid size. Not the smallest or the biggest. I prefer not to wear them if I know I am going to be getting hot doing something.

Waterproof models are available. Keep fit (heart rate) models are available.

The more they cost the more tuneable they are by your hearing specialist for a better experience - hopefully.

Good luck.

Go to Costco if you can.

Sorry, I should have added these pics in the previous post... I took these back in Oct at Costco.

@azzura

Are the Costco HA prices shown in $NZ ?