Hearing aids? Audiologist?

[The Heretic]

Any recommendations for the west side of Portland (Beaverton/Hillsboro)?

My hearing is getting no better - who am I fooling, it is getting worse.

Some people I can hear, others not.

How bad it is really became apparent when I got some hearing protection muffs with microphones and could hear about 4 times better - all the sounds I was missing.

I am thinking I want some bluetooth hearing aids.

Anyway - any recommendations or warnings about who to avoid are appreciated.

Thanks

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[RicInOR]

@The Heretic -

Jerry Pournelle swears by CostCo - You can read some of his writings on the topic at his home page- just this year, you don't hav to go further than that. http://www.jerrypournelle.com/chaosmanor/

Jerry is a rocket scientist - was part of the SDI (Star Wars) program for Regan. Also advisor to Newt in the 90's. And he wrote for BYTE magazine.

 

[Caveman Jim]

Not in the PDX area but make sure you are completely satisfied or you will be stuck with what they sell you.

 

[deen_ad]

I would have gone to Costco but my state industrial insurance won't cover them if bought there so I ended up with ones from Miracle Ear. They billed the state $3,000 and I don't think they are any better than the $1800 ones that Costco sells. Even the Bluetooth unit ($600 option from Miracle Ear) looks to be the same.
In WA they have to offer at least a 30 day return/refund on hearing aids.

 

[Martini_Up]

can't wait until they have 'lasik' for ears.

 

[Caveman Jim]

You & me both Martini. They do have options like the cochlear implants which I am going to see if I qualify this summer.
I'm tired of hating life cause I can't hear.

 

[deen_ad]

Yep, implants would be nice. I had new lenses implanted in my eyes due to cataracts. Went from not being able to see the large letter on an eye chart to better than average (which is 20/20). They said I checked at 20/10 but I think it's gotten to 20/15 now.

 

[Certaindeaf]

What people say is pretty much overrated. Get a good dog (I'd recommend a Schipperke) to tell you when things need true attention.

 

[NoFlinch]

I was a timber faller BEFORE OSHA made earplugs mandatory, so I loved hearing that 125 McCulloch saw revin'.

Now I don't hear much without a top of the line hearing aid.

BUT, even that top of the line seems to magnify every sound.

So I don't wear it often.........because of Certaindeaf 's statement

 

[Caveman Jim]

Weather I'm home or hunting the Lab lets me know when something is up....... in the blind when her ears perk I know birds are around & she guides me to the direction they are coming from...

 

[ZigZagZeke]

OK, for years I refused to get hearing aids. I'd worked in steel mills and power plants for 30 years, been shooting since I was 5 years old, and built and ran oval track race cars since I was 16. Imagine 30 of these going by at once:

<broken link removed>

My wife finally got fed up and said it's hearing aids or else.

I went to Costco and got tested. My hearing on the high end was terrible. I got a pair of Resound behind-the-ear hearing aids ($2700). My medical savings account just happened to have a little more than that in it. They tuned the hearing aids' response curve to my hearing curve. It took a couple of visits (free), but eventually the hearing aids were comfortable, stayed in place (I quickly ditched the little whisker things that are supposed to help keep the hearing aids in place), and I could hear things really well without it being painful if someone dropped a spoon on a tile floor. I went back again after about 18 months and got another tuning for free. My hearing aids came with a remote and they programmed 3 different sets of filtering into them. "Everyday" is the one I use for most situations. It amplifies the frequencies where my hearing is poor. "Noisy" is the program I select for a noisy restaurant. It filters out everything that's not coming from straight ahead of me. Works beautifully in restaurants and meetings. The third program is "Outdoors" and it amplifies everything and filters out nothing. I use it for hunting and other outdoor activities. With the volume turned up I can hear water running in a 12 inch wide stream at 100 yards. That's really nice when deer hunting. The wireless remote is about the size of an old Zippo lighter and fits in my jeans pocket nicely. It controls the volume and selects programs.

I'm very happy with my hearing aids and with Costco and their service. Most of the people I meet don't know I'm wearing them unless I point them out. I understand that they are now coming out with Resound hearing aids that can be controlled from your iPhone, it would be really nice to be able to ditch the dedicated remote, since I'm already carrying a cell phone anyway.

http://www.gnresound.com/hearing-aids

I do highly recommend Costco and Resound.

 

[The Heretic]

thanks everybody

 

[LMT10mm]

Any recommendations for the west side of Portland (Beaverton/Hillsboro)?

My hearing is getting no better - who am I fooling, it is getting worse.

Some people I can hear, others not.

How bad it is really became apparent when I got some hearing protection muffs with microphones and could hear about 4 times better - all the sounds I was missing.

I am thinking I want some bluetooth hearing aids.

Anyway - any recommendations or warnings about who to avoid are appreciated.

Thanks

Dr ed sul kim (west side ear nose throat) is awesome! He works at st. Vincent's right there off 217. I've been seeing him for allergies but I highly recommend him! He spent a lot of time with me on my first visit and I see him weekly. Hopefully that 50 cal your posting didn't cause any damage! ;-) good luck

 

[The Heretic]

I've never shot the 50.

I bought it about 5 years ago because I always wanted a 50, but then I never bought a scope for it because I wanted to get the right scope (which would be something like a Nightforce) and that was not cheap. A lot of things have taken priority since then and now I just find my interest waning and thinking I don't really have a use for it.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

OK, for years I refused to get hearing aids. I'd worked in steel mills and power plants for 30 years, been shooting since I was 5 years old, and built and ran oval track race cars since I was 16. Imagine 30 of these going by at once:

<broken link removed>

My wife finally got fed up and said it's hearing aids or else.

I went to Costco and got tested. My hearing on the high end was terrible. I got a pair of Resound behind-the-ear hearing aids ($2700). My medical savings account just happened to have a little more than that in it. They tuned the hearing aids' response curve to my hearing curve. It took a couple of visits (free), but eventually the hearing aids were comfortable, stayed in place (I quickly ditched the little whisker things that are supposed to help keep the hearing aids in place), and I could hear things really well without it being painful if someone dropped a spoon on a tile floor. I went back again after about 18 months and got another tuning for free. My hearing aids came with a remote and they programmed 3 different sets of filtering into them. "Everyday" is the one I use for most situations. It amplifies the frequencies where my hearing is poor. "Noisy" is the program I select for a noisy restaurant. It filters out everything that's not coming from straight ahead of me. Works beautifully in restaurants and meetings. The third program is "Outdoors" and it amplifies everything and filters out nothing. I use it for hunting and other outdoor activities. With the volume turned up I can hear water running in a 12 inch wide stream at 100 yards. That's really nice when deer hunting. The wireless remote is about the size of an old Zippo lighter and fits in my jeans pocket nicely. It controls the volume and selects programs.

I'm very happy with my hearing aids and with Costco and their service. Most of the people I meet don't know I'm wearing them unless I point them out. I understand that they are now coming out with Resound hearing aids that can be controlled from your iPhone, it would be really nice to be able to ditch the dedicated remote, since I'm already carrying a cell phone anyway.

http://www.gnresound.com/hearing-aids

I do highly recommend Costco and Resound.

As a matter of fact, I recently thought I'd lost my hearing aids. I couldn't find them for a month. I figured they were permanently gone, so I went back to Costco and got those smart phone compatible hearing aids. They are the Kirkland Signature 6 model, and they were only $1700 and they are controlled through my iPhone. The best part of it is that the new hearing aids can be paired with my iPhone using bluetooth, so that the sound from phone calls, music, videos, TV shows, or anything else that plays on my iPhone comes directly to my hearing aids. Using "Hey, Siri!" I can answer calls and have conversations without ever touching the phone. And the sound quality is even better than the old ones.

Speaking of the old ones, I eventually discovered that my 5 year old had "put them away"...in a closet...behind a couch...inside an old boot. I like my new hearing aids so much that I gave the old ones to a friend who needed them but couldn't afford them. Costco was great about helping him with them. Even though he wasn't the original buyer, they tested his hearing and programmed them for him free of charge. I can't say enough good stuff about Costco in that regard.

 

[oknow]

If you were in the military the V A has some decent ones

 

[CamoDeafie]

You & me both Martini. They do have options like the cochlear implants which I am going to see if I qualify this summer.
I'm tired of hating life cause I can't hear.

Speaking as a deaf person whose parents were offered the options of hearing aids or cochlear implants... here's the main problems with CIs.

1) they use magnets, So there's risk for damage.
2) a concussion, or a hard fall can and will damage the internal implants, and possibly cause internal bleeding near your brain, which is a terrible thing.
3) you have to be very careful not to get the removable receiver part wet.
4) Depending on the level of hearing loss; you might not be able to hear the same things you used to. (I got menigitis and lost hearing at a young age of 18 months, I had some language but it wasn't enough to keep me fluent in spoken english.)
5) not EMP proof or solar flare proof or electrical storm proof.

Now.... since you've already acquired language and understanding of audio noise, it might work for you, but remember these problems above.

With hearing aids, it can help a lot. I use one digital and one ancient analog, because insurance only covered for one digital hearing aid....
On the telephone or headphone setting, I get a lot of Radio Frequency Interference from just about anything electrical in nature...its worst near outlets and fuse boxes.... so its difficult for me to listen to music on headphones if I'm too close to electrical wiring and such.
http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/P...andProsthetics/CochlearImplants/ucm062843.htm -Note, this is from a medical perspective in which deafness is treated as a disease and a medical condition to fix. Most of the focus is on deaf children or babies, because their parents are hearing, and wish to have their child/children involved with the hearing world. (This is called Audism, and is a sort of problem with the Deaf Community; PM me for more info on that, it is not a liberal thing I promise you lol)
EDIT: WOw its a thread necro; but relevant.
TL;DR, if you're old enough and know what things sounded like before, and already could hear things before the loss, then CIs may work, but HAs would be better, depending on how severe the loss. I am personally against forced CIs for children.

 

[The Heretic]

If you were in the military the V A has some decent ones

I was in the military, and I had testing when my enlistment was up that showed I had a hearing loss due to being in the engine room of an MLB for years, but I am avoiding the VA like the plague.

Besides the delays, I don't want to go near those anal orifices and their regs. Pass.

 

[The Heretic]

EDIT: WOw its a thread necro; but relevant.

I don't know how the thread got resurrected. Maybe I liked a post last night when I looked at it again last night because I was thinking of going to Costco because I really need to do this.

I've had tinnitus and hearing problems since I was a kid, and now at 62 it is getting to the point where I simply don't understand half of what is said by people in person or at work. It isn't that I can't hear them speak, it is that I am missing much of the sounds so I can't understand it.

When I put on my hearing muffs with microphones in them, I am amazed at all the sounds I can hear that I couldn't hear before, and how much clearer speech is on the TV.

So I really need the aids.

 

[Stomper]

I'm sitting here "enjoying" the high-pitched squeal of tinnitus in my left ear (in particular) as I type...