hearing range

[startrekmaniac]

on the hearing range what is 13000 Hz - to 15000 Hz? Would that be considered mild?

[Gale]

That is off the chart of useful hearing as I understand it. Most aids do not go over 6000 Hz which covers most human speech.

[phenix]

This is a gripe post so please bear with me.
It will be a waste of your time to bombard me with unsolicited emails or advertizements.
I know how to avoid all that.

The human ear can pick up sounds from about 100 to 20,000 Hz.
Hearing aids are made to pick up sounds from about 100 to 6,000 Hz.
Being an old musician this means that the overtones are cut off, giving
distorted sound and the inability to hear womens voices and music.
For the life of me I can't figure out why they are made with this restriction.

My heading aid is nothing but a bad amplifier. All it does is amplify distorted
sound. So we are in effect paying big bucks for bad hearing aids

[Harley Engel]

Regrettably most hearing aid user have such profound hearing loss at frequency above 6 KHZ that amplifying these frequencies to a point were you can hear them would result in more damage to your hearing.:(

[Don]

on the hearing range what is 13000 Hz - to 15000 Hz? Would that be considered mild?

Hey trekkie, are you describing your hearing loss? Please post your hearing test results like you see mine below and others here. You can get the numbers from the graph of your hearing test results.

[ZCT]

on the hearing range what is 13000 Hz - to 15000 Hz? Would that be considered mild?

The hearing test is done on the dBHL scale. On this scale 0dB HL is normal. So this would probably be true of 13-15KHz.

Of course a standard hearing test ends at 8KHz (not 6KHz as some suggested, although some lazy hearing professionals don't bother testing at 8KHz, it is part of ANSI standards to do so). No hearing aid is producing meaningful gain at 13KHz, and even 10KHz was not proven to be actually useful to adults for the most part.

So really, I would be more concerned with below 8KHz if I were you.

[sgtlip]

Brand new here. Very first post. Why is it necessary for me to post my hearing test results? What value does it serve when a question is asked that may not concern ones loss of hearing?

[Don]

Brand new here. Very first post. Why is it necessary for me to post my hearing test results? What value does it serve when a question is asked that may not concern ones loss of hearing?


The pros here can tell a lot from just looking at the hearing test results but, granted, not every single question depends on the hearing loss (although most do). I put my test results in my signature area so it's always available to the experts when I have questions.

[sgtlip]

The pros here can tell a lot from just looking at the hearing test results but, granted, not every single question depends on the hearing loss (although most do). I put my test results in my signature area so it's always available to the experts when I have questions.

Got it, THANKS. I'll have to dig my last results outand figure out how to post them. I found the forum the other day by total accident.

I have major loss in left ear and some highs lost in the right. I am getting a single HA in a few weeks. The problem is I'm a US citizen working in Dubai. I'm going to the American Hospital and have had two surgeries. Unfortunately there was not as much of a gain as we hoped for after the surgeries. The audiologist only recommends one HA. I am getting the Phonak Audeo YES IX and am TOTALLY loss. Problem is there aren't audiologists like in the states on every other corner. I was told theone HA will run 14,000 Dirhams or $3,833. Still don't know what is included. So I am reading everything I can find.

I didn't understand what value my results would be on a forum where there are people who probably understand as much as I do which may not be very much at this point. The only plus I have is I am an old sound man so I understand some of the terminology.

Thanks again.

[RoseRodent]

That is a very steep price for one hearing aid. It could very well be a normal price for your country, but that's old technology in the US and UK now and you would only pay a little over that for two hearing aids. It might actually be worth your money to fly to the US or Europe to get fitted, particularly if you can buy follow-up visits and aftercare on a cost per visit basis locally. Usual cost for single top of the range hearing aid in the UK is equivalent in USD to $2,600 - would a return flight and local office visits me more than $1,200? Or is it worth paying extra for the security of someone local to help? Bearing in mind they may well not service the instruments in Dubai in any case, they potentially ship them to Europe in any case.

I also have some concerns why they recommend the YES IX because most features that are on the IX model which are not on the V model are binaural, that is that they are based on combining the features of two hearing aids. For example, Zoomcontrol only works with two hearing aids. Are you sure about why they have recommended the more expensive model and do you feel you need the features? The other 2 features shown for the IX and not on the V are Soundrelax (diminishes the "shock" of sudden noises like a slamming door) and echoblock (useful if you spend a lot of time talking to people in museums and art galleries but does little in a domestic setting IMHO).

Be sure you know what you are paying for and why, and if you really need to be paying for those features. Audeo Yes information is still available on the Phonak website http://www.phonak.com/com/b2b/en/products/hearing_instruments/audeo_yes/overview.html

There have been 2 further generations of the Audeo hearing aid since then, the Smart and the S, I think your price is very high on a global scale, though may well be fair for where you live.

[Don]

Hey Sarge, there is another option. America Hears sells over the Internet and they have a way for you to get to their website and let them drive and set up or adjust your hearing aids (or do it all yourself). I haven't used them so I don't have all the details but it seems many here have been satisfied with their service. It takes several adjustment sessions to get them just right, no matter what you buy.

[sgtlip]

Thanks for the very good information. I have been surfing the internet for information about that HA and was wondering about the benefits of this particular HA having only one. I was informed it was their newest/latest model. Now I feel as if I've been cheated.

Being in Dubai and not really understanding their medical system still confuses me. All doctors and audiologists are at the hospitals. The audiologist is the same one who has performed the tests after my two surgeries so I am assuming this is how HA's are sold here. Especially since I don't see any shops along the shopping districts. I was lead to believe only the doctors in the hospitals sell them. That is most likely why the high price.

Again THANKS for the information.

[RoseRodent]

I was informed it was their newest/latest model. Now I feel as if I've been cheated.


In fairness to the supplier they may not have been deliberately misleading, it's perfectly possible that really is the latest model as released in to the local market, it's just that on a global scale it's not the latest model. If you go to the Phonak international website "select your country" there is not a single country in the middle east listed as even an option, there is Americas, Asia/Pacific and Europe, so it looks like the products have to be individually imported. Some markets are not as up to date as others, if you give your location as Korea, for example, the Audeo Yes really is the latest model.

They also have to invest in equipment and software to fit hearing aids with and if they only fit a couple in a year prices do need to be high to cover the cost of owning that equipment and keeping it up to date. It also may be better to have an older product that the audiologist knows well and is properly trained on than a new product which runs on software and hardware they have never seen.

It doesn't necessarily mean you have to take the situation as it is, it's a case of how you personally might be able to work around those problems and if you want to, but don't wory unduly that you aren't being given correct information just because it's different, you've made a smart move already by asking the questions here and now you are in a better position to weigh up your options.

[Um bongo]

Got it, THANKS. I'll have to dig my last results outand figure out how to post them. I found the forum the other day by total accident.

I have major loss in left ear and some highs lost in the right. I am getting a single HA in a few weeks. The problem is I'm a US citizen working in Dubai. I'm going to the American Hospital and have had two surgeries. Unfortunately there was not as much of a gain as we hoped for after the surgeries. The audiologist only recommends one HA. I am getting the Phonak Audeo YES IX and am TOTALLY loss. Problem is there aren't audiologists like in the states on every other corner. I was told theone HA will run 14,000 Dirhams or $3,833. Still don't know what is included. So I am reading everything I can find.

I didn't understand what value my results would be on a forum where there are people who probably understand as much as I do which may not be very much at this point. The only plus I have is I am an old sound man so I understand some of the terminology.

Thanks again.

If you have a loss in two ears, you'll get far better value from two cheaper aids than one expensive one.

In your particular case, given the heat and the probability of killing receivers/batteries, I'd be tempted to go with a Micro M design: this would give you a cleanable tube rather than a speaker in the ear to get blocked with perspiration/wax. It also is a scaleable answer should your post-operative decay continue; as it can be simply modified with an earhook to a 3mm tube and proper mould as needed.

The IX/Ambra model is the best - that price isn't too far off what might be considered realistic in a very rich country, but you could do better with a pair of V/Solana models or even the III/Cassia at a push.

If your loss is only in one ear, the equivalent CROS systems are about the best out there.

[RoseRodent]

I think that hearing range is mild.

How can a frequency be mild? A hearing loss in dBHL is mild, moderate, etc. A frequency is a measure of the original sound, not whether or not a person heard it. 20kHz is not "mild" is not "moderate" etc. The fact I cannot hear it at all is profoundly deaf in 20kHz, but then so are most older adults so it's not clinicially significant, but the sheer existence of 13-15kHz doesn't make any sense to state it is mild or otherwise as the poster didn't specify whether or not those sounds were heard and at what dB level they were heard. It's a very similar question to "Is 150 miles per hour heavy?" - the units don't make any sense to the question.

[Um bongo]

How can a frequency be mild? A hearing loss in dBHL is mild, moderate, etc. A frequency is a measure of the original sound, not whether or not a person heard it. 20kHz is not "mild" is not "moderate" etc. The fact I cannot hear it at all is profoundly deaf in 20kHz, but then so are most older adults so it's not clinicially significant, but the sheer existence of 13-15kHz doesn't make any sense to state it is mild or otherwise as the poster didn't specify whether or not those sounds were heard and at what dB level they were heard. It's a very similar question to "Is 150 miles per hour heavy?" - the units don't make any sense to the question.

You're having a conversation with a spam bot. :)

[sgtlip]

Okay, I'm not sure I read this right but I tried adding my last audiologist report as a signature.

By the way, I need to correct my earlier post. The HA she is setting up for me is the Phonak Audeo S YES. It is not just a Audeo YES if that matters. I'm not sure if the S has any significance or if that is the older model.

I was able to find a Siemens dealer here in the Optical Store in one of the malls. After talking to him for 20 minutes I see why they go through the hospitals here to get a HA. I don't know if I would buy a used car from this guy or if he even knows anything about HA's.

Oh well, I am going to talk to the audiologist on Sunday as I have another appointment. It seems they messed up the original impression and they want to take another. So armed with knowledge, I think I'm ready.

Thanks for all the help everyone.

[RoseRodent]

Hmmm, sounds like the supplier has knickers in a twist then cos the 3 different products are Audeo YES, Audeo Smart and Audeo S. There isn't an Audeo YES S any more than there is a Ford Toyota or a Hyundai Kia, you need to be absolutely sure what it is that is for sale!

I'm sure you will get more info from one of the dispensers, but just from one hearing aid wearer to another I reckon you'd get benefits from a hearing aid on the R side too, the L ear has the worse numbers but the L ear is aidable also, indeed in some situations they aid the better ear in preference to the worse one because you'd end up with one really great ear instead of two mediocre ones, but I think that's pretty rare. If you can possibly run to 2 hearing aids, even if that means dropping the spec a little, then you're more likely to be happy with the result. Do you get a proper trial period with these?

[sgtlip]

I have seen the Audeo S YES on the Phonak web site. (I'm too new to post web links) But it is there I was just looking at it.

I am meeting with the audiologist Sunday to discuss a lot of the things I have learned here. I still have no idea what the package consists of yet for that $3,833 price tag. I was told by the Siemens dealer here there was NO trial period that he knew of in Dubai. He also said the most he could do for his top of the line Nitro was $3,500 and two packs of batteries with a 1 year warranty. So it must be a Dubai thing for prices and no trials.

Depending on what I find out Sunday I may just wait and go to the states. Only problem is I won't be going until next March and I won't be able to have it serviced in Dubai. That is why I was trying to get one here. Oh well. I guess there are tradeoffs.

[Don]

Maybe they call it something else there, instead of trial period. One time someone told me Costco doesn't have a trial period, at all. But they do have a 90 day return period so it was just a matter of the meaning of "trial period".

[ZCT]

Don. A 30 day return/trial is usually a legal requirement. The question is what they charge if you return them. Beware of return/restock/professional fees. Learn about this before you buy.

[sgtlip]

Thanks for the information. I feel as if I'm armed with information to sit down now and discuss this with the audiologist today. It may be back to the drawing board as well. I am really looking into this BiCROS system now as well.

[mark12jon]

Brand new here. Very first post. Why is it necessary for me to post my hearing test results? What value does it serve when a question is asked that may not concern ones loss of hearing?

[Um bongo]

Brand new here. Very first post. Why is it necessary for me to post my hearing test results? What value does it serve when a question is asked that may not concern ones loss of hearing?

It's not absolutely critical, but the accuracy of the advice you get may deviate massively if it isn't reflective of your loss. It will be just generic info and you'll not know whether it applies to you or not.

OTOH, if you have a 'mild high-frequency loss' or another decent description, that'll put you in the right ball-park.