Great hearing, except where its not....

[SierraSkier]

I have tinnitus that is getting bad and I am having a tough time hearing my kids. My duck hunting partner is also complaining because I cant hear teal and widgeon at shoot time anymore. There is nothing worst than being stuck in a duck blind with a whiney logger. So I picked up some Walker Game Ears and they are fantastic. That solved my problem with the duck blind, but not with the kids and family. The game ears amplify low frequencies too much, it can be very uncomfortable. And thats really the problem I have.

I would love to get some help with my high frequencies, but the audiologist I saw didn't think there was a hearing aid that would be suited to my hearing loss. She was concerned that to get the amplification at the frequencies where i need help that it would over-amplify the 2k hz and below. What do you folks think? I can get Phonak's and programming just over cost from a friend of a friend. But would it be worth the money?

Thanks, I have learned a lot from this forum.

[DianaS]

Your loss doesn't seem that different from what many of us on the forum have. All hearing aids need a good amount of tweaking for the individual user, and it might be a little trickier with the mild "cookie bite" you have. Maybe you should get a second opinion.

[corey]

If I am understanding you right. Sounds as if she is concerned of further hearing damage, triggered by the aids.

just to give you an Idea of a HA doing damage is my Pixel (Not made anymore ) Just malfunctioned and the High frequency was spiking all over past the amp limits was causing my balance to spin forward while getting screwed sideways literally.

I was filling out a post here on my bed ,when it happened and actually fell over on my bed sideways. horizontal was up. Almost puked.

point being: high frequency is sensitive. Don't mess with it, if doctor says not too. Defiantly get second opinion. If your near large hospital see if they have audiology department for second opinion. They will usually have a whole team of people.

I have between 5-10 people on my case at any given time at Mayo clinic. but in fitting its mainly one on one but they are listening to the big team on recommendations. In tuning ups though you just have 1 person.

team is for trouble shooting problem cases.

bare with me in that adding my loss

....R/L
250 45/35
500 60/55
750 65/55
1000 75/60
1500 70/80
2000 75/80
3000 75/80
4000 90/85
6000 85/75
8000 "no response" right ear100/80

[SierraSkier]

Thanks for taking a look. I got my hearing test at a local hospital. Its the hospital right in South Tahoe. So its a small hospital but they do a LOT of knee surgery and as it turns out cochlear implants. The audi I saw primarily assists with that and she also does hearing tests for people like me. She is not a licensed dispenser.

Her concern was not that the hearing aid would damage my hearing, but that in order to get the applification I need at 4khz I would be over amplified and uncomfortable at 2k hz. And then if I turned down 2khz, I would not be able to get enough amplification at 4k hz.

And so thats really the question. Are there hearing aids out there that can provide effectively zero amplification at 2khz and what I need at 4kkhz?

Simple answer is yes, the open-fit RIC hearing aids are ideal for your hearing loss. I'm more than a little concerned that the audiologist you saw felt there wasn't anything on the market that could address your hearing loss when it seems that's all we hear about nowadays...makes me worry that they are VERY out-of-touch about what is going on in "hearing aid world". It would make sense if they are not a dispensing audiologist, but if that's the case then they shouldn't be making any statements about what a hearing aid can/cannot do anymore.

I'd say go for it. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how much the hearing aids help. Even if there was some over-amplification at 2KHz (which there won't be) it would be minimal and probably just enhance your ability to hear speech more clearly....it's not like it would be over-amplifying you to the point of causing damage.

[SierraSkier]

Doc, the audiologist plainly said I was not a good candidate for a hearing aid. But I think she may be very out of touch. Having said that, I think I did get a good hearing test.

So I have to drive 6 hours to get them, but I can get Phonak's at a great price. Do you have an idea of what I should try? There are no hearing aids in my town, so I have to drive at least 2 hours anyway. So a couple more hours and I get aids deeply discounted from a friend of a friend.

[iceman0486]

I'm glad Doc posted here already since I was reading the second half of the post and my face was screwing up into a question mark. Your hearing levels are ideal for a RIC style aid.

But I gotta ask . . . what's a whiney logger?

Originally Posted by SierraSkier

Doc, the audiologist plainly said I was not a good candidate for a hearing aid. But I think she may be very out of touch. Having said that, I think I did get a good hearing test.

So I have to drive 6 hours to get them, but I can get Phonak's at a great price. Do you have an idea of what I should try? There are no hearing aids in my town, so I have to drive at least 2 hours anyway. So a couple more hours and I get aids deeply discounted from a friend of a friend.

Wow...6 hours...that's commitment...lol

If you are looking at Phonak, I would look at the Smart line and, as always, I'll tell you what I tell everyone...get the best hearing aids you can comfortably afford. In the long run, it's worth it. Just be sure that the "friend of a friend" is on the up-and-up...check what the price includes and make sure the hearing aids aren't stolen or marked "demo" or anything like that.

[Don]

Originally Posted by SierraSkier

Doc, the audiologist plainly said I was not a good candidate for a hearing aid. But I think she may be very out of touch. Having said that, I think I did get a good hearing test.

So I have to drive 6 hours to get them, but I can get Phonak's at a great price. Do you have an idea of what I should try? There are no hearing aids in my town, so I have to drive at least 2 hours anyway. So a couple more hours and I get aids deeply discounted from a friend of a friend.

I would be a little cautious about a friend of a friend discount. All hearing aids are discounted from the mythical MSRP so trust, but verify (with other merchants). With your hearing you are probably in the sweet spot for every modern hearing aid (meaning they all would work fine).

Finding an audiologist you like, trust, and can work with is probably more important than a particular brand.

[Don]

Originally Posted by iceman0486

But I gotta ask . . . what's a whiney logger?

I'll take a stab at it; a logger (one who cuts trees and hauls them to a chip mill, lumber mill, or pulp mill) who whines about his hunting buddy missing some birds because he didn't hear them?