Hearing Aid Business Under Pressure From Consumer Electronics 209
HughPickens.com writes: There's good news for aging Americans who may have damaged their hearing by attending one too many rock concerts when they were young. Andrew Pollack writes at the NYT that the consumer electronics industry is encroaching on the hearing aid business, offering products that are far less expensive and available without the involvement of audiologists or other professionals. The new devices are forcing a re-examination of the entire system for providing hearing aids, which critics say is too costly and cumbersome, hindering access to devices vital for the growing legions of older Americans. "The audiology profession is obviously scared, for good reason, right now," says Abram Bailey.
Hearing aids cost an average of nearly $2,400 each, or close to $5,000 a pair, according to a White House advisory group, and Medicare does not pay for them, nor do most insurers. By contrast, the consumer devices are not regulated and sell for a few hundred dollars apiece, at most. Hearing aid manufacturers say that diagnosing and treating hearing loss is too complex for consumers to do using consumer devices, without the aid of a professional. But sound amplifiers have been around for years and they are growing in sophistication, taking advantage of signal processing chips developed for phones, Bluetooth headsets and computers. The devices include the Smart Listening System from Soundhawk, which sells at $400 for a single ear; the Bean from Etymotic Research, at $300; the CS50+ from Sound World Solutions at $350; and the Crystal Ear from NeutronicEar, at $545. "To me it was a reasonable investment to experiment with," says Ira Dolich, 81, who bought the Soundhawk device, which he can adjust by himself using his smartphone. "I've been pretty pleased with it," he said.
Hearing aids cost an average of nearly $2,400 each, or close to $5,000 a pair, according to a White House advisory group, and Medicare does not pay for them, nor do most insurers. By contrast, the consumer devices are not regulated and sell for a few hundred dollars apiece, at most. Hearing aid manufacturers say that diagnosing and treating hearing loss is too complex for consumers to do using consumer devices, without the aid of a professional. But sound amplifiers have been around for years and they are growing in sophistication, taking advantage of signal processing chips developed for phones, Bluetooth headsets and computers. The devices include the Smart Listening System from Soundhawk, which sells at $400 for a single ear; the Bean from Etymotic Research, at $300; the CS50+ from Sound World Solutions at $350; and the Crystal Ear from NeutronicEar, at $545. "To me it was a reasonable investment to experiment with," says Ira Dolich, 81, who bought the Soundhawk device, which he can adjust by himself using his smartphone. "I've been pretty pleased with it," he said.
Not To Worry (Score:5, Insightful)
Congress will be banning cheap hearing devices. That's the American way.
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If they are being sold as medical devices when they are not, then they should be banned - and it very much sounds like they are being sold as medical devices...
Re:Not To Worry (Score:5, Funny)
So you just don't call it a medical device... done deal.
Just like "herbs" are not "medicine" or "fees" are not "taxes"
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i often wonder; what is the actual point of american health insurance companies? as far as i can tell, their only job is to insert loopholes into their contracts to enable them to weasel out of payments or just say "preexisting condition". where i live, i have to pay for medical insurance by law (govt pays for the unemployed), but that same law dictates the insurance company has to accept any and all responsibility for my medical expenses. the result is that insurance companies run many incentives to keep p
Re:Not To Worry (Score:4, Informative)
Hearing aids are external devices, no more intrusive than earbuds. They aren't going to have any worse effects than earbuds, and can be programmed to not get too loud. I've been told that going without hearing aids for too long can cause permanent nervous system effects, and if that's true we really want people to be able to get aids of acceptable quality easily, as it causes more harm to be without them than to get substandard ones.
I have a friend who was desperate to get hearing aids, but couldn't afford a few thousand dollars. (He eventually got them used, much later than is medically desirable.) I've got absolutely wonderful insurance. I don't pay for prescriptions or office visits. I had a heart attack, including ambulance ride and rehab, and was about $60 out of pocket. I paid 70% of the price of my hearing aids (fortunately, I can afford it), which amounted to over $3K. Most people aren't that fortunate.
It's always a good idea to get medical advice when something is not working, but by far the most likely cause of hearing problems is deterioration caused by exposure to loud noises, and the treatment for that is hearing aids.
Medical Devices?!? (Score:2, Insightful)
But wait... these are being used as medical devices! You can't make them better and cheaper over time, the government regulators say so!!!
Re:Medical Devices?!? (Score:4)
You mean the government that protects you from snakeoil salesmen, or the government that's bought off by crony capitalists?
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No it isn't complicated about amplifying sound. But if you think the industry have designed special ultra-low power DSP processors for hearing aids just for fun you are wrong. There are versions that are multi-core too, think that is required for mere amplification?!?
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Do you actually need those? Use a dumb bluetooth earpiece and do the processing on your phone.
Re:Medical Devices?!? (Score:5, Informative)
But wait... these are being used as medical devices! You can't make them better and cheaper over time, the government regulators say so!!!
I do hope this was intended as a joke, because I have grown rather tired of hearing the geek talk like a quack when the subject turns to medicine.
Top 10 Supply Items by Total Spend - January 2015 [modernhealthcare.com] Tracks 10 supply items, often known as ''physician preference items,'' based on total amount spent on those items during the month by hospitals and other provider organizations.
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The annoying thing about the medical hearing aids is that you can even get in-ear monitors for audiophiles for less money.
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Odd; medication for mental patients is usually more expensive.
Re:Medical Devices?!? (Score:4, Insightful)
What makes a hearing aid (especially one that works by simple air conduction of the amplified sound, no different to headphones) a medical device, but a pair of spectacles not a medical device?
Re:Medical Devices?!? (Score:5, Informative)
Aging ears tend to lose response to different frequencies at different rates. (presbycusis) The expensive earphones try to tailor the audio response to match an individual's specific hearing loss pattern. Some folks may actually need that. It's far from clear to me that a simple tone and volume control pair of controls wouldn't be more than adequate for a lot of us elderly.folks.
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So, you hook up an equalizer circuit to a smart phone app and poof! Customization. You could even use the app to play tones at certain volumes to help train the device.
Just like the audiologist does.
These days this is easier than writing a malware app for IE 6,
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Most 2016 flagship smartphones include this feature: Personalised Audio. The Galaxy S7 and HTC 10 both include it; not sure about the LG G5.
I've used it on my Galaxy S7, and it actually makes a pretty big difference to how the audio sounds to me.
Plug in headphones, go into a quiet room, run the Adapt Sound feature, and it plays beeps in alternating ears at different frequencies and loudness. You press the button to show you can hear (or not) the beeps, and it creates a per-ear eq setting to normalise the
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Eyeglasses are considered to be medical devices [fda.gov], although they are exempted from certain regulations.
I've been saying this... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I've been saying this... (Score:4, Funny)
What??
Re:I've been saying this... (Score:5, Funny)
He said, no one ever listens to him
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Re:I've been saying this... (Score:4, Funny)
I've been saying this for years but no one ever listens to me.
Of course not, the batteries in their hearing aids are dead.
Also, digital sucks. (Score:5, Insightful)
Analog is still better. Lots of older people complain the digital hearing aids suck even after tweaking and all that. I have had my (fir/1)st digital bone conduction hearing aid since last summer. I hate it. :(
Re:Also, digital sucks. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Also, digital sucks. (Score:5, Informative)
The best device is greatly dependent on the hearing issue, and the hearing professionals are needed to diagnose the correct medical condition being addressed.
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Well, the problem is that hearing aid companies stopped making analog types like Oticon 380P model for my bone conduction hearing aid. I am currently using its Sumo DM BTE model.
Too Complex?? (Score:5, Informative)
Hearing aid manufacturers say that diagnosing and treating hearing loss is too complex for consumers to do using consumer devices, without the aid of a professional.
So we're too stupid to say, "yep, putting this amplifier in my ear makes me hear better"?? These charlatans need to be put out of business.
Good hearing aids are far more (Score:5, Insightful)
The days of just an amplifier are pretty well long gone. The best ones do a number of things:
1) Multi-band compression. Compression is reducing the difference between the highest and lowest sounds, and a multi-band compressor does it different amounts for different frequency ranges. Basically an advanced kind f equalization that levels things out, which helps you hear quiet stuff but not get overwhelmed by loud stuff.
2) Frequency remapping. For hardcore cases of high frequency hearing loss those frequencies can be remapped to lower, still audible frequencies.
3) Microphone steering. The mics can steer in on conversation and reject background noise pretty effectively. This makes things much more audible in most situations for most people.
4) Device interfacing. Hearing aids can automatically work with most land lines and cellphones. It isn't via their mic, they do it via induction and so on.
In particular the first two are the ones you tend to need an audiologist for. You get someone to measure your hearing and see where you are deficient and how much, and then design compression curves to counteract that as best as possible.
That doesn't mean the devices couldn't and shouldn't be cheaper, but there's a reason for a professional to be involved.
Re:Good hearing aids are far more (Score:5, Insightful)
"That doesn't mean the devices couldn't and shouldn't be cheaper, but there's a reason for a professional to be involved."
Having a professional evaluate your hearing is a good idea, and is not even the expensive part of correcting a hearing loss. The problem is that your specialist is only allowed to prescribe the ridiculously overpriced hearing aids. He/she may have technical info on a good selection from the low-priced devices cited in the article, but the FDA won't allow a professional to do this.
The auditory equivalent of those Mexican border 'tooth towns" may be the answer (http://www.algodonesdentalimplants.com/).
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1.147 USD .. 2.867 USD. No idea how good those are compared to the USA.
The ones in US Costcos are about that price, which if you notice in the summary is less than half what an independent audiologist in the US charges.
The Costco ones work just fine.
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A lot of the people who test hearing and prescribe hearing aids in Ontario have a Hearing Instrument Specialist certificate, which is a two-year college course (can be done online). A bit of a stretch to call that "a professional".
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#1 isn't rocket science, I have a cellphone from 2009 (Nokia N900) that has a bunch of audio processing algorithms including a multi-band dynamic range compressor.
Not 100% sure about #2 but I bet you could build an app that plays a bunch of different tones and asks you to indicate if you heard the sound or not and from there, programs the device with the range of frequencies that the individual can hear and uses some simple math to adjust the audio to fit into that range.
#3 seems like the hardest part, mayb
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That doesn't mean the devices couldn't and shouldn't be cheaper, but there's a reason for a professional to be involved.
There are relatively rare occasions for a high priced hearing professional to be involved, but the vast majority of cases can easily be handled by the individual. It's that vast majority that are shut out by the insanely high prices of hearing aids that give the entire industry a "used car salesman" reputation.
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This is wonderful when it works, but if I'm in a noisy area I can't choose what I listen to. I once found I could converse better by taking the things out of my ear.
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I just have to comment: how deluded does one have to be to think that protecting a market is in any way _communist_? LOL!
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> Hearing aid manufacturers say that diagnosing and treating hearing loss is too complex for consumers to do using consumer devices, without the aid of a professional.
To slightly mis-paraphrase Mandy Rice-Davies "Well, they would say that, wouldn't they?" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
And there's the kid who made one for $50 (Score:3)
http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/0... [cnn.com]
I'm not sure about the frequency distribution, range or amplification. It not likely a miniature device, perhaps like those old fashioned devices that people hung on their shirt or coat, but, who knows, some good guys could help him out to miniaturize it. Kick starter any one?
Re: And there's the kid who made one for $50 (Score:2)
Here's one for $12
http://www.harborfreight.com/u... [harborfreight.com]
Uniformly positive reviews:
It works great, I don't have to yell at my husband now to talk to him, the price was great to , the ear Dr. wanted $2800.00 a pair, yours are just $16.00. What a differns it has made.
Re: And there's the kid who made one for $50 (Score:2)
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http://www.banggood.com/search... [banggood.com]
I believe this is because diagnosis is important. (Score:5, Insightful)
I believe this is because diagnosis is important.
Just stuffing an amplifier in your ear is problematic.
Conductive hearing loss can (and should be) medically or surgically corrected, where possible, rather than just amplifying the input noises.
Sensorineural hearing loss are cause by problems in the cochlea and inner ear. This type of hearing loss can result in "band pass" loss, and in the most profound cases, is treatable with implants, if there is still functional cochlear structure. You don't want to treat it with amplification, since you don't want to amplify the bands in which there is no loss, since you'll cause damage there. Tinnitus generally falls into this bucket as well (your *really* do not want to amplify within the bands where you have that!).
Mixed hearing loss is a combination of the first two; it's typically cause by overpressure, such as being near a load explosion or other structurally damaging event that results in both conductive and sensorineural deficits.
A CAPD (Central Auditory Processing Disorder) hearing loss means that the mechanical system are generally intact, but that the information processing doesn't happen within the brain. IT's like having an audio processing system, and yanking the DSP out of it.
Personally, if I had partial damage, I'm going to spend the money on the expensive hearing aides. If I have some function, there's no reason to cook it by amplifying the frequencies that are actually getting through, rather than those which are not.
And even if you amplify only the frequencies that are getting mechanically dropped -- assuming it's conductive loss from damage, scar tissue, etc. -- you should be careful of harmonics, since those frequencies can additively lead to a problem as well.
Put it another way.... say you needed an artificial arm ...would you probably wouldn't run down to the nearest street fair and buy a "Toysmith 6135 Galaxy Grabber Robot Claw", merely because it was a cheaper commercially available alternative.
Re:I believe this is because diagnosis is importan (Score:5, Interesting)
Yes, diagnosis can be very important. I learned that during a year-long stint calibrating audiometers and tympanometers in the offices of both hearing instrument practitioners and audiologists. I also learned that some tests are very short and rudimentary; most often these are what customers get at the 'blow it out the door' hearing aid places. Most audiololgists, (and the good, competent HIP's), do in-depth testing that can diagnose problems and potential problems that might otherwise not be found.
So, in short, I agree with everything you said, and you know a lot more about hearing loss than I do. I also know that there's a degree of sophistication in modern hearing aids that simply can't be had really cheaply, both because of manufacturing costs, and because of a significant amount of original research - even in materials science.
Having said that, I still have a strong impression that hearing aids are very much over-priced. And I know that the testing equipment, (audiometers in particular), are also very over-priced. The whole industry is ripe for some major disruption, and I suspect the encroachment of cheap consumer devices is only the thin edge of the wedge.
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Having said that, I still have a strong impression that hearing aids are very much over-priced. And I know that the testing equipment, (audiometers in particular), are also very over-priced. The whole industry is ripe for some major disruption, and I suspect the encroachment of cheap consumer devices is only the thin edge of the wedge.
While I know people who would almost literally kill for a hearing aid that actually fit their ear, didn't cause traction soreness, but didn't fall out...
Yes, they tend to be overpriced. All of it.
The hearing aids themselves are considered prosthetic devices, even if you just stuff them in your ear, and there's huge regulatory compliance issues surrounding that. Even though they tend not to be covered by insurance for purchase, there's a lot of insurance that goes into the things because of that: liability
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Yes, they are. Because the electronics part is pretty damn cheap thanks to modern electronics - an ADC, DSP and DAC combination is stupidly cheap. Hell, people are surprised when they spend $2000 on an "audiophile DAC" that the actual chip itself... cost under $5.They're mass produced because every sound emitting device has one, and even stupidly high end ones that do 24bit/192kHz are cheap. Nevermind the "basic" 16bit/48kHz units (which really are all you need for
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And yet somehow, everyone and his dog manages to make dirt cheap and very loud MP3 players without a single concern for any of that.
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In the EU, they have relatively low maximum noise levels, required by law. You can set many of them to US though, and then are able to deafen yourself again. I know, because sometimes I hear music over sound-dampening earplugs (-35dB) if some environmental noise really annoys me. With EU settings, not a chance. US settings will happily deliver something that is loud even in this situation.
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Part of the cost is the lavish trips that manufacturers give to audiologists and Hearing Instrument Specialists who sell their products, the kind of exotic vacations where you have a seminar for one morning out of a week-long stay in a tropical resort. (Not taxed as income for the audiologists, either.)
Doctors used to get these, but now it's typically dinner at a nice restaurant in exchange for listening about the latest devices/medications. Audiologists are still at the trough and saying that they aren't b
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A CAPD (Central Auditory Processing Disorder) hearing loss means that the mechanical system are generally intact, but that the information processing doesn't happen within the brain. IT's like having an audio processing system, and yanking the DSP out of it.
I describe it as "dyslexia of the ear." People understand dyslexia interferes with understanding visually, but doesn't interfere with vision at all. Most people with APD will pass a regular hearing test just fine, but still have trouble hearing some things.
But, a hearing aid can help. One that cuts out high and low frequencies, keeping just the human-voice range, will improve the hearing of an APD sufferer, as the extraneous inputs are pre-filtered, so as to lower the confusion in the brain in sorting o
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Put it another way.... say you needed an artificial arm ...would you probably wouldn't run down to the nearest street fair and buy a "Toysmith 6135 Galaxy Grabber Robot Claw", merely because it was a cheaper commercially available alternative.
Actually, there have been a number of articles right here on /. about people getting cheap 3D printed prosthetics that they report work better for them than the outrageously expensive ones the FDA likes.
Simple principle, if it costs more than you have, it doesn't exist for any practical purpose. This seems to be beyond the FDA's comprehension.
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Indeed. It is a bit like people that self-prescribe contact-lenses. That is not a good idea at all and can have very serious negative consequences, as the regular checks you should do are there to catch problems before the patient notices. AFAIK, the results were generally so bad that you cannot get lenses without a prescription in the US.
I think the $2,4000 models are a great deal (Score:5, Interesting)
That said, there is one health care plan that does cover hearing aids 100% that I am aware of - the VA. I know several people who have gotten their hearing aids for free through them and they've been very happy with it.
Several health insurance plans also offer a small rebate to the customer after they purchase them. The same elderly family member I mentioned before got $500 back from these, and is eligible to do that every 3 years. While I'm not in need of them myself I believe my health insurance plan has a similar arrangement.
Re:I think the $2,4000 models are a great deal (Score:4, Insightful)
That said, there is one health care plan that does cover hearing aids 100% that I am aware of - the VA. I know several people who have gotten their hearing aids for free through them and they've been very happy with it.
Wait a minute, are you saying that government provided health insurance actually works?!
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until the iraq and afghan wars the VA was the model of efficiency in healthcare and features. since those wars it has been underfunded by congress needed for the expansion of services(wounded soldiers need more care) and has suffered as a result.
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Gotta love consistency.
The hobgoblin of little minds.
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So if I'm a retiree with a budget of $350/week = $18200/year, $1600/year for both ears is nearly 10% of my budget just to be able to hear. Lots of people already can't afford cable and can't afford a car. Lets not add can't afford to hear to the list, when adequate solutions are available for 1/10th the price.
Still too much (Score:2)
Those hearing aids have like $20 worth of parts inside. If they weren't a "medical device" they would cost 1/10 of that.
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R&D, testing of the patient's problem, adjustment, etc. are what drives cost. Remember that an iPhone has parts for something like $150.
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Put another way, they could buy inexpensive units off the shelf and set them to the audiologist's prescription and just throw them away when the battery gets weak for less than that, IF the FDA allowed it.
Re:I think the $2,4000 models are a great deal (Score:4, Insightful)
I recently helped an elderly family member get tested, fitted, etc for hearing aids at an audiology office. Sure, it seems like a lot of money. But the $2,400 covers the hearing aid for three years of whatever you might happen to do to it. That breaks down to $800 per year, or less than $70 per month (per ear). That's less than a cable bill, and less than what most people - even elderly drivers - spend on gas for their cars for a month.
That said, there is one health care plan that does cover hearing aids 100% that I am aware of - the VA. I know several people who have gotten their hearing aids for free through them and they've been very happy with it.
Several health insurance plans also offer a small rebate to the customer after they purchase them. The same elderly family member I mentioned before got $500 back from these, and is eligible to do that every 3 years. While I'm not in need of them myself I believe my health insurance plan has a similar arrangement.
That difference may not play so much here in Europe where consumer electronics have a minimum two year guarantee by law. Consumer protection law that America does not prioritize because corporate profits are more important.
http://europa.eu/youreurope/ci... [europa.eu]
On the other hand, as medical coverage here tends to be worlds better than in the US it's probably not an issue to get hearing aids here almost for free.
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"covers the hearing aid for three years of whatever you might happen to do to it."
No it doesnt. Loss is not covered and stepping on it is not covered. One of my best friends has a set through the VA and they give you ONE replacement in those three years. You really need to read the actual print on the paperwork and ignore completely what the people at the VA tell you. because what comes out of their mouths is not what is on the paper, and the paper is what matters.
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dropping $4800 to try out a device (because once you order them, they're yours)
I'm not sure where you were looking at hearing aids - as this may vary by state - but that problem does not exist where I live in the US. The audiologist I brought said elderly relative to carries several models and gave us a model for him to try for 4 weeks at zero cost (beyond the audiology visit, which was covered by his regular health insurance). He was able to wear them for that time and see how they do in different situations, and how they fit. At the end of the 4 weeks he brought them back and ha
I recently got hearing aids and they help (Score:2)
I got my hearing aids in December. It turns out my hearing is close to normal in the lower frequencies but falls off steeply in the higher frequencies. With the aids I am better able to understand women's high pitched voices and things like birds chirping. I could have lived without them but they improve my life a bit. My employee sponsored insurance covered about half the cost so I ended up paying a little over $2K. That included a device called a SurfLink that has built in Bluetooth to hook up to cel
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That included a device called a SurfLink that has built in Bluetooth to hook up to cell phones and to control the aids volume and sound profile. I can change them for listening to live music, being outdoors where wind noise can be a problem or the standard program. There are other programs I have had loaded too. The SurfLink has a built in microphone that can be set to surround or directional mode. In a meeting I can put it across the room so I can hear people on the other side better or in a noisy restaurant I can hand it to my dinning partner . The aids also have a warranty that include no-questions-asked replacement the first time if you lose or destroy them. The hearing aids are the behind the ear kind with speaker that snakes around the front of the ear and into the ear canal. The earbud is perforated so the natural sound still comes through and they just enhance the frequencies where I'm deficient.
Well, I can see they've improved since I stopped wearing mine ten years ago when I was 16. Maybe I should look into getting some again, now that you don't have to go to a clinic every time you want the program tweaked.
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> Hearing aids that let you understand women? Sign me up!
Your reaction is understandable, but I believe there's a 48 hour mandatory cooling off period to allow you to think through the possible consequences of what might prove to be an irrevokable action.
Costco hearing aids (Score:2)
Costco sells the same hearing aids that you get for $5,000 at an audiologist, but they charge less than $1,000 for them. Consumer Reports recommends considering Costco as an alternative to the high prices normally charged by audiologists.
http://www.consumerreports.org... [consumerreports.org]
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Too bad they can't do severe hearing like mine since birth. They turned me away because they didn't do my type (bone conduction).
Topical slashdot ad (Score:2)
"Audiologist courses online!"
Seriously? The very article tells me that even if I got a degree out of that worth more than toilet paper it wouldn't get me a Job...
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In Canada, audiology is a Master's program.
Thanks for doing the math for us (Score:2)
Hearing aids cost an average of nearly $2,400 each, or close to $5,000 a pair
Just in case we're deaf -and- retarded.
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Affordability (Score:2)
I think largely it comes down to this: The hearing aid you can have is better than the one you can't have because you can't afford it.
USA really needs to rethink healthcare! (Score:3)
I was interested to read in the article, "Medicare does not pay for them, nor do most insurers".
How is this even possible? You have overpriced healthcare in the USA, and then even if you have insurance, it won't pay for the treatment you need?!
Just for those people that think the NHS is a terrible thing, I'll just leave this here - hearing diagnosis, treatment, and aids are free on the NHS in the UK for people that need them [www.nhs.uk]...
-- Pete.
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Thank Mitt Romney for his destruction of our healthcare and allowing the insurance companies to write our "affordable health care" law.
Insurance leeches (Score:2, Insightful)
No, why would insurance pay for something which is medically necessary or might improve the quality of a person's life. You're only paying to them to do. . . well, I'm not really sure what we're paying insurance companies to do. They never want to pay for anything, always making you pay and pay and pay, then pay some more.
Insurance companies. We're like the mafia, only legal.
Marketing (Score:2)
Industry FUD (Score:2)
Hearing aid manufacturers say that diagnosing and treating hearing loss is too complex for consumers to do using consumer devices, without the aid of a professional.
Yep of course it is! we must protect our very lucrative profit centers selling $40.00 devices for $4500
I have disassembled old broken hearing aids, they are not that complex. they intentionally lock people out of the dsp so you cant adjust it yourself.
Translation (Score:2)
"Hearing aid manufacturers say that diagnosing and treating hearing loss is too complex for consumers to do using consumer devices, without the aid of a professional."
Translation: "Protect our wildly lucrative business model!!"
Yeah, OF COURSE hearing aid manufacturers would say that, and in a few specific instances they may be right. But in the vast majority of cases it's bullshit.
Poor Audio Quality can be okay (Score:5, Insightful)
A lot of the "consumer devices" nowadays have very poor audio quality.
So what? If you can pay $200 for a hearing test, $200 for a consumer aid, and have a bad consumer aid that works for $400 instead of NOT BEING ABLE TO PAY FOR a high-quality hearing aid, it's still a net win for you and for society as a whole.
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A lot of the "consumer devices" nowadays have very poor audio quality.
So what? If you can pay $200 for a hearing test, $200 for a consumer aid, and have a bad consumer aid that works for $400 instead of NOT BEING ABLE TO PAY FOR a high-quality hearing aid, it's still a net win for you and for society as a whole.
The ideal solution would be to to add hearing-aids to the required "minimum coverage" for health insurance policies. Unfortunately the ACA law which for the first time set minimum health insurance standards and would need to be modified to include hearing-aid coverage, is vehemently opposed by the political party that currently controls both chambers of the Legislative branch
Re: Can you hear me now? (Score:2)
If the difference is to hear something or not at all it would help a lot for poor people not being able to affort professional equipment.
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> A lot of the "consumer devices" nowadays have very poor audio quality.
No kidding. And we're not just talking about faithfully reproducing sounds dogs can't hear and other stuff of interest only to audio fanatics. I have no trouble at all understanding sound on AM radio and over our four decade old analog landline. Both of those have quite restricted bandwidth. But a lot of digital phones do truly ghastly things to the human voice.
Re:Turning up the volume (Score:5, Insightful)
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Life expectancy at 80 is about 8 years in the US.
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Really I would say the whole hearing aid industry is due to go down the toilet the moment they perfect cochlear hair cell regeneration. I would say 10 years max.
In a similar vein the denture industry is facing extinction the moment they perfect tooth regeneration in humans. Though I predict this will mean a boom for dentists the moment you can have more than one set of adult teeth.
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Really? Try to read some literature from the 1920-30s and then compare their predictions with the actual outcome. Then realize that predicting things is near impossible.
BTW perfect tooth regeneration sounds sweet until one remembers that is essentially impossible in the human body. There still would be a need for dentists.
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Don't those only work with certain types of hearing loss?
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But remember the electrodes have only 15-20 years lifetime and then need replacement. As soon as they become permanent, things get more interesting. But that could be a while, considering that they have been at it for nearly 50 years.
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For hearing, the pain threshold is well above the damage threshold. Painfully loud is way too loud and then a bunch more.
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