Just thought this might be of interest to some members of the TS community..... of a 'certain' age bracket.
I am in the final stage of selecting / fitting a new set of hearing aids.
They are manufactured by Widex and I can only sum up my reaction to them as "WOW!!"
My hearing loss is described as 'severely / profoundly' limited in both ears, the right more so than the left. These will be the 3rd set of hearing aids I have had over the approx. 12 years that I have had assistance with my hearing. I have been to both my local audiologist and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester for exams / tests and MRIs for possible tumors (negative). I began with 'in the ear' models by Odicon and then later progressed to 'behind the ear' models from GN Resound to the current mini-'behind the ear' model from Widex.
These from Widex communicate with each other via a proprietary, Blue-tooth like signal, they also communicate with the 'steamer' that I wear in the same manor. I don't NEED to wear the streamer but it is handy for connecting to blue-tooth devices around me and for other 'adjustments' I can make on the fly. This proprietary signal is significantly faster than blue-tooth and eliminates the possibility of an 'echo effect' in the hearing. It is also significantly shorter in broadcast range, measured in inches/feet. The communication between the 2 aids allows for balancing the sounds presented to my ears in a wide variety of noise conditions. The streamer can be 'paired' via blue-tooth with my cell phone, iMac, iPad, and iPod Touch, so that I can hear the phone conversation and/or music via my hearing aids in a VERY clear and balanced manner. Something I have NEVER been able to do with any of my other aids. Widex also provides a 'gadget' that is plugged into the audio jacks of my tv, so I can listen to that in the same manner without having to 'blast' the rest of the listeners out of the room to hear. I can also, via the streamer, direct the microphones in my hearing aids to seek out sounds forward, left, right, or behind me for specific amplification.... nice when driving and carrying on conversations. The streamer also lets me block out and only present the sounds specifically coming through the streamer, i.e. phone conversations, music, or tv audio, so you can hear those in noisy situations. (my wife refers to it as 'selective hearing loss'). These aids have 2 amplifiers in each aid, one in the usual location in the behind-the-ear portion, and another one in the in-ear piece it self. This secondary one is not turned on as yet, but can be should the 'need' arise' (Believe 'post' was also mentioned in that same sentence) so it 'extends' the useful life of the devices.
The aids communicate with me via 'spoken' instructions, not a series of beeps, etc. So I instantly know then my batteries are running low (usually on a 6-7 day cycle) or if something is interfering with their constant communication to balance..."Partner check". This was a little unnerving the first time I was going down the road and someone/thing says in my ear..."The battery for your left ear is low, please change it at your earliest convenience."
As you can imagine, these are not cheap.... 2-3 fully loaded iMacs come to mind, but the ability to hear birds in the back yard, phone conversations clearly, take part in conversations in restaurants, or just 'normal' conversing with people without having to have them repeat themselves is worth a significant amount to me.
I hope this isn't too long or detailed, but I am SO thankful for their contribution to my life, that I thought I should share...
Oh, yes, if you are in the market for hearing aids.... go to an audiologist.... not a hearing aid sales location.... Audiologists are there to improve your hearing and only sell hearing aids as a means to that end, hearing aid sales locations are there to improve their bottom line not your life.
Bob K. rnkiii
