Quote:
Originally Posted by clavus
Holy heck. What's a t-Coil option? What is reliability like? In the real world, do people keep a cheap spare for when their primary unit goes down?
My grandpa had three or four, none of which (he claimed) worked worth a darn.
I'm not sure about which frequencies I need to boost (though my audiologist has a graph). Can these things be adjusted like a graphic equalizer? I've only just begun to think about the reality of this.
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Spare aids really depends on the price range of your aid. My current aid was nearly $4,000 when I bought it last May - this is about the going rate for a hearing aid for someone with moderate to severe hearing loss (Me). I do keep my older hearing aids for emergencies, because usually you are ordering new ones to have on hand once the hearing aid life expectancy period is coming close, and not because they've flat out died. My aids have needed to be replaced both because of technology changes and just general quality decline every 4-5 years.
With the price mentioned, good luck finding full coverage of your hearing aid costs under insurance. On every plan I've had, hearing aids are considered an "optional cosmetic device" and are therefore not covered under insurance.
Maintenance/Repair issues become necessary most often because of moisture in the aid, issues with the ear mold (again depends on your hearing aid model/size). Taking proper care of your hearing aid helps immensely.
Also.. this is VERY important. For some reason, dogs are EXTREMELY attracted to the smells associated with hearing aids, especially the ear molds. I speak from experience -I have had a dog go to town on a hearing aid... all I had left when he was done was a bunch of broken plastic.
Current technology often programs the hearing settings over your hearing loss - that is what the graph your Dr has is for. For me, they invert the graph, and then in those losses where the graph is highest is where they program the hearing aid to provide the hearing assistance.
The type of hearing loss you are dealing with is also helpful to know. Is this based on nerve damage, or just aging?