OTC (online) hearing aids

[Dana]

Time for another hearing aid thread? I’m reluctantly concluding I need to do something about my hearing as my wife’s been telling me for years… wish we knew 45 years ago that flying without hearing protection and nothing but the cabin speaker for radio was a bad thing? Of course rifles and rock bands didn’t help either…

A couple of things I haven’t seen mentioned in previous threads… first, any insight on OTC hearing aids ordered online? Some of them have pretty good reviews. In particular I was looking at the offerings from Eargo, as I like the way they go in, leaving your ear mostly open and ventilated. The prices don’t look too bad, either.

I’m also thinking that a completely inside the ear canal (CIC) style like the Eargos would be more comfortable for me and would (yes? no?) be less susceptible to wind noise. As much as I’d love having Bluetooth streaming directly to the hearing aids, I don’t like the idea of a klunky box behind my ear interfering with headsets and sunglasses. For those who have CIC hearing aids, do you usually leave them in place when flying with a headset? Even in my noisy open cockpit, I can hear the radio just fine, though I suppose I have it turned up pretty loud.

 

[Matthew]

I have RIC, left ear only. They are cross between CIC and behind the ear.

I took my sunglasses and headset with me when I got fitted. For <2hr flights I leave it in, but in longer flights like to/from OSH my DC headsets get a little tight and it’s more comfortable to remove the aid.

 

[Brad W]

I don't know a bunch about the OTC aids
but as a fairly new user I'd think that unless money is a serious object in the equation.....that generally you'll have a much better experience and will be much more likely to have something that you'll actually wear, if you get aids properly fitted by an audiologist.
I went I think about two years ago to an audiologist with zero intention of even looking at aids. I knew I had a bit of a loss but I only just wanted to get a test. It had been several years since my last test at work so I was only just curious. I figured I was no where close to needing hearing aids...got through life just fine...I thought. Had to ask my daughters to repeat themselves too often, really struggled in loud restaurants, etc.... and I was sorta thinking about trying some sort of OTC thing

Anyway, immediately after the test the audiologist without saying anything set up a test pair and sent me home with them. It was an amazing experience.
but back to the point, I recon OTC aids will more or less amplify everything...not only just the frequencies I need to be amplified. Also they probably won't have anywhere near the built in logic for noise cancellation, changes for different settings, etc... Mine do all sorts of things like automatically switching programs based on the environment...music, noisy environment, conversation, etc... They are pretty much totally seamless. I put them in in the morning and take them off at bedtime....otherwise never really think about them.

Mine are open dome RIC aids. I haven't flown a whole lot since getting them but I did a few times under the headset and they were fine. I wear them under audio headphones quite a bit

 

[flyingron]

I got my first pair from the local audiologist. The pair I have now I ordered through YesHearing. They're the latest version of the ones I had before, Resound One's with the MRIE receivers (though I'm not sure that is much more than a gimic). I ordered them through YesHearing which I highly recommend. They will send you an audiologist to your house to do the fitting. They were also happy with that I told them that I had the fitting software and interface myself and would just set them up to my own liking. After I got them, I inquired about the upgraded charger (these are rechargeable, and the upgraded charger itself has a rechargeable battery so you can charge the HAs without power, handy at Oshkosh when I could charge the charger up while working during the day and charge the hearing aids while I slept) and they just sent it to me (it's listed as a $150 option). They saved me over $1000 from what my Audiologist would have charged me.

My AME when I reported the fitting years ago put the restriction on my medical, even though I actually meet the third class requirements (I'm right on the edge of the audiogram specifications and in a relatively quiet office situation, I have no problem with conversational speech). It however is about the dumbest restriction "must use amplification." Since I fly with headsets on all the time, I always have amplification.

 

[Brad W]

flyingiron's post brought a couple more thoughts to mind...things I learned/considered
I wish I had known going into it.....
some audiologists charge sorta of a package deal price. It's what mine did. Charged what I considered a staggering amount, but I didn't know better. It was basically what I learned later to be more or less the price of the aids x2. It includes unlimited service visits for a period of time and loss/damage/replacement insurance for a few years...can't recall the time period at the moment....I suppose this is considered the old school sales model that most audiologists use
other audiolgists will sell the aids which come with a more standard warranty of some sort, then each visit for service or adjustment would have a charge.
Having the insurance is a nice feeling I suppose...but not sure it's really worth it....
The first several months I visited her quite a few times getting the programming tweaked, but it really wasn't all that much in the big scheme of things.

My other thing is just an opinion after much research and consideration before I bought...that lead to a few decisions that I have been very happy that I made.
1) I chose non-rechargable aids. Even though the batteries last a full day, I didn't want to have to be slaved to having a charger when travelling, etc.... and the fear that if batteries died mid-day I'd be stuck without while they charge. With standard batteries, I can have a spare set handy and change them out in a minute....and if I don't have a spare set I can pop into pretty much any store and get some.
2) the audiologist was going to put me in aids with size 312 batteries. I opted to go with size 13 which is a larger battery...something like 50% larger if I recall. Either were the same price for me so it seemed like a no-brainer. The aids are only a fraction of a milometer larger so basically irrelevant...and I get a full solid week...really more like 8 days...out of a set.
3) I chose to get the t-coil versions. Again, no additional money. It's an old fashioned method of streaming to the aids. I have found this useful at church, where I can pipe their PA system into my aids using an FM receiver and a neck loop. Theoretically also useful at museums and other public places although I've not found a place to use it other than church

@flyingiron...I'm toying with the idea of getting the software like you have done....especially when it comes time for my next pair. As a DIY kinda guy I like that idea. I'll have to look into that Yeshearing. Thanks for that point out!

 

[Matthew]

I got my single aid “unbundled”, so it was considerably cheaper but still $$$. Unbundled means I pay out of pocket for any visits or adjustments outside of the first one or two. For some older folks the additional visits for cleanings, batteries, adjustments and whatever can add up so bundling may make sense.

 

[flyingron]

Being what my audiologist considered an expert user (this was even before she found out that I had my own AirLink2 and fitting software), she gave me the unpackaged version: I'd buy my own batteries and pay by the visit for followups. Still YesHearing was $1200 less than the price the office quoted me when I went in. By the way, my insurance company likes to direct people to another provider TruHearing, which I have tried to use twice and found them to be a customer service nightmare. First, they don't send the audiologist to you. Second, they don't freaking listen to you over the phone. I wanted a specific brand of hearing aid and they booked me in with an audiologist who doesn't do that brand. Third, their follow-up was indifferent and rude.

YesHearing did it pretty much all by email and was a joy to work with.

 

[FastEddieB]

I started a thread on the topic of hearing aids back in Mar 2019…

https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/community/threads/lets-talk-hearing-aids-again.117317/

I ended up with a pair of rechargeable, Bluetooth ReSounds from Costco and I’m very satisfied after 2 years. Service has been exemplary, with free domes and wax guards as necessary and a single in-warranty repair. At $2,700 the pair, about half of my first quote from an audiologist.

 

[flyingron]

Yep, Costco sells more hearing aids than any other outlet in the country. Even the Kirkland-branded ones are made by Resounds, but they carry the name brands as well. Cheapest place to get batteries as well (before I switched to the rechargeables).

If you want lots of information about hearing aids, there's a nice forum over on hearingtracker.com

 

[Dana]

Update, I decided to go with the Eargo 5 hearing aids. While BradW is correct that many OTC so called "hearing aids" are in fact just amplifiers (technically a PSAP or "Personal Sound Amplification Product"), the Eargos are true hearing aids that are tailored to amplify sounds in the specific frequency ranges you're deficient in. The way it works is you get them in the mail, stick them in your ears, then run a smartphone app that gives you a hearing test, playing tones of varying frequencies and volumes, then tailors the response to the user's specific hearing loss.

Anyway, after having them for a few days, I can say there's a dramatic improvement in my hearing. I'm sure there will be some further tweaking required, some of which I can do through the app, while finer adjustments they can do remotely, and there's an intermittent battery life issue (for which a replacement set is already in the mail to me), but overall I'm pretty impressed with the devices and the service so far.

Flying with them under a standard headset, I can hear the squeaks and rattles as I'm taxiing much better, which will take some getting used to, but it doesn't seem to affect what I hear over the radio so much, probably because I can just turn up the headset volume anyway. But I'm looking forward to a walk in the woods with them this weekend.