hearing aids – any good sites with useful reviews?
I need a hearing aids, are there any good sites with useful reviews? Eg. not ads.
The problem with reviews of hearing aids is that it is such a subjective item.
First off, there are literally thousands of different hearing losses. A typical hearing test covers at least seven different frequencies. There are about 25 different results possible at each frequency. In addition to that there are further results of a test that impact the kind of help that would be beneficial. It's a lot of combinations, together with a subjective response to hearing aids with each patient.
After that consider that a typical quality digital hearing aid can have tens of thousands of programming combinations. Some hearing specialists are not all that great at programming the best one for the loss.
For every brand of hearing aid, I could probably find you someone that hates it, and someone who loves it. There is really no way of knowing how your opinion will compare to others.
My advice is to get more than one test. See who appears to know what they are talking about. See who will actually fit you with a real set of hearing aids as part of the consultation. If your hearing professional will not demonstrate an actual set of hearing aids, walk away. Just like you don't buy a car without driving it, you should never purchase hearing aids without listening to a comparable set.
Most tests are free and without obligation, so take several if you have to. It shouldn't take too much time to figure out who knows their stuff and who does not.
I qualified as a hearing instrument specialist in the early 90s and hold a license in America and the UK. I've dealt with many different brands of aid over the years. Personally I like Starkey / Audibel, Widex, Oticon and ReSound. I think Siemens are somewhere in the middle, but often over priced, and Miracle Ear is a joke.
I hope that helps.
May 10th, 2009 at 5:23 am
not that ive HEARD of. *wink wink nudge nudge*
References :
May 10th, 2009 at 5:51 am
The problem with reviews of hearing aids is that it is such a subjective item.
First off, there are literally thousands of different hearing losses. A typical hearing test covers at least seven different frequencies. There are about 25 different results possible at each frequency. In addition to that there are further results of a test that impact the kind of help that would be beneficial. It's a lot of combinations, together with a subjective response to hearing aids with each patient.
After that consider that a typical quality digital hearing aid can have tens of thousands of programming combinations. Some hearing specialists are not all that great at programming the best one for the loss.
For every brand of hearing aid, I could probably find you someone that hates it, and someone who loves it. There is really no way of knowing how your opinion will compare to others.
My advice is to get more than one test. See who appears to know what they are talking about. See who will actually fit you with a real set of hearing aids as part of the consultation. If your hearing professional will not demonstrate an actual set of hearing aids, walk away. Just like you don't buy a car without driving it, you should never purchase hearing aids without listening to a comparable set.
Most tests are free and without obligation, so take several if you have to. It shouldn't take too much time to figure out who knows their stuff and who does not.
I qualified as a hearing instrument specialist in the early 90s and hold a license in America and the UK. I've dealt with many different brands of aid over the years. Personally I like Starkey / Audibel, Widex, Oticon and ReSound. I think Siemens are somewhere in the middle, but often over priced, and Miracle Ear is a joke.
I hope that helps.
References :
May 10th, 2009 at 6:10 am
Try looking on about.com
http://deafness.about.com/cs/hearingaids/a/haidbasics_3.htm?terms=hearing+aid
or http://deafness.about.com and hit the forums link. There are lots of people talking about the aids they use…
Its all pretty subjective. See a licensed audiologist, and not just a hearing aid dealer. They're more likely to meet your needs efficiently, with the least amount of trouble.
References :