Bottesini

Don't forget the Hudson.

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Deafness

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deafdrummer

And pack up shop and move into the woods...

C.C.Sinned

that too

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warpedpink

I hear quite well. 30-40 db in both ears. That's why I can say with the utmost confidence that hearing... not worth $8k.

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warpedpink

Oh yeah? Such as? Where does one get hearing aids that cost less than $1,000?

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TXgolfer

Just depends on the person not to mention how much they can benefit from an HA. To me for example it is very much worth it. I love my HA and I am very happy to have it. I can see how it might not be worth it to others.

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Sometimes at night, I see their faces. I feel the traces they've left on my soul

warpedpink

I know it helps alot of people.. I'm not saying it doesn't. I'm just saying that 8k is way too much to spend on it. If we all banded together and boycotted hearing aids companies, they will listen to us!

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Steinhauer

Not if they turn their HA's off.

kokonut

Even if it was worth $10,000 or $15,000 and the only one available of a good quality and function I'd say it still be still worth having.

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-Thurgood Marshall, former Supreme Court Justice


"... turns out they are telling the truth."

Jiro

Nah. It's never a supply vs. demand for "medical device". It's just the way it is because they know you're gonna pay for it anyway. Millions of people have hearing loss and it's a life-changing disaster for them (except for us ) so they know you'll cough up some dough in any way you can.

medical technology is never cheap anyway. lot of it are covered by insurance or government so they gorge it high.

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Jiro

yea right. I'd like to see you cough up that much for it.

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kokonut

Also, that's the key. How much a person can benefit from using a hearing aid is crucial. To me, it'd be very much worth it because it has been proven quite beneficial in a lot of areas of my life. Without it, I would not have had that much opportunity to experience a lot of things in life in terms of communication, and learning new skills and attaining new experiences as a result. For me, it'd be a no brainer and I would be more than happy to spend the extra dollars for a hearing aid should it come to that. $10,000? No problem. I'd take it in a heart beat if it were the only available hearing aid brand of good quality and function because I know how it will benefit me tremendously. I know a good value when I see it for myself.

__________________
Before AD.

After AD.

"Restriction on free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us."
-Thurgood Marshall, former Supreme Court Justice


"... turns out they are telling the truth."

Jiro

I find it comical that you reply back to same post twice because you're avoiding to reply back to my post

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CrazyPaul

Yeah, that's alot of money. Well, if your insurance doesn't cover them and you really want to have them, then buy them and I believe that they are tax write-offs as medical expenses if you itemize deductions on your income tax return next year. It's up to you.

Long time ago I bought my own TTY as well as a stand-alone CC decoder. I wrote them off as medical expenses on my income tax return.

GrayEagle

Good point about tax write-off! Every year I had to buy hearing aids, we could itemize our tax return and get $$$ off for the hearing aid expense. Whereas other years our medical expenses didn't make the minimum to be worth itemizing.

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"We deem those happy who from the experience of life have learnt to bear its ills without being overcome by them."
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kokonut

Tax Topics - Topic 502 Medical and Dental Expenses

Starting at 7.5% is a lot of medical expenses to incur depending on how much your adjusted gross income is (gross income = your income minus deductions). At $53,000, for example, you'd need to incur at least $4,000 in medical expenses before they can be allowed to be deducted.

__________________
Before AD.

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"Restriction on free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us."
-Thurgood Marshall, former Supreme Court Justice


"... turns out they are telling the truth."

GrayEagle

This is wordy, but I felt the need to respond with my thoughts from my perspective and experience...

Maybe I would pay any amount if I *could* feasibly afford new digitals even at the old price we paid, of $5000, because I could still hear the voices and understand the words of people I love. I could listen to favorite music, hear birdsong when I am out in the backyard. As someone who has lost hearing later in life, I have spent most of my life hearing. So, all these things are very important to me. And because all my family, extended family and friends have always been fully hearing. None of them had occasion to learn ASL, as I did not. So, now we are working on it, at least my DH (husband) and DD (grown daughter), and DH & I are making new friends through our ASL and lip reading classes offered by the local Deaf/HOH advocacy agency. But I want to hang on to hearing what I can as long as I can because it's all I know and have known all my life. It's how I have always connected to the world. Now that I am at the point of financially not being able to afford new aids as my hearing continues to drop, I have to figure out ways to remold my world to make it still enjoyable, satisfying, and keep connected to those I love and care about. It'll happen. We'll figure it out. We'll find our way. But hearing aids kept me employable for 15 years after my hearing loss began, until I could no longer handle telephones. Then no one would hire me, regardless of years of skills and experiences. I had the option to retire early and we live on a tight budget as DH still works and will for another year before he retires. Then times will be hard financially. But like everything else, we'll figure it out, like other people do.

I just wanted to reply that sometimes the expense is worth sacrificing a lot because it's all you've ever known, and don't know how to function otherwise. I am totally dependent on my hearing aids, even if they aren't doing what I need them to do any longer. I don't like that dependence because of the cost, but we are trying to figure out new ways to live and communicate as my hearing loss continues and hearing aids become unaffordable. But I am having trouble, grief and hurt, leaving that world I took for granted all those years, that is now rejecting me. I have known nothing else, no support system anywhere. So, I am reaching out and finding there is support and there are alternatives to running faster than I can keep up trying to stay in the hearing world. But it's hard to give up what you know and not want to grab onto expensive technology to delay the giving up finally. And if I was still working? And had to have the aids and I could still function with them, likely it would mean my job if I did not get the aids. And a lot of people are in that boat, too, having to spend the $$$ to stay employed. Because employers have all sorts of ways to get out of accommodating. And will use them. I've learned that the hard way, too.

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CreatedNat

My daughters aids were suppose to cost us almost $7,000, but we just had to pay about $1000 after insurance paid the rest. She gets free molds right now. It is very expensive, but if it helps you hear (and that is something that you want) then it is worth the cost.

kokonut

Absolutely.

__________________
Before AD.

After AD.

"Restriction on free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us."
-Thurgood Marshall, former Supreme Court Justice


"... turns out they are telling the truth."

GrayEagle

Glad your insurance picked up a lot of the expense! That's awesome! And I agree, it's worth the cost for a good benefit.

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"We deem those happy who from the experience of life have learnt to bear its ills without being overcome by them."
~~Carl Jung

CreatedNat

Mine are not working for me right now... I can't really understand people anymore, so I am looking into a CI.

My daughter has her CI appt soon, though I know they will tell us we need to go through a longer trial with the aids, I just think it will be good to know if she is even a candidate for a CI. We both have appointments on the 25th... so wish us luck!

cdmeggers

Good luck for both of you!

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coolgirlspyer90

My dad told me that my HA cost about $5,000 for just my right ear before i got implanted. it's still pretty brand new! I only worn it for a few months before my right ear didn't want to cooperate with me.

kokonut

I wish you guys luck!

__________________
Before AD.

After AD.

"Restriction on free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us."
-Thurgood Marshall, former Supreme Court Justice


"... turns out they are telling the truth."

green427

Ebay...did you read my previous post?

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Warning: Anything I post may not make any sense. All advice is for entertainment value only. Sarcasm might be present. Interpret at your own risk.

GrayEagle

Wishing you the best luck & success, also!

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"We deem those happy who from the experience of life have learnt to bear its ills without being overcome by them."
~~Carl Jung

kokonut

I am just surmising here but I think when people are unwilling to buy an expensive hearing aid perhaps they do not get as much benefit out of it versus those who do get a lot of benefit out of it see a different value of what their hearing aids have done for them. Which is why some people would be willing plunk down good money for an expensive hearing aid because the return they get from using it would be so high. They see real value in purchasing a hearing aid. Personally, myself, I am not complaining about the prices. I am very thankful that there are hearing aids out there.

__________________
Before AD.

After AD.

"Restriction on free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us."
-Thurgood Marshall, former Supreme Court Justice


"... turns out they are telling the truth."

VamPyroX

I agree. I think the prices for hearing aids are horrible.

My hearing aid is $2,500. I got a discount through my college's hearing aid program (only first-time buyers). That's for my digital hearing aid. For the analog hearing aid like the one I got in 1993, it would have cost me $1,500. Jeez...

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kokonut

How long did your hearing aids last?

__________________
Before AD.

After AD.

"Restriction on free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us."
-Thurgood Marshall, former Supreme Court Justice


"... turns out they are telling the truth."

Jiro

I'm sorry but you've gotta be out of your mind to be plunking down $10,000 for hearing aid unless it's as powerful as CI and will last for a good 10 years along with lifetime warranty or not.

I feel sorry for whoever paid that much for hearing aid. They got scammed good. It's like paying $1,000 for a 5-minutes routine check-up by "top doctor". That's just ridiculous.

Lack of common sense, I say.

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