Replacing Aids?

faire_jour

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How do you know when it is time for new hearing aids? Miss Kat has had
her's for 4 years now and I'm wondering if it is time for a change.

When she got the aids she only had a moderate loss, now she is severe-
profound, plus I'm sure there have been technology changes. She has
Oticon Gaia, and they have never even needed a repair, so we are lucky
in that regard. (maybe I should just count our blessings!)
So, how long? And how do I know when?
 
when i told my DVR counselor that I usually change it when it no longer functions (about 5+ years), he was :-o because he said that people usually get new HA every 2-3 years. He opened his filing cabinet and pointed to dozens of files. He said - these are the files of people we paid for their HA. We can for you... I was like oh...........

oh well
 
when i told my DVR counselor that I usually change it when it no longer functions (about 5+ years), he was :-o because he said that people usually get new HA every 2-3 years. He opened his filing cabinet and pointed to dozens of files. He said - these are the files of people we paid for their HA. We can for you... I was like oh...........

oh well

here dvr will only pay for a person's hearing aid(s) once. after that, they must pay for them on thier own.

each of us is different, but i've never been the type of person to replace my hearing aids every 2-3 years.

in fact, i've had my analog oticon 380P's for the past 15 years. they've worked perfectly during all that time and never required a single repair.

faire_jour: if miss kat's hearing has changed from moderate to severe-profound, it might not be a bad idea to look into a new hearing aid because the gaia may not be strong enough to suit her needs.
 
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here dvr will only pay for a person's hearing aid(s) once. after that, they must pay for them on thier own.

as for purchasing new hearing aids, i've had my analog oticon 380P's for 15 years and they continued working perfectly until the day i received my first ci.

each of us is different, but i've never been the type of person to replace my hearing aids ever 2-3 years. i figure if it's not broke, why fix it?

oh? hmmm I'll have to ask my DVR if they pay only once. You're right that why fix it when it ain't broke but he said it's because technology changes so often that you will hear better and better... just like having a new & faster computer.

IMO - I don't really feel that MUCH change... it's more of a small incremental upgrade for me :dunno:
 
oh? hmmm I'll have to ask my DVR if they pay only once. You're right that why fix it when it ain't broke but he said it's because technology changes so often that you will hear better and better... just like having a new & faster computer.

IMO - I don't really feel that MUCH change... it's more of a small incremental upgrade for me :dunno:

i think it's different for each person. some people like experimenting with new hearing aid technology while others don't. i prefer to stick with what works because you never know if your new hearing aids will work as well (or better) than your old aids. also, just because hearing aid technology improves doesn't mean that it will give you better hearing. when i started using digital aids in 1995, i was *very* unhappy with them and decided to continue wearing my analogs. newer doesn't necessarily mean better.
 
i think it's different for each person. some people like experimenting with new hearing aid technology, but i don't. i prefer to stick with whatever works because you never know if your new hearing aids work as well (or better) than your old aids.

that's why you can refund it... within 30-60 days
 
that's why you can refund it... within 30-60 days

i know, but i'd rather continue using what works. i've always been picky when it comes to my hearing and i'm not the kind of person who deals with change well. i'm also totally blind which means that i depend on my hearing, so if something already works well for me, i see no reason to upgrade. having said that, i understand that others may feel differently.
 
I like experimenting with new technology, but in the case of a pre-verbal child, doesn't the audiologist give you input on the fitting range and where the child stands in relation to her present aid?
 
Gee..

Here in Greece is the same..and most of the time u have to pay for the aids..insurances here cover only one aid..

Like HearAgain , I've had my Widex Senso's for a long time , 10 years , and I had been told that I should change them at the 5 year mark...I didn't , ( I was unilateral and had another aid for a back up ) they were the first digitals that were in Greece..lol! ( I wonder for what losses was the Senso P38 was destined for )

Now I have CI in my good ear , and still have the old HA in the drawer..

My older HA's were analog , dunno what happened to them..!!

faire_jour , if miss kat's hearing has decreased , show the audiogram to the audie that deals with your HA , explain that you got CI in one ear and u want to try bimodal approach, then try and find a suitable aid for her needs.Or reprogram the one she has!
 
Gee..

Here in Greece is the same..and most of the time u have to pay for the aids..insurances here cover only one aid..

Like HearAgain , I've had my Widex Senso's for a long time , 10 years , and I had been told that I should change them at the 5 year mark...I didn't , ( I was unilateral and had another aid for a back up ) they were the first digitals that were in Greece..lol! ( I wonder for what losses was the Senso P38 was destined for )

Now I have CI in my good ear , and still have the old HA in the drawer..

My older HA's were analog , dunno what happened to them..!!

faire_jour , if miss kat's hearing has decreased , show the audiogram to the audie that deals with your HA , explain that you got CI in one ear and u want to try bimodal approach, then try and find a suitable aid for her needs.Or reprogram the one she has!

We've reprogrammed each time she's had a drop, but I'm concerned that since these are really "power aids" they could be turned up so high that they aren't really giving optimal sound.
 
As my hearing never changed all my life i had ha's that pretty much held out for long time, My widex was 8 years old before she gave out, I still have my Phonak analouge from when i was 8 years old, it still works but i haven't used it since 2000 so will keep that in case anything breaks.

Like others says if it's not broken don't fix it.

But in Kat's case if her hearing had dropped and she's not getting the full beniefit out of her Aid, it might be a best to have soundfield tests to see how much she can hear with it alone/with ci before thinking of getting new one.
 
when i told my DVR counselor that I usually change it when it no longer functions (about 5+ years), he was :-o because he said that people usually get new HA every 2-3 years. He opened his filing cabinet and pointed to dozens of files. He said - these are the files of people we paid for their HA. We can for you... I was like oh...........

oh well

Huh? Well, I am like :-o that some people change them every 2-3 years. Last time I read, the HA replacement should be every 5 years. I have a bit of a doubt that HA should be replaced that often if the technology won't allow you more hearing anyway depending on your hearing severity. If you have functional hearing that allows you to hear speech better, then maybe. Could some of it be monetary motivation? :hmm:
 
Could some of it be monetary motivation? :hmm:

i think some people just want the "latest and greatest" technology just for the sake of having it. not me. i'd rather stick with what works, thank you very much. as i mentioned, i had a 15 year old pair of oticon 380P's that i was very pleased with. i'd rather continue wearing a good, functional set of aids than constantly upgrade to new aids that may or may not be better than the ones i had previously.
 
i got a new aid after a year but that was because my loss no longer being benefited by the una plus i needed a 2nd ha for the left...
 
Huh? Well, I am like :-o that some people change them every 2-3 years. Last time I read, the HA replacement should be every 5 years. I have a bit of a doubt that HA should be replaced that often if the technology won't allow you more hearing anyway depending on your hearing severity. If you have functional hearing that allows you to hear speech better, then maybe. Could some of it be monetary motivation? :hmm:

Look at computers, IPOD, cars, etc... you can see how fast & improved they are as according to Moore's Law. HA technology continues to improve rapidly to make sound more rich and to hear with clarity. Some prefers analog.... most prefers digital.... I think I prefer analog even though I'm wearing digital now but it's my first digital HA. I feel analog sounds more natural for me however.... I can hear more with digital such as subtle sound - leaves crumbling.
 
I had an analogue HA last for twenty years! When it started playing up and I took it to the NHS hearing centre they said they'd have to replace it with digital because they didn't supply analogue any more. I now have two digital aids and the volume is less than my old faithful analogue, but they do have extra features that the analogue HA didn't have, like DAI. I find DAI is better than using the T-coil because there is less interference.
 
I had an analogue HA last for twenty years! When it started playing up and I took it to the NHS hearing centre they said they'd have to replace it with digital because they didn't supply analogue any more. I now have two digital aids and the volume is less than my old faithful analogue, but they do have extra features that the analogue HA didn't have, like DAI. I find DAI is better than using the T-coil because there is less interference.

haha! I remember analog HA did have several volume setting. Digital HA has like 3-4 volume settings. But which sound quality do you prefer? Digital or Analog?
 
My analogue HA had adjustable volume, but my digitals have automatic volume set to my hearing loss, which I can't change. Analogue HAs are definitely louder, but digitals have more clarity and I get much less recruitment problems, which happened often with analogue. I think digitals can be set to prevent recruitment problems. I prefer digitals because of all the extra features they include, I have directional microphones too, which I find useful.
 
My analogue HA had adjustable volume, but my digitals have automatic volume set to my hearing loss, which I can't change. Analogue HAs are definitely louder, but digitals have more clarity and I get much less recruitment problems, which happened often with analogue. I think digitals can be set to prevent recruitment problems. I prefer digitals because of all the extra features they include, I have directional microphones too, which I find useful.

no volume control!?!? nonsense! that's like having a tv remote control without channel/volume buttons
 
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