HAs (analog VS digital)

yagazn

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I'm wearing my analog HAs, My HAs doctor told me that I'll get digital HAs this next may 2009. but I'm not sure about digital HAs. I used to my analog HAs. My doctor says It is up to me if I like digital HAs or not then I can always go back to analog HAs. I know my doctor very well for 10 yrs, he's like a family to me.

One person who wore digital HAs at my hearing aid doctor office. He told me that analog HAs is better than digital? Is that true? Do you have any problems with your digital HAs? I'd appreciate if anyone experienced with digital HAs and how do you like it?. Thanks!
 
everyone's different. I prefer digital over analogs, a lot of people do. But there are a lot who prefer analogs.
 
I never benefitted from digital aids because they always made speech sound weak, distorted and very difficult to understand. The only thing I really liked about digitals was how much easier they allowed me to hear environmental sounds. Having said that, I had been a bilateral analog hearing aid user for 9 years prior to trying my first digital, so it's very possible that my perspective could have been biased. Aside from that, I had *constant* problems with my digital aids (Oticon DigiFocus II super power BTEs) needing repair. My analogs, on the other hand, didn't need repair even once during the 15 years I used them. (Note: My analog aids -- Oticon 380Ps -- still continue to work to this day making them functional for the past 19 years.)
 
Hmm - honestly, I cannot tell the differences between digitals and analogs. However, I was able to pick up the higher frequencies in the digitals that I couldn't in the analogs. Having said that, after a couple years of wearing digitals, I opted for CI and that was FAR much better than either of them.

At least your audiologist is giving you a trial basis. Mine didn't. I had to shell out $4000 for two! The real nice feature about digitals is you can adjust the sounds a lot more than you could with analogs.
 
Interesting. Yeah, Not much repair or not alot of problems with my analog hearing aid for like 4 yrs now. Except replacement like new earmold or new tube.
Well, I'm happy with my analog hearing aids.

I will talk with my hearing aid doctor about digital HAs.

Thank you Hear Again about your experience with your digital HAs before.
 
Hmm - honestly, I cannot tell the differences between digitals and analogs. However, I was able to pick up the higher frequencies in the digitals that I couldn't in the analogs. Having said that, after a couple years of wearing digitals, I opted for CI and that was FAR much better than either of them.

At least your audiologist is giving you a trial basis. Mine didn't. I had to shell out $4000 for two! The real nice feature about digitals is you can adjust the sounds a lot more than you could with analogs.

Really, Hmm. I wouldn't want to get myself CI just to be honest. Yeah, that's what I want to know.

Ah, about digitals with feature, Hmm. Like I told Hear Again that I'll talk with my hearing aid doctor. He says, It is up to me and try out digital hearing aid, If I'm not happy then I can go back to my old analog HAs.

Thank you LadySekhmet :)
 
I second eveyone else! The analog vs. digital debate is never going to be settled since everyone's loss is very indivdual. You really have to experiment and see which one is best for you.
 
I would just try them out and see... each to their own.

I had Analouge for 21 years, then on to Widex senso sp Digital HA's, it was brilliant, I loved it, I had it for 8 years. When it started to ail few years ago, i went on to get CI but while trying out HA's Seimens then otcion, then phonak (all digitals), it didn't give me any benefit. Tried Untrion Analogue.. I prefer it. I now wear that in my left and CI in right.
 
Thank you Hear Again about your experience with your digital HAs before.

You're welcome. I would talk to your audi to find out if you could try digital and analog hearing aids. After all, you're entitled to a 30 day trial period. Good luck!
 
I used analogues for 30 years before being 'upgraded' to digitals last July. Although I prefer the sound of digitals, and the extra features they have, I've already had to return them twice for repair. My old analogues seemed almost indestructible.
 
I prefer analog for the more crisp sound of people's voices and the durability, but right now (huge highschool, ski slope loss) I need the background reduction programs, customizable sound, and FM system compatibility.
 
My daughter is only 14, but I can see that she much prefers the sound of digital aids--unless it is just because it is what she is used to hearing. She had analog from age 1 to 5 and digitals from 5 to 14. When she first got digitals, she really seemed to hear MUCH better than with analogs--but she was only 5, so that's hard to say for certain. The digitals worked great for her over the years--then last year, she began having trouble with them. At this point, one was repairable, and one was not--we had one repaired and it is supposedly under warranty for a year.

We know that it is time to buy NEW hearing aids, but we just can't afford it right now. So, for now, she uses one digital hearing aid and leaves the other ear unaided. Her OLD analog aids still work--she tried them but said that she did not like the way they sounded. I was wondering if she could wear one analog and one digital, but she said no--she will be fine with just one digital for now. To me, I would think analog is better than nothing and two are better than one--but to her, she says she prefers to just wear the one digital. It's her ears, so that's fine with me! :)

Still, she is more than willing to try two again when we can buy two new digital aids--guess we'll just have to wait and see. Times are tough, and that is a huge expense we just cannot handle right now. In the past, the "professionals" would have given me a hard time about not making her wear two aids--her hearing loss is about the same in both ears and the gain with digital aids also seems to be about the same. But now that she is older, I am letting her make those kinds of decisions--if it works for her, than that is fine with me. Honestly, I haven't noticed her hearing less with one than she did with two--as far as I can tell, as long as she has one, she is able to tune into sounds around her.

I guess maybe it is the difference between hearing things in mono versus stereo? When she listens to music on her Ipod, she used to take off both hearing aids and listen directly through the headphones. Now, she sometimes leaves on one hearing aid and puts one earbud in her other ear--essentially, listening to music in one ear and the world around her in the other. I even find myself doing that sometimes--just using one ear bud for music--because then I can hear when people are talking to me, if the phone rings, etc. So I guess listening in mono versus stereo really isn't such a bad thing! :)

But as to the digital versus analog question: my daughter COULD use analog in the other ear but doesn't seem to like the way it sounds compared to her digital aid. However, the analog aids are over 13 years old and still going strong, while the digital aids are less than 9 years old with only one still working(after being repaired). I'm not sure exactly how different the analog sounds to her, but she describes the sounds as being "squeaky" or "scratchy"--but they check out fine when listening through a stethoscope, so they are working fine--just sound different to her and she doesn't like them.
 
I personally prefer my analog aid, if only for one reason. I have one analog one, and one digital one. I cannot tell a single difference between the two as far as volume, crispness, etc. when I only wear one at a time. However, the digital one annoys me when it's time to change the battery - it won't let the battery just die out on its own - it constantly beeps at me like "CHANGE ME !! CHANGE ME !! CHANGE ME!!" Drives me crazy. ;)
 
The bleeps which warn that the battery is about to go are one of the things I like about digitals. With analogues the battery would just fail without warning, a pain in the middle of a lecture or something. My new HAs give me at least an hours warning, so I can change the battery before lectures and not get caught out.
 
it won't let the battery just die out on its own - it constantly beeps at me like "CHANGE ME !! CHANGE ME !! CHANGE ME!!" Drives me crazy
Ugh me too!
 
I personally prefer my analog aid, if only for one reason. I have one analog one, and one digital one. I cannot tell a single difference between the two as far as volume, crispness, etc. when I only wear one at a time. However, the digital one annoys me when it's time to change the battery - it won't let the battery just die out on its own - it constantly beeps at me like "CHANGE ME !! CHANGE ME !! CHANGE ME!!" Drives me crazy. ;)

Ah--so one digital and one analog isn't so unsual after all! And you prefer the analog? Mostly because of the digital and the "battery is low" beeping? Hmm...I'm not sure why my daughter seems to think the digital sounds so much better to her than the analog--to her there seems to be quite a difference in sound between the two kinds. But maybe it's more about getting used to the way something sounds and having a hard time changing it--she has had the digitals most of her life, really--she really doesn't remember much about her analogs from age 1 to 5--so her digitals are really "all she knows." For those who have tried many different hearing aids over the years: do you maybe just get used to hearing things a certain way with hearing aids you wear for years and then have to totally readjust with the way a new and different pair sound? I know this doesn't even compare to adjusting to the way a CI sounds after wearing hearing aids for years, but I am curious to see if there can be this kind of drastic change regarding different hearing aids. All I know is that my daughter loves her digital aids and is not so fond of her analog aids--don't know if the difference in hearing is THAT big of a difference, or if it is just a matter of getting used to a certain pair of aids and the way they sound. Thanks for your input--I haven't met a lot of people who wear one digital and one analog and I was wondering if other people noticed a big difference between the two or not. I think my daughter will continue to wear one digital aid for a while until we can buy two new digital aids for her. I think she will be fine! :)
 
I thought that in US the children up to age of 18 can get HA's free or on loan (not sure which as i don't know how US works as i am British)

Something you should look into, Deborah. Perhaps someone on site knows more...
 
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