told I need hearing aids, can I ask a few questions?

airforcefamily said:
Hi! Is it ok to ask some questions here?

I've been having trouble with not understanding words and needing people to repeat things as well as hearing ringing in my ears. My ENT recommended having a hearing test. It was today and the audiologist said hearing aids would be helpful for me. I know nothing about hearing aids (other than what I've read here in the past hour!). She said phonak audeo q would be best. She gave me a phamplet so I can pick a color and call back tomorrow, brown to match my hair was suggested. She opened the phamplet and pointed to a q90 section and said that was the one I would get. She also went over a chart with my hearing mapped out in blue and red. She showed me how I can hear low frequency sounds normally, then I have a dip around 1k where I can only hear 40 decibels and up, then it goes back up closer to 30 before dipping back down. The lowest one was the highest frequency which was 60 decibels.

Ok, now for the questions.

Should I just go with this hearing aid and not stress about trying to pick one myself when I'm not really sure what to look for?
(We live in a semi rural area without many options and I have to take at least the baby with me everywhere, sometimes a few of the older kids as well, so driving hours away would be difficult. There is one ther audiologist in town, they sell simens and phonak brands, possibly others as well; the one I went to sells phonak and resound and I think a few others).

She asked of I have an iPhone and/or iPad, which I do, and said the hearing aid she was recommending will link to them if I'd like. Now I'm reading this function requires wearing something around your neck (a no go with curious little kids on my lap all day). Is this correct? Are there other options?

I'm concerned she's selling more than I need. Does this seem to be the case or is what she is recommending sound right for me?
(After reading posts here I've realized I'm very, very fortunate that our insurance covers 100% of everything, including accessories and batteries. The cost is a non issue, no matter which one I pick, but I don't think it's right for them to pick up the tab for something I don't really need)

Does the size matter? She held this small, white, shaped plastic card up to my ear and seemed surprised I am "a zero". What does this mean? Is it relevant to choosing a hearing aid?

A seemingly insignificant question but.... would it be weird for an adult to have purple hearing aids? They're fun and I don't exactly have to look professional when I'm home changing diapers!

Some info about me I'm not sure matters or not:
I'm fairly young (barely 30) and I'd like to think tech savvy, she was talking about how many people don't understand all the features but I don't think that would be an issue for me (at least I hope not).
I stay home with my kids, I'm around little kids more or less all day and every day.
I'm moderately active, I exercise but don't run marathons or anything.
Our insurance allows a new set every three years.
We move frequently so I'm not concerned with building a long term relationship a particular audiologist and I need something that is relatively common and could be serviced by someone else.

I think that's it, sorry this was so long. Thanks for your help!
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you should be asking these questions to your audiologist. if you don't feel right about it... then seek second opinion. since you're asking us some questions that you should be asking your audiologist.... I would suggest you to find another audiologist.

I would love to recommend you to my audiologist but you probably are nowhere close to me. I live in NJ and his office is just a couple towns away. he's the best one I've ever met. very meticulous. very knowledgeable. very thorough. excellent service. I always leave his office without any doubt in my mind. he came highly recommended by my NJ DVRS (Department of Vocational Rehabilitation Service) and I can see why. DVRS is definitely getting their money's worth.

that's exactly what you need... an audiologist whom you don't doubt. you'll have to drive further for that because you'll be wearing hearing aid for a long time so it's pretty important to get the right one for first time. it's definitely worth your time because if you got the hearing aids you don't like... you can return it (usually 3-4 weeks return policy) and try another one but think about headache and time you'll waste to go back and forth for fitting and tweaking. if you want to try another hearing aids, you'll have to wait for a few weeks or even a couple months for a new pair so you'll definitely want to find the right one only once.
 
ambrosia said:
I ordered mine in as close to white as I could get because I like to put nail stickers on them, and I can use whatever color. I just got a glitter ear mold, you probably will have the tulip kind though. I also hang jewelry from the tubing. I think I can pull it out of my ear and take a pic of it now. I need to put new stickers on it, most fell off, only one left on it now.

Oh, and I'm 39........going on 27.
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that's so pretty!!! :D
 
Jiro said:
you should be asking these questions to your audiologist. if you don't feel right about it... then seek second opinion. since you're asking us some questions that you should be asking your audiologist.... I would suggest you to find another audiologist.

I would love to recommend you to my audiologist but you probably are nowhere close to me. I live in NJ and his office is just a couple towns away. he's the best one I've ever met. very meticulous. very knowledgeable. very thorough. excellent service. I always leave his office without any doubt in my mind. he came highly recommended by my NJ DVRS (Department of Vocational Rehabilitation Service) and I can see why. DVRS is definitely getting their money's worth.

that's exactly what you need... an audiologist whom you don't doubt. you'll have to drive further for that because you'll be wearing hearing aid for a long time so it's pretty important to get the right one for first time. it's definitely worth your time because if you got the hearing aids you don't like... you can return it (usually 3-4 weeks return policy) and try another one but think about headache and time you'll waste to go back and forth for fitting and tweaking. if you want to try another hearing aids, you'll have to wait for a few weeks or even a couple months for a new pair so you'll definitely want to find the right one only once.
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I was asking here because everyone seems really knowledgeable. The audiologist is as well, of course, but I'm not super comfortable asking some of these questions because she's selling what I'm asking about and has a vested interest in getting me (my insurance) to buy.

I did get a second opinion this morning from the other audiologist in town. She was really nice but suggested I stick with the person I had seen already because their office is busy and wait times to get in can be long. I snagged the appointment because it was a last minute cancellation, they're booking almost to May.

Driving to the city with more options would be challenging for me. I have to bring along the kids or hire a babysitter in order to go anywhere. The next closest city only has another branch of the same office I visited. The next one beyond that is a major city but it's 120 miles each way.
 
airforcefamily said:
She said the behind the ear ones wold be best. What she showed me was a little plastic piece with a tube from it to a little soft piece that fits in your ear.
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I did not like the soft piece that fix into the ear and you can't clean it when it start to get waxy . . It would feed back more too if you do not put it in right. I had a soft mold b/c I have TMJ and it hut my ear wearing a hard ear mold. I think custom made ear molds work the best.
 
whatdidyousay! said:
I did not like the soft piece that fix into the ear and you can't clean it when it start to get waxy . . It would feed back more too if you do not put it in right. I had a soft mold b/c I have TMJ and it hut my ear wearing a hard ear mold. I think custom made ear molds work the best.
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She said something about how it keeps your ear from feeling plugged up. I have tmj too. Would it be worthwhile to ask for a custom ear mold?
 
Maybe I'm thinking of something else. These were little round things that came in a few different sizes. I'm wondering if the larger type that are custom made would work.
 
airforcefamily said:
Maybe I'm thinking of something else. These were little round things that came in a few different sizes. I'm wondering if the larger type that are custom made would work.
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No you're not think of something else, Jiro is just being anal.The ones you're getting are tulip, I'd give them a shot first before the full shell molds, like what I posted up there. Yes occlusion can be a problem but they can vent them, make a small hole that extends through it, and that can ease the pressure. As long as your hearing isn't too bad, which it's not. I used to have vented molds, no more, no mo holes for me, profound loss.
 
ambrosia said:
I ordered mine in as close to white as I could get because I like to put nail stickers on them, and I can use whatever color. I just got a glitter ear mold, you probably will have the tulip kind though. I also hang jewelry from the tubing. I think I can pull it out of my ear and take a pic of it now. I need to put new stickers on it, most fell off, only one left on it now.

Oh, and I'm 39........going on 27.
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I love your hearing aid with glitter earmold attach to charm. Is that yellow glitter? It is match your blond hair. That is so beautiful! I bet you joined to Pimping your hearing aids and cochlear implants in UK on Facebook group. :)
 
Yup :) and thanks!! It's a few different colors of glitter I think. It's called sugarcube
 
ambrosia said:
I ordered mine in as close to white as I could get because I like to put nail stickers on them, and I can use whatever color. I just got a glitter ear mold, you probably will have the tulip kind though. I also hang jewelry from the tubing. I think I can pull it out of my ear and take a pic of it now. I need to put new stickers on it, most fell off, only one left on it now.

Oh, and I'm 39........going on 27.
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Is this a silver glitter earmold or mother of peal earmold? Love how sparkly it is. My soft silver glitter earmold came but no where near as sparky as yours.
 
NaidaUP said:
Is this a silver glitter earmold or mother of peal earmold? Love how sparkly it is. My soft silver glitter earmold came but no where near as sparky as yours.
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It's a Unitron Sugar Cube. The silicone is transparent and the glitter looked to be green and orange
 
I really need to get a new earmold so badly. My current earmold is one year old. The tube is hard and need to go ENT to adjust the tube. I will order a glitter earmold for my hearing aid. I have never try glitter earmold before and decide to get one soon. I'm not sure what color will be. I don't want blue, purple, black. I'm thinking about silver or crystal clear glitter. I'm showing you a picture of my BTE. Otherwise I don't want to have an another earmold for my CI and want to keep air in my ear canal.
 

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The graph for my right ear is a bit similar to yours, although hearing aid does help but since my left ear is severely deaf, I'm more focused with left ear. Since you are covered 100%, just go for it at full force, buy all the accessories, though I don't think you'll need the accessories at least I didn't need them. About the colors, I personally like colorful HAs but all I got were the boring skin colored ones :lol:
 
No! But you may ask some questions . I would be concerned with wearing something hanging around my neck with small children on my lap a lot. They love to play with anything and that include hanging earrings .
 
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