What is supposed to be so great about digital hearing aids?

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DislikeDigitals

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I have been wearing digital hearing aids for four years now and I'm sorry to say this but I have had nothing but difficulties the whole time. I hate how quiet digital hearing aids are. They way they "reduce", "filter", "cancel", etc things out and also favor some sounds but completely get rid of so called "unwanted sounds". Why do they do this and who decides what is "unwanted noise" anyway? Aren't you SUPPOSED to be able to hear everything around you? Isn't that one of the main points of wearing hearing aids? So that you can hear like a normal hearing person? It's not to mention the irritating beeping sounds that digital hearing aids have, that are so loud they almost knock you off your feet.
 
The newer ones - or at least the pair I have all the beeping sounds can be turned off when programming them. I still have some but only when switching between programs (and that's a pain right there lol).
 
the only beeping sound I get with my digital hearing aid is when the battery is going dead and needs to be replaced soon, and it's not that loud; and of course, when I'm switching to a different program (with different numbers/types of beeps to let me know which program I end up on). I do prefer digitals over analogs, things just have sounded more clearer/better for me with digitals.

Different strokes for different folks. Some like digitals better, others prefer analogs.
 
Digital hearing aids come with all those available adjustments in order to give you the best opportunity to be able to hear. You don't list your hearing problems but some people need to filter out background noises in order to comprehend speech. Also the sound through digital aids is much clearer, compared to the old analog aids which had a tendency to distort loud sounds. Plus the old style aids amplified everything in the world the same amount.
Anyone buying digital aids knows that a one time visit to the audiologists for adjustments isn't how it works. Three of four visits are not uncommon. At that time you can tell the audiologist what you like and don't like and what kind of filtering you want increased or decreased.
Basically the goal of a hearing aid is the amplify the sound of the range for human speech. Which is why if your aid comes with several channels you can adjust one channel, say for music, which is a far wider range then you need for speech. The old style aids which yes amplified everything didn't help a lot of people. For instance my speech comprehension with my aids is 40%. If my aids amplified everything then they would be useless. And a person with low speech comprehension is much more aware of background noise, then say a person with normal hearing because it is such a huge distraction when trying to understand a conversation.
Hearing loss is not like eyeglasses where your vision is measured and then a prescription is written. A hearing loss is a very individual thing, meaning it's really difficult to find two people with the same exact loss. If you feel your aids are filtering out too much sound, tell the audiologist and have them adjusted. But for a lot of people those adjustments are absolutely necessary or the aids would be worthless. Aren't you supposed to hear everything. Not necessarily. Not for some people who's goal it is to carry on a conversation.
 
DislikeDigitals said:
I have been wearing digital hearing aids for four years now and I'm sorry to say this but I have had nothing but difficulties the whole time. I hate how quiet digital hearing aids are. They way they "reduce", "filter", "cancel", etc things out and also favor some sounds but completely get rid of so called "unwanted sounds". Why do they do this and who decides what is "unwanted noise" anyway? Aren't you SUPPOSED to be able to hear everything around you? Isn't that one of the main points of wearing hearing aids? So that you can hear like a normal hearing person? It's not to mention the irritating beeping sounds that digital hearing aids have, that are so loud they almost knock you off your feet.
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LOL! I agree about the beeping sound ,it drove me nuts. My HA beeped when I turned it up or down and I had that turned off , it beep when my battery about to die and I don't mind that . I really do not like digital hearing aids, I had an audi that told digital hearing aids do not work with some
phones and this was true for me. I could not use my cordless phone when I got my first digital hearing aids . I could not hear anything.
 
cdmeggers said:
the only beeping sound I get with my digital hearing aid is when the battery is going dead and needs to be replaced soon, and it's not that loud; and of course, when I'm switching to a different program (with different numbers/types of beeps to let me know which program I end up on). I do prefer digitals over analogs, things just have sounded more clearer/better for me with digitals.

Different strokes for different folks. Some like digitals better, others prefer analogs.
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I have tried digitals twice. I like my analogs and currently wearing a custom bte analog and still doesn't give me what I like. I like all the noise and being able to control what I want to hear with the volume. Telecoil switch and the basic turning it on and off. My custom has the beep in the switching of programs and a 11 second beep delay in turning on. It s a pain. I am the one in a few that actually like analog and it is no longer being made which has had me in anxiety for a while now. Glad you are adjusting to yours better than I have been able to.
 
I've had my hearing aid adjusted probably a hundred times with each time taking 30+ minutes and I still can't find that sweet spot. It never sounds "just right". My audiologist even had all the compression and noise reduction completely shut off and my hearing aid STILL reduces the sound volume. It's worse when I'm outdoors, in a large open and when I listen to music. During these times, soft sounds are barely audible while it seems like loud sounds are over amplified. Only when I am in a very quiet area for a real long time does my hearing aid sound okay.

I work at a grocery store and often time I can barely hear what my customers are saying, even when they're right next to me. Because the hearing aid is completely reducing everything around me, it is also reducing speech. It's aggravating. It makes it difficult to communicate with people. Most of my responses to my co-workers and customers, when they talk to me are, "oh yeah?, okay, that's good, etc". I'm not fully engaging in conversations with people because I can't hear them!! I am really missing out big time. It isn't that I don't hear what people saying to me, it's just that I can't make out every word that they say. I'm uncomfortable asking people to repeat themselves.

I actually found an old analog aid of mine that's about 15 years old. I put it on and it was like night and day. I could finally hear everything around me and I had no difficulty understanding speech. It was awesome but unfortunately the aid started to fail out on me, due to its age. But the thing was, there wasn't any compression or reduction going on, I was hearing things as they sound. Point and blank, I could hear things.

It feels like I am actually deaf with digital aids. It's like I'm in a cocoon all the time and something is blocking the sounds from getting to me, like when you get a cold or sinus infection, your ears clog up and your hearing gets slightly diminished.

I'm also deaf in my left ear so not only do I want power and volume, I NEED something with power and volume to compensate for that deafness.

I just want a simple device that will amplify all the sounds around me so that I can hear them. I don't want something that is going to change the way things sound, reduce them or compress them, pick and choose what I can or can't hear or whatever else it is that digital hearing aids do. I also do not care about bluetooth either, which is something else that hearing aid companies are going hell bent over. I don't like or need all these bells and whistles. I went along just fine in the past without these things. Four years I have been wearing digital hearing aids and it has been nothing but a struggle. I also haven't gotten "used to" the way digital hearing aids sound either.
 
You had the experience I went through with Starkey. I ended up paying out of pocket for a better brand, Widex, and it made a huge difference for me, so I no longer hate them. If you can't find the right brand, stick with analog. I'm sure you'll always find someone selling over the Internet - it may or may not work or last that long, but in your case, they may be worth the risk.

Laura
 
I have the same problem too that causes me to be distracted. I like the old one better, had more sounds. Today I can only hear microwave beeping, ambulance siren n' vehicle alarms. Except I can't hear the TV n' music very well. That's why I have two different bte hearing aids, they both are opposite sounds with the same name of company. I feel something is wrong about the price, takes advantage of customer n' system is not powerful enough.

I wonder why didn't the audiologist at the service give me a test first before buying? To see whether it works or not, just like TV's on the display.
 
omg i so agree, each time i have recieved a new pair of digital aids , the audiologist raves about how great the new settings and what not are and how great it will be to gave all these different programs with different settings etc etc. but what they dont get is with every new aid there is a major adjustment and relearning period let alone throwing in all these different programs they have given you plus the cancelling out of noises they think you should have dulled and bumping up others. i absolutely hate when they try to do the filtering of the noises it makes me miss so much of everyday sounds, but yet others such are unbearable and painfully loud. i have so much trouble getting settings right i end up going back more then 5+ times for adjustments and i always get to the point where it frustrates me to tears. to make it worse when my aid has to be sent away for repairs most often now it comes back of without my settings, unbeknown to them then i am given the aid cant hear so have to go back and start the whole programming thing over again, why cant they have the exact settings that we have liked and been used to with all the techknowlody these days you would think it should be easier to give us what we need not what they think we need
 
I'm in the same boat as you, as I've had a difficult time adjusting to digital aids. In order for me to understand speech, I need to "hear it all" - not to have stuff filtered out - especially the high-pitched sounds. The way I have my aids now, I have my left aid on zero compression, since it's my worse ear, and the other one on slight compression, as I seem to get the best sound that way.

Am I happy? Not really - I wish they'd make digital aids that resembled the analog ones with just 3 settings - normal, telephone and crazy noisy enviroment. And don't get me started on bluetooth and remote controls - I just want to plug my aids in and forget about it..

Nice to know there are others out there that have the same frustrations with "newfangled" aids as I do...lol.



DislikeDigitals said:
I've had my hearing aid adjusted probably a hundred times with each time taking 30+ minutes and I still can't find that sweet spot. It never sounds "just right". My audiologist even had all the compression and noise reduction completely shut off and my hearing aid STILL reduces the sound volume. It's worse when I'm outdoors, in a large open and when I listen to music. During these times, soft sounds are barely audible while it seems like loud sounds are over amplified. Only when I am in a very quiet area for a real long time does my hearing aid sound okay.

I work at a grocery store and often time I can barely hear what my customers are saying, even when they're right next to me. Because the hearing aid is completely reducing everything around me, it is also reducing speech. It's aggravating. It makes it difficult to communicate with people. Most of my responses to my co-workers and customers, when they talk to me are, "oh yeah?, okay, that's good, etc". I'm not fully engaging in conversations with people because I can't hear them!! I am really missing out big time. It isn't that I don't hear what people saying to me, it's just that I can't make out every word that they say. I'm uncomfortable asking people to repeat themselves.

I actually found an old analog aid of mine that's about 15 years old. I put it on and it was like night and day. I could finally hear everything around me and I had no difficulty understanding speech. It was awesome but unfortunately the aid started to fail out on me, due to its age. But the thing was, there wasn't any compression or reduction going on, I was hearing things as they sound. Point and blank, I could hear things.

It feels like I am actually deaf with digital aids. It's like I'm in a cocoon all the time and something is blocking the sounds from getting to me, like when you get a cold or sinus infection, your ears clog up and your hearing gets slightly diminished.

I'm also deaf in my left ear so not only do I want power and volume, I NEED something with power and volume to compensate for that deafness.

I just want a simple device that will amplify all the sounds around me so that I can hear them. I don't want something that is going to change the way things sound, reduce them or compress them, pick and choose what I can or can't hear or whatever else it is that digital hearing aids do. I also do not care about bluetooth either, which is something else that hearing aid companies are going hell bent over. I don't like or need all these bells and whistles. I went along just fine in the past without these things. Four years I have been wearing digital hearing aids and it has been nothing but a struggle. I also haven't gotten "used to" the way digital hearing aids sound either.
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