Well….roughly 6 – maybe 8. My hearing aid posts continue to get a lot of views, which I think is great because hearing health is important. I won’t go into all the details, but hearing problems can impact our cognitive function and can lead to diseases like dementia and Alzheimers. Read more here.
My mom is living with Alzheimers. It really tales a toll on her and on her friends and family. I asked my doctor what I cold do to lessen the chances I would develop Alzheimers, her number one recommendation was “WEAR YOUR HEARING AIDS.”
I’m not sure if she yelled for emphasis or because I asked her to repeat herself several times because I was NOT wearing my hearing aids. Either way, hearing health is important.
Hearing Aids Are A Pain
I was not wearing my hearing aids because they were uncomfortable, and because the improvement wasn’t worth the trade-offs. Everything, especially music, sounded unnatural and tinny. And on a windy day, I could hear nothing.
Another annoyance was that the batteries seemed to run out when I was far away from home and had no access to buy batteries. This is the result of my cheapness more than anything. My buddy Mike told me to change batteries every 6 days. But no, I had to wear them until the warning tone…So there you have it…
All My Problems Have Been Solved
As documented in the posts here, here, here, and here, as well as a few others, I went on a journey to see if hearing aids had improved in the 8 years since I bought my first pair. They have.
Accessibility
Accessibility had been a big problem. For my first pair, I had to go to my primary care doctor, get a referral to a hearing specialist, get an MRI (to make sure a more serious issue wasn’t causing my hearing loss), get a referral to an audiologist to perform a hearing test, and then make another appointment for a hearing aid fitting.
The process took months, several visits, and had I not had really good insurance, would have cost me a fortune, even without the hearing aid purchase.
Over-The-Counter (OTC)
Several years ago, OTC hearing aids became legal in the US. This is a big deal for consumers as we can now get hearing help from the comfort of our own home. It is also a big deal for hearing aid manufacturers and sellers. Hearing aids are more accessible so demand is increasing so it is now becoming a more lucrative business. More big companies like Apple, Sennheiser, Jabra and Sony are getting into the hearing game. Quality is going up and cost is going way down.
Home Test
The process starts with a hearing test. Instead of going to a doctor, I can now do this in the comfort of my own home. Here are 2 easy ways.
Start at soundly.com. Put on your headphones or earbuds and click test your hearing.
After 5 minutes you’ll have your test results. Soundly is a great site for a wealth of info on hearing loss, and product research and comparisons. Many other sites like Jabra, offer a similar test.
The 2nd way is if you have a pair of AirPods Pro 2 earbuds. Navigate to the health app and click hearing test. You can do a hearing test and get the same results right on your iPhone. More on this later.
Purchase
So, soundly, Jabra and my iPhone are all in agreement that I have moderate to severe hearing loss. That’s a bummer, but it’s easy to mitigate.
My posts document the journey, but after comparing several products, I ended up purchasing Jabra Enhance 500 hearing aids. They cost $1,999, which is much cheaper than the $5,000 Oticon set I bought in 2016, but more expensive than the excellent Lexie B2 by Bose which was only $699.
I’m Thrilled
6 months in, I’m thrilled with my purchase.
Most importantly, I made the commitment to wear them all the time. I wore my old pair while at work, but I took them out at night and didn’t usually wear them on weekends.
My Jabra’s are more comfortable, and have better sound quality so I don’t mind wearing them.
They also have a rechargeable battery. I put them in the case each night, they recharge and I have 50% power left at bedtime when I put them back in the case. The case also holds 3 or 4 charges so I can take it on the road.
The sound processing modes are much improved. My old Oticon’s had an iPhone app I could use to alter the profile, but it didn’t seem to make much difference.
My Jabras, as well as the other products I tested, all have a variety of profiles that help with hearing in noisy restaurants, in windy outdoor areas, and improve music listening or focus on the person in front of you. These really seem to work. And many hearing aids allow you to change by pressing a button on the hearing aid so if your phone is not nearby, you can still change profiles.
I’m now at the point where I feel lost without them. I recognize how much I struggle to hear without them.
But, this took time. 6 months ago, I would have told you that I don’t really need them.
TV Streaming
As helpful as my hearing aids are, I am not back to 20-20 hearing. Once we have hearing loss, hearing aids can help, but they are not a cure.
One area that is particularly challenging is TV. My wife has superior hearing. I’m sure she can hear me typing now and the key-clacking is driving her nuts. This makes TV watching together challenging. She needs the volume low. I can’t hear. And to be more specific, I can hear. I can hear sounds, I can hear most conversation, but I struggle with high tones and certain sounds like the “ch” and “sh” sounds. I know people are talking, but I miss a lot.
I ended up buying a TV streamer and we can watch TV happily again. The streamer sends the TV sound directly to my hearing aids while allowing the sound to play on the TV speaker. We can set the TV speaker volume low and I can adjust the hearing aid volume so that I can hear all conversation. And the hearing aid is smart enough to enhance the high tones that I have difficulty with.
Apple AirPods Pro 2
I have had the AirPods Pro 2 earbuds for a while, so I have them and use them daily but in my opinion, they are still not effective as full-time hearing devices. They are not comfortable for all-day wearing and they typically need a re-charge after 3-5 hours. They also don’t have the same sound quality as a hearing aid.
My hearing prevents me from hearing high tones. My hearing aid cones are vented, which allows sound to pass through into my ear. My hearing aid is smart enough to enhance high tones, but let low tones pass through naturally. This is a much more natural sound and a more comfortable wearing experience.
AirPods are built around the idea of blocking outside noise and creating concert-hall sound in your ear. They are exceptional at this. I had never intended to pay $200 for earbuds, but had to try them. After trying them several years ago, I was amazed at how much better the sound was compared to my $50 earbuds. I kept them.
Because of their design, the hearing improvement is effective. I can hear conversation accurately, but the experience is not ideal. My ears feel blocked, because they are.
On the other hand, Apple was smart enough to use my hearing profile to adjust the sound it plays to my AirPods Pro 2 for whatever the iPhone, iPad, or iMac is playing – TV, Podcast, Music… The sound is unbelievable. I hadn’t heard music this clearly since I was a teenager. This alone is worth the price of AirPods Pro 2.
What’s Next
For Apple….This is their first shot. I expect there will be more. For everyone else, same play. As hearing aids become more accessible, demand will increase and more companies will get in the game. More competition will bring down prices even further and will improve quality exponentially. We’ve already seen both price drops and quality gains. Expect more to come.
Wrap-Up
The experience of testing one’s hearing and obtaining hearing aids is now much improved. Most companies offer a free trial period so that we can order online, try them and send them back for no charge. There is no excuse not to try.
For those who are cautious about a more do-it-yourself process, companies like hear-com offer the clinic-in-a-box where you can get regular audiologist video appointments for hearing assessment and hearing aid adjustment. Read details here.
Hearing loss isn’t just an annoyance. It has been directly linked to cognitive health. Getting a hearing assessment and considering hearing aids is important.
I’d be happy to hear questions or comments. Good luck!
Very informative, thanks for sharing !
Great, helpful article. After 2 bouts with cancer & multiple rounds of chemo, I know I have had hearing loss. You have given me the process to follow – & the kick in the pants to quantify just how bad my hearing loss is – thank you!
Question (from a vanity point of view) – how noticeable (to others) that you have hearing aids?
Hey Randy, Mike – thanks for the comments. Randy – when I tell people I have hearing aids, they are often surprised. Not sure if they’re just being polite…but the device I use sits behind my ear and is almost completely hidden. Mine is grey (like my hair) but they come in skin tone as well. There is a thin clear wire running above my ear and into the ear canal which is clear. Most of my friends are losing their eyesight so this is invisible to them. My advice, try it and see what you think.
Nice follow up. I long for the day when someone offers custom vented molds for the Apple airpods. Their battery life is lagging but at $200-300 I’d buy a couple pairs to get through the day.