OTC hearing aids: experiences, wisdom?

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nisiprius
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OTC hearing aids: experiences, wisdom?

Post by nisiprius »

"PSAPs," personal sound amplification products, have been available for years now and an AARP article says they "The results, published this month in JAMA, found little difference between the hearing aid — which costs about $1,900 per ear — and some of the PSAPs, which cost between $300 and $350 a pair." But actual OTC hearing aids were authorized by Congress in 2017 and were supposed to be available by now. Apparently the FDA has still not approved them and that article gives a mushy version of caveat emptor: "They're not yet FDA-approved, but the devices are available and safe — if you know what to look for."

Has anyone bought OTC "hearing aids that aren't supposed to marketed as 'hearing aids' yet?" Or PSAPs? Any tips?
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David Jay
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Re: OTC hearing aids: experiences, wisdom?

Post by David Jay »

There is also a middle-ground. Low cost hearing aids. For instance Lively and Costco Signature. Available for less than $2000 a pair. Costco Signature 9.0 is $1495.
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carolinaman
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Re: OTC hearing aids: experiences, wisdom?

Post by carolinaman »

I have used hearing aids for last 15 years and am on my 3rd pair. First pair was with an audiologist and was grossly overpriced. 2nd and 3rd pair from Costco and much lower price with better service.

I have always felt hearing aids were one of the most overpriced products in a confusing marketplace with scores of products and little, if any, way to differentiate the good from the bad. That said, I have always been leery of OTC products. This article in encouraging about the quality of some OTC HA products. My biggest concern would be fitting a product to my needs. Costco always does a hearing test before fitting me and the devices are programmed according to my hearing. I usually go back once for adjustments. Buying OTC by myself would be a trial and error process and given my hearing deficiency (moderate, not mild), I am not confident I would get this right. So I am going to continue to pay $1,500+ to Costco every 7 years for a pair.

These OTC HAs are probably a good option with people with mild hearing less though.
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TheTimeLord
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Re: OTC hearing aids: experiences, wisdom?

Post by TheTimeLord »

All I know is when my mom had the discount hearing aids she bought she was confused and always thinking she was hearing things. When I got hear higher quality hearing aids those issues dramatically lessened. Hearing is important to interacting in the world and from what I can tell if you can't hear well your brain trying to fill in the gaps but doesn't always do a good job.
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Re: OTC hearing aids: experiences, wisdom?

Post by MishkaWorries »

carolinaman wrote: Mon Apr 19, 2021 12:31 pm I have used hearing aids for last 15 years and am on my 3rd pair. First pair was with an audiologist and was grossly overpriced. 2nd and 3rd pair from Costco and much lower price with better service.

I have always felt hearing aids were one of the most overpriced products in a confusing marketplace with scores of products and little, if any, way to differentiate the good from the bad. That said, I have always been leery of OTC products. This article in encouraging about the quality of some OTC HA products. My biggest concern would be fitting a product to my needs. Costco always does a hearing test before fitting me and the devices are programmed according to my hearing. I usually go back once for adjustments. Buying OTC by myself would be a trial and error process and given my hearing deficiency (moderate, not mild), I am not confident I would get this right. So I am going to continue to pay $1,500+ to Costco every 7 years for a pair.

These OTC HAs are probably a good option with people with mild hearing less though.
I'm thinking of getting a new hearing aid. My first one from an audiologist was not very good. It was like someone screaming in my ear all day. When they turned it down I had no improvement in hearing.

And this year has been awful. I can't understand people talking behind a mask.

I looked at Amazon and they have free returns. I think I'll try them first and if no good, go to Costco.
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heartwood
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Re: OTC hearing aids: experiences, wisdom?

Post by heartwood »

I tried a Bose Hearphone a couple of years ago. It's probably considered another generation of technology now. It was billed as a PSAP, similar in looks to the Bose noise cancelling head phones. I recall $600 at the time. Worked OK for TV, OK for 1:1 conversation.

I returned it after a month or so and decided to either wait for a newer generation or go with full blown HAs. Bose has stopped selling it.

I quoted a recent wsj story recently:
heartwood wrote: Thu Apr 01, 2021 10:14 am Yesterday's WSJ had an article on how things may change soon for mild to moderate hearing loss: https://www.wsj.com/articles/hearing-ai ... os8&page=1

In part: "There should be more clarity around how some of these products are defined soon, when the Over the Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017 goes into effect. The law requires the Food and Drug Administration to create a category of hearing aids intended for adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. The FDA hasn’t yet issued regulations on which devices can be sold over the counter and marketed as hearing aids, but they could come later this year."

It also mentions "Even Apple’s AirPods Pro can now amplify the quiet sounds without making loud sounds any louder so that people running iOS 14 on their iPhones can enjoy music, podcasts, audio books and phone calls more comfortably. Further sound customization is available for people who enter a personal audiogram—a graph showing how loud sounds need to be at various frequencies in order to be heard—into the Apple Health app. Third-party apps such as Mimi can test your hearing and generate an audiogram."

A 2017 act, still waiting for implementation 4 years later!

The HAs mentioned in the story are quite pricey $3 - $7 K.
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Re: OTC hearing aids: experiences, wisdom?

Post by kinless »

David Jay wrote: Mon Apr 19, 2021 10:10 am There is also a middle-ground. Low cost hearing aids. For instance Lively and Costco Signature. Available for less than $2000 a pair. Costco Signature 9.0 is $1495.
Just to add more 411 to Costco’s brand, their 10.0 hearing aids came out a few weeks ago and are slightly cheaper than the previous 9.0 model ($1399/pair). My dad just picked them up yesterday and I helped him set them up via Bluetooth on his phone. World of difference from his failing 10 year-old pair. And one nice new feature with this latest model is being able to pair to 2 Bluetooth items simultaneously.
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Re: OTC hearing aids: experiences, wisdom?

Post by mhalley »

Another option is mdhearingaid.com https://www.mdhearingaid.com/en/content ... NVEALw_wcB
They start at $499, have a 45 day money back guarantee, and are “FDA registered”

https://support.mdhearingaid.com/hc/en- ... aring-aid-
Your satisfaction is guaranteed. If you are not satisfied with your MDHearingAid, you have 45 days from the date of purchase to return it for a full refund.
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Watty
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Re: OTC hearing aids: experiences, wisdom?

Post by Watty »

David Jay wrote: Mon Apr 19, 2021 10:10 am There is also a middle-ground. Low cost hearing aids. For instance Lively and Costco Signature. Available for less than $2000 a pair. Costco Signature 9.0 is $1495.
nisiprius wrote: Mon Apr 19, 2021 6:39 am and some of the PSAPs, which cost between $300 and $350 a pair."
It is real important to make sure that you are not making an apples to oranges comparison. I am not sure about Costco by my wifes hearing aids include follow ups, replacements when they had a problem, and a replacement when she lost one. Part of the reason is that hearing aids at someplace like Costco is more expensive is that it includes a lot more.

One other thing to keep in mind is when are dealing with a live person to have the important follow up appointments to get them adjusted they are doing a lot more than just tweaking the settings. They also provide a lot of handholding to help you get used to hearing aids which can be extremely frustrating. A big problem is that people expect them to be like eyeglasses which can usually pretty well correct your vision so you can see almost like normal and you barely need to think about them when you are wearing them. In talking with my wife and from what I have read hearing aids are not really like that since you will need to keep changing the settings for different situations. Often hearing aids can greatly improve your hearing and allow you to function a lot better but the correction may not be 100% like with eyeglasses so this can be frustrating. Having a live person to talk you through this can be very important so that you keep using them and do not just leave them in a drawer.
nisiprius wrote: Mon Apr 19, 2021 6:39 amAny tips?
If you have employer provided healthcare be sure to check to see if it covers hearing aids. Frequently they do not but you should still ask. When my wife first got hearing aids I looked at my employer provided health insurance paperwork and it said nothing about hearing aids so I assumed that they were not covered since that was what I frequently saw on the internet. If you do not see that they are specifically excluded be sure I call the insurance companies 800 number to double check. It turned out that my plan actually covered hearing aids(which is unusual), they just hid it. :oops:

The bad news was that she needed to go to an in network doctor and it only covered paid for basic hearing aids. Between copays and paying extra for upgraded hearing aids with more features we really did not save anything compared to just buying them at Costco and paying for them. If you have more than one Costco hearing aid center near you be sure to read the reviews of them since some are better than others so you may not want to go to the nearest Costco.

I can see where the OTC things like this for people of limited means that would not otherwise be able to afford hearing aids might be a good thing but if you can afford it then you can be pretty sure that you would be getting good value for your money at Costco. If you buy them at Costco be sure to look into the Costco Credit card options to get the best rebate.

Even with hearing aids one thing that we still find very useful is to use headphones like these for listening to TV.

https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-50629 ... 214&sr=1-7
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Re: OTC hearing aids: experiences, wisdom?

Post by RudyS »

mhalley wrote: Wed Apr 21, 2021 12:52 am Another option is mdhearingaid.com https://www.mdhearingaid.com/en/content ... NVEALw_wcB
They start at $499, have a 45 day money back guarantee, and are “FDA registered”

https://support.mdhearingaid.com/hc/en- ... aring-aid-
Your satisfaction is guaranteed. If you are not satisfied with your MDHearingAid, you have 45 days from the date of purchase to return it for a full refund.
I have seen their ads, and am thinking about trying one of their products. I would be interested to know whether anyone has had problems actually getting their money back if they didn't work out. And of course, did they work out well?
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leeks
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Re: OTC hearing aids: experiences, wisdom?

Post by leeks »

My dad has been happy with his Costco ones. Among his friends who also dislike spending money, Costco is accepted as the best option for hearing aids.
zanza
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Re: OTC hearing aids: experiences, wisdom?

Post by zanza »

About three weeks ago my SO traveled 50 miles to buy the rechargable Signia Pure Charge & Go with AARP discount at audiologist for $5k. SO has been getting used to them and is doing aok; has noticed significant *positive* difference. (Altho keeps asking me to talk softer - lol).

I have just ordered the "ParkerWarby" for hearing aids - rechargable Lively - online ($2400); similar features. I already had an audiogram but still did the Lively online hearing test with results similiar to audiogram. Aids come in two days. First appointment with audiologist is 13 days out, but there is an online team available once aids arrive. Can return aids within 100 days but 10% charge.

Nearest Costco is 60 miles away so thus thot would try the OTC. We shall see......aging, not for the faint of heart....... :D

Update 07.19.21:
Returned LIvely hearing aids & received 100% refund the same week! I went to Costco because I wanted a pair of hearing aids with t-coil especially if paying all that money ($1400). Costco hearing professional sent me to dr for ear cleaning as she could not visualize the ear drum and would not do assessment until that was possible. Returned; assessment done; aids ordered. Real ear assessment done when I picked up aids. Needed smaller domes; done easily.

Dominique in another thread recommended Tatronics Bluetooth to interface with TV. Done & working great. Also streaming phone calls to aid is working really well.
Last edited by zanza on Mon Jul 19, 2021 5:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Nowizard
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Re: OTC hearing aids: experiences, wisdom?

Post by Nowizard »

A key factor is the type of hearing loss. For the common loss in higher frequencies, the hearing assisters are probably fine, but there are other types of loss that can benefit from other approaches.

Tim
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