Archive for May, 2009

The Best Hearing Aids!

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

The mother of all questions - what is the best hearing aid? Can anyone answer this question? Is it Phonak, Oticon, Siemens…who knows.

I think the answer to what is the best hearing aid simply lies with the user - similar to beauty!

My aunt swears by hear Oticon hearing aid yet my brother’s step-mom is very happy with her Siemens hearing aid. Why even write about this? I don’t know. I am loking for answers but I don’t think one exists here.

If you are happy with your hearing aid then it is the best!

Hearing aids and the sun

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009

It appears that summer may actually finally be here in Seattle which tells me that it is here around the country and this hemisphere as well. This begs the question - how do hearing aids do in the summer and what are the particular challenges that this season brings?

The first and perhaps most obvious challenge with hearing aids and the summer is simply that heat is just not a friend to any form of electronics. This computer I am typing on hates the sun and heat. So do hearing aids.

The next enemy of hearing aids that the summer brings is water. I am sitting by a beach writing this and anyone near the water is getting wet and in turn so would any hearing aids if the people had them in. So what do you do? You remove the hearing aid when you swim. Ok, no problem but this presents problem number three - the loss of hearing aids. Due to the summer making everyone want to get in the water it is the leading season for lost hearing aids.

I love the sun but it doesn’t love hearing aids. What other challenges come along with hearing aids and summer?

Great charity around Hearing Aids in Latin America

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

There is a wonderful group providing hearing aids to those in need in Latin America. The group is called Hearing Aid for Latin America and they are targeting children and young adults who could benefit from getting a hearing aid.

The group has a touching term that they use that guides them and motivates them, this is the Hearing Smile. As you can guess, this Hearing Smile comes when a child is fitted and then hears for the first time.

Hearing Aids for Latin America was established in 2002. Blaine Smith, based in Texas, is a certifiead audioprosthologist and is on the board for the group.

Please visit their website to learn more about this amazing group and to give a donation if you are so inclined. They can be found at www.latinhearing.org. Since 2002 they have fitted over 3,400 hearing aids for needy people in Latin America. This is a wonderful start but we need to help them even more. Thanks!

Pennsylvania Hearing Aid company fined

Friday, May 15th, 2009

It is great to see a bad guy getting what he deserves in Pennsylvania. The state has fined a company over $190,000, forced them to stop conducting business in the state and has demanded over $31,000 is restitution to hearing aid users.

Jones Hearing Aids violated at 2001 court order and in turn faced these stiff fines. At the end of the day, the company was building hearing aids and not respecting the 30-day money back guarantee rule. Everyone, it is crucial to know our rights. You have 30 days guaranteed to get your money back from ANY hearing aid purchase. This is protected under the national Consumer protection act. No exemptions.

The trick that this company was employing and many others may try to do as well is to attempt to stall people from getting their money back. If they are succesfull in the stall, then the 30 days pass and they are off the hook. This is deceptive and wrong and needs to be watched closely.

Please, anyone on this board reading, if you have run into any similar issues let us know and we will spread the word!

Buying a Hearing Aid Basics

Monday, May 11th, 2009

It is always healthy to re-look at the basics behind buying a hearing aid. Like any major purchase it needs to be researched and handled with diligence.

An Audiological evaluation has to be considered as step number one in the hearing aid purchase process. This professional diagnosis will inform you if indeed there is a problem with your hearing and to what degree. At the end of the day, you need to know exaclty what problem you are dealing with in order to get the ideal hearing aid. Make sure the person testing your hearing is state licensed and make sure that they leave you with a copy of the findings for later interpretation.

Now you will have a good idea of the type of hearing aid that best suits you. We recommend finding a hearing aid dealer near you to buy from. This will help dealing with fixing and returns/refunds if they are ever needed. We all know how hard it is too work with a huge national company along way from you. Avoid that, buy your hearing aid from a close trusted source.

Lastly, you need to go into the hearing aid process with realistic expectations. Hearing Aids have improved the lives of millions of people around the world but they do not fix people’s hearing. Think of hearing aid like contact lenses. Lenses don’t fix people’s eyes but they help them see better. Also, know that hearing aids of all levels of complexity and cost always struggle with unwanted background noise. Major improvements are being made in this front but it remains a real issue.

What do hearing aids need?

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Let’s have a quick post about some out there ideas that may benefit hearing aids. Who knows, they may be working on some of these ideas in the labs of Oticon, Phonak and Siemens. How about a solar powered hearing aid? Doesn’t this have to be in development somewhere?

How about hearing aids that can connect via bluetooth to your iphone and let you rock out while no one is talking to you? I think that one may exist, please let me know if it does.

Here is a far out idea. Could a hearing aid double as a language translator. Could your hearing aid bring in Spanish language and translate it to English for you? I doubt that is possible.

What other fantasy hearing aid ideas do we need to add to the list? Let me know!