Dad's health--hearing aids. Need your help. (1 Viewer)

Hey all:

Let me be the first to jump on the "Huh?", "What's that?", "Come again?", "Whatdya say, sonny?" jokes. 

With that out of the way, a little backstory:  my dad has been hard of hearing for the past 25 - 30 years.  He is also impressively stubborn and has resisted efforts to get hearing aids.  He has always gotten by on reading lips when talking to others.  But he recently had a stroke that has impaired a portion of his vision, and now I worry that he is becoming increasingly isolated from the world around him.  I am trying to revisit with him the idea of hearing aids in order to increase his stimuli from the outside world.

So my request for help is this--do you (or a loved one) have experiences with hearing aids?  If so, I would be very interested to hear them.  My dad is on Medicare, but Medicare covers nothing for hearing aids.  So price point is also a consideration (I know that I could get a good set of hearing aids for $5000+, but that price point is probably out of the question).  I appreciate any insights/help you can provide.  Thanks.

P.S.:  If you have a minute to respond and have relevant info, my dad is the kind of guy who you want to help.  He was a family farmer (200-ish acres) until he retired, my mom stayed home, and my three siblings and I were fed, clothed, and cared for because of him.  He was the CEO, CFO, manager, and workforce for the business that sustained my family.  He loves my mom and has been loyal to her for more than 50 years.  He worked his ### off, and was always, always there for the events of our lives, big and small.  If you've got kids, there wouldn't be much better epitaphs than: "He was like pinequick's dad."

Is he a vet? The VA will pay for them

If a Vet, get in touch with your local VA regional coordinator. Bet Dad can get lots of benefits you don’t even know about. I just went in this past week and found out my Dad qualifies for $1800 a month in assistance.

Just went though this with my Momand she’s getting $1700 as a result of my stepdad being a vet also.

Definitely check the VA if Dad is a vet. GL

BroncoFreak_2K3 said:

Is he a vet? The VA will pay for them

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No, he isn't.  He is 83.  Too old to enlist?

pinequick said:

No, he isn't.  He is 83.  Too old to enlist?

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Too bad. Sorry I gave it a shot  GL

Blackdot for me.

I mean for a friend

Costco's costs are usually lower. And they do offer hearing tests.

https://www.kiplinger.com/article/retirement/T027-C000-S004-medicare-doesn-t-cover-hearing-aids-for-retirees.html

Some "sound" advice in "hear". Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I tried the CVS ones  (same as this author, I lost my high speed ones) and they were kind of uncomfortable, but beat not hearing squat. Personally, I would avoid the in-the-ear ones as I thought they were next to impossible to keep in my ears. Never tried any of the Costco's. Hearing tests may be covered by by his medicare. Often the cheap & easy medical tests are a lure to get you to buy their stuff(glasses, hearing aids) although he's probably not obligated. Have him try different ones out if he can before plunking down any meaningful $$, and buy fro someplace you can return easy peasy if they're not what he likes. Tell him to be patient, having these things poking in your ears takes some getting used to.

You can get unofficial hearing aids (basically just cheap amplifiers) for less than $50 at most pharmacies. Maybe buy one of those and have him try it? If it does any good then it might convince him to get his hearing tested (which is covered by medicare).

Snoopy said:

Costco's costs are usually lower. And they do offer hearing tests.

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I didn't know this.  We have one in town.  Thanks!

Medicare covers nothing?   That's totally crap.

My father is going through this now and is finding ambient noise a problem. He is using the Costco ones. They do a fitting and frequent adjustments. I am not sure about the cost or cost of the fitting, as I haven't asked. I think he views them as a PITA and doesn't often wear them, which sort of is the whole point of having them, but I digress.

He's a stubborn old son'gun and don't like it. I don't blame him. If the moment is right, I'll ask some questions and update the thread. 

rockaction said:

My father is going through this now and is finding ambient noise a problem. He is using the Costco ones. They do a fitting and frequent adjustments. I am not sure about the cost or cost of the fitting, as I haven't asked. I think he views them as a PITA and doesn't often wear them, which sort of is the whole point of having them, but I digress.

He's a stubborn old son'gun and don't like it. I don't blame him. If the moment is right, I'll ask some questions and update the thread. 

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Probably the #1 problem among elderly folks who get HA’s - ambient noise.  After years of hearing loss, the brain forgets how to filter out ambient noise bc it hasnt detected it for so long. Then they get HA’s and BAM, now they hear everything and the brain is overwhelmed. It takes time. Tell your dad to wear them as much as he can absolutely stand it bc it’s the only way to retrain the brain.  

Wife is an audiologist, and we’re going through this exact same scenario with her 84 yo grandmother.  My wife is on her like a hawk about wearing them.  She thinks she’s being sly by wearing them but turning them down, but one “Grandma” said at normal volume that gets ignored and it’s back to “turn them up or I’m taking them back and getting a refund”. 

I had this problem with my dad.  I guess he figured they made him look old.  Drove me nuts, especially since my mother had a very quiet voice.  Mr R knows that he won't get a choice if he needs them.  I'm not going through that again.

Good luck.

wlwiles said:

Probably the #1 problem among elderly folks who get HA’s - ambient noise.  After years of hearing loss, the brain forgets how to filter out ambient noise bc it hasnt detected it for so long. Then they get HA’s and BAM, now they hear everything and the brain is overwhelmed. It takes time. Tell your dad to wear them as much as he can absolutely stand it bc it’s the only way to retrain the brain.  

Wife is an audiologist, and we’re going through this exact same scenario with her 84 yo grandmother.  My wife is on her like a hawk about wearing them.  She thinks she’s being sly by wearing them but turning them down, but one “Grandma” said at normal volume that gets ignored and it’s back to “turn them up or I’m taking them back and getting a refund”. 

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Thanks for your, um, feedback. (See what I did there?). No really, he complains that he can hear everything and I was pretty sure it was exactly what you were saying. I don't hold much sway over an otherwise independent seventy-five year old, though, so we'll see how he takes my suggestion.

I am 46, just got one for my left ear about a year ago or so.  I don't like being without it.  It helps my hearing loss, but the main issue I have is my tinnitus, and it has greatly helped that.  I can fine tune mine with an app on my phone, or on the aid itself.  I only paid $1600 for it.  Went through my ENT and audiologist for it.  It has much improved my quality of life.