Hearing aid advice

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rod7515

rod7515

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Getting older and Ive been struggling with hearing for a few years now. Was tested at a local ENT 2 years ago and was told I need hearing aids. I just couldnt get over the fact that they are 5-6K for a pair and put it off. So the hearing is getting no better and its time to do something about it. Had another hearing test done yesterday and this time I went to Beltone. They ran me thru more tests then the ENT did and I felt as tho it was a better quality test. SO afterwards we sit down and the Hearing Instrument Specialist (HIS) goes over the costs. Again they are between 5-6k. I told him I would get back to him in a few days with what I want to do.
So I come home and spend some time trying to do research on the Beltone and their hearing aids. I read a lot of negative reviews and a lot of positive reviews. They range from poor customer service and equipment issues. So I was wondering anyone using their aids and how well are they working for you. Any other suggestions? And is Beltone a quality place to work with.
Appreciate your thoughts, Rod
 
Hi Rod, just a thought, if you were in the service, I believe the VA can help you out. My Dad was able to receive his hearing aids from them.
Mike
 
I need them badly, but like you have been putting it off. Have you looked at Eargo? Seems like some new technology.

Eargo Hearing Aids
 
rod7515 said:
Getting older and Ive been struggling with hearing for a few years now. Was tested at a local ENT 2 years ago and was told I need hearing aids. I just couldnt get over the fact that they are 5-6K for a pair and put it off. So the hearing is getting no better and its time to do something about it. Had another hearing test done yesterday and this time I went to Beltone. They ran me thru more tests then the ENT did and I felt as tho it was a better quality test. SO afterwards we sit down and the Hearing Instrument Specialist (HIS) goes over the costs. Again they are between 5-6k. I told him I would get back to him in a few days with what I want to do.
So I come home and spend some time trying to do research on the Beltone and their hearing aids. I read a lot of negative reviews and a lot of positive reviews. They range from poor customer service and equipment issues. So I was wondering anyone using their aids and how well are they working for you. Any other suggestions? And is Beltone a quality place to work with.
Appreciate your thoughts, Rod
Click to expand...
I use Beltone hearing aids I have the kind that go behind the ear. This is my first set and had them for I think 5 years now I don't use them at work so they don't get used alot.
I can go in to Beltone any time if something goes wrong and they fix them on the spot no charge.
So far the only thing that has gone wrong is the plastic ear peaces go bad now and then and if I need them turned up or down they do that for free.
Mine were $3000 I think.
 
I wish one of my friends I wrench and play music with would get him some :BangHead::BangHead:, he said he has selective hearing and I ain't buying that bs, he can't even here his phone ring :lol:
 
I got mine from the VA, aircraft mechanic so a lot of hearing loss. The one thing I hate about them is they kind of reverb, so make sure you don't have that.
 
memike said:
I wish one of my friends I wrench and play music with would get him some :BangHead::BangHead:, he said he has selective hearing and I ain't buying that bs, he can't even here his phone ring :lol:
Click to expand...
Yep can't here mine when it is 3' away
 
I have no experience with tm, BUT on previous post on hearing aids, someone mentioned Buy Hear. Could be worth checking into.

I need hearing aid but not on my plate, maybe one day!
 
I have one cause I am deaf in left ear and have half left in right. Have one Oticon aide..tried 2 but left side was all digital sounding so I have just the one..over 20 plus years driving a cat 777..

20161108_092705.jpg
 
barbee6043 said:
I have no experience with tm, BUT on previous post on hearing aids, someone mentioned Buy Hear. Could be worth checking into.

I need hearing aid but not on my plate, maybe one day!
Click to expand...
Yea I know what your saying barbee, I had to get them because when I drove semi I had to take a DOT physical and I couldn't pass the hearing part.
sounds kinda stupid, I don't know how anyone even with good ears can here some one wisper in a semi...
 
After spending nearly 17 years on the back of a howitzer, my hearing sucks.
If you are a vet, and you're enrolled in the VA health care system, you can get hearing aids at a low or no cost. I have a set of Phonak hearing aids that came from the VA. Pretty sweet setup too. I can pair them with my iPhone and listen to music as well as a blue tooth for my phone.
Be careful of cheaper hearing aids. I had a "inexpensive" set that would pick up airplane radio traffic when I was near an airport close to where I used to work. In this area, the 1 wed of the month, all of the emergency services would do a test at noon, and I caught that traffic too.
If you're a vet, it would be to your benefit to look into it.
 
Thanks for everyones feedback. I think I have decided to go to an ENT office and see what they offer. Im very nervous about the beltone group because they are hearing instrument specialists and not a person that is degree'd in the ears. To me that makes them professional sales people that specialize in selling. Although the person I saw at beltone i thought was very thorough with the testing, All the reviews that I have read are from problems after the sale and it appears that beltone is more concerned with the initial sale and not the customer service after the sale and its just to much money to invest to end up with issues after I lay out 5k+.
Im not a vet so thats not an option. But I think anyone who has served our country should have the best hearing solutions that are available!
It looks like this will be a couple of weeks as Im sure the ENT will be a month wait to get in.
It sucks getting old! I had a neighbor that use to tell me "old age comes with company and its not always pleasant"! Now I know what he meant!
Thanks Rod
 
My dad had terrible hearing. Too much WW11 time in and around bombers. His was fixed in his 70's. The problem was mechanical and fixable. Mine according to a MD hearing specialist is electrical. No way to operate and fix it.
What is ENT ?
 
ENT is an Ear/Nose/Throat specialists.
The Doctors will be board certified where the Beltone and many other ear places are just trained as Hearing Instrument Specialists. (HIS)
From what I am understanding they do hearing tests, and fit you for hearing aids but can not do actual ear exams and diagnose issues related to health of ear.
I have also noticed on many of the Hearing Aid centers that the HIS personnel seem not stay long resulting in quick turnover where an actual audiologist stay in the field for their career.
Rod
 
rod7515 said:
Getting older and Ive been struggling with hearing for a few years now. Was tested at a local ENT 2 years ago and was told I need hearing aids. I just couldnt get over the fact that they are 5-6K for a pair and put it off. So the hearing is getting no better and its time to do something about it. Had another hearing test done yesterday and this time I went to Beltone. They ran me thru more tests then the ENT did and I felt as tho it was a better quality test. SO afterwards we sit down and the Hearing Instrument Specialist (HIS) goes over the costs. Again they are between 5-6k. I told him I would get back to him in a few days with what I want to do.
So I come home and spend some time trying to do research on the Beltone and their hearing aids. I read a lot of negative reviews and a lot of positive reviews. They range from poor customer service and equipment issues. So I was wondering anyone using their aids and how well are they working for you. Any other suggestions? And is Beltone a quality place to work with.
Appreciate your thoughts, Rod
Click to expand...


I got Beltones a couple months ago. $6500.... Beltone waived $3000, the other $3500 was covered by my medical. Their rep is at our local union meeting every month for service. Free batteries for 3 years too.
My wife and I met my daughter and grandson for dinner one day, they never even knew I had them,
( in case you're vain ).
 
Dfr360cuda said:
I got Beltones a couple months ago. $6500.... Beltone waived $3000, the other $3500 was covered by my medical. Their rep is at our local union meeting every month for service. Free batteries for 3 years too.
Click to expand...


DFRcuda,
Im glad to hear that.
Is this your first time with hearing aids? Ive read plenty of good about the beltone as well but my concern is the amount of people with issues after they have had them a while and their seems to be no support with those cases. Its just so much money to put out and then have issues after teh fact.
The funny thing is how much pricing difference there is from one case to another. My quotes are for the models Trust and Legend. Heres what I was given.

Reg price Beltone Price
Trust 17 - $9998.00 $5990.00
Trust 9 $9198.00 $4990.00
Legend 17 $9498.00 $5490.00
Legend 9 $8698.00 $4490.00

My insurance doesnt cover anything but they are telling me the discount is because I have insurance. Which to me means that the reg price is inflated! Now with this I would get 45 days to return if not happy. However when reading many of the complaints, many of the customers couldnt get their money returned and I am surprised how many reviews I have read that say the office would get nasty with them when they would bring up problems during the trail period.

What model did you go with and how did your pricing compare to what I am being quoted?

Thanks for replying and hope you have trouble free life with your aids. I still havent decided where I am going to spend my money yet but I am going to explore some additional options.
Rod
 
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rod7515 said:
DFRcuda,
Im glad to hear that.
Is this your first time with hearing aids? Ive read plenty of good about the beltone as well but my concern is the amount of people with issues after they have had them a while and their seems to be no support with those cases. Its just so much money to put out and then have issues after teh fact.
The funny thing is how much pricing difference there is from one case to another. My quotes are for the models Trust and Legend. Heres what I was given.

Reg price Beltone Price
Trust 17 - $9998.00 $5990.00
Trust 9 $9198.00 $4990.00
Legend 17 $9498.00 $5490.00
Legend 9 $8698.00 $4490.00

My insurance doesnt cover anything but they are telling me the discount is because I have insurance. Which to me means that the reg price is inflated! Now with this I would get 45 to return if not happy. However when reading many of the complaints, many of the customers couldnt get their money returned and I am surprised how many reviews I have read that say the office would get nasty with them when they would bring up problems during the trail period.

What model did you go with and how did your pricing compare to what I am being quoted?

Thanks for replying and hope you have trouble free life with your aids. I still havent decided where I am going to spend my money yet but I am going to explore some additional options.
Rod
Click to expand...

I got the Legend 6 model. They told me that over 100 people at my plant have gotten these. That's probably why they waive $3000. We are given physicals every year, I've failed the hearing test the past 5 years.
 
rod7515 said:
DFRcuda,
Im glad to hear that.
Is this your first time with hearing aids? Ive read plenty of good about the beltone as well but my concern is the amount of people with issues after they have had them a while and their seems to be no support with those cases. Its just so much money to put out and then have issues after teh fact.
The funny thing is how much pricing difference there is from one case to another. My quotes are for the models Trust and Legend. Heres what I was given.

Reg price Beltone Price
Trust 17 - $9998.00 $5990.00
Trust 9 $9198.00 $4990.00
Legend 17 $9498.00 $5490.00
Legend 9 $8698.00 $4490.00

My insurance doesnt cover anything but they are telling me the discount is because I have insurance. Which to me means that the reg price is inflated! Now with this I would get 45 to return if not happy. However when reading many of the complaints, many of the customers couldnt get their money returned and I am surprised how many reviews I have read that say the office would get nasty with them when they would bring up problems during the trail period.

What model did you go with and how did your pricing compare to what I am being quoted?

Thanks for replying and hope you have trouble free life with your aids. I still havent decided where I am going to spend my money yet but I am going to explore some additional options.
Rod
Click to expand...

Yes, this is my first time with hearing aids. If I had to pay, I probably wouldn't have gotten them. You also will get an app for your smart phone to tweek settings. You can adjust volume if you're in a bar / restaurant. Phone calls come thru the hearing aids too.
 
Dfr360cuda said:
Here's what Beltone gave us.

image-jpeg.jpg



I didnt include the Legend 6 because he told me that they really werent a good option for me. My hearing is very good on low frequency but moderate to severe on the High frequency. But the pricing he wrote down for the legend 6 was Reg $7798.00 and beltone price was $3490.00. Of course that would be 100% out of pocket.

Not really sure why they wouldnt have been a good fit because he spent the rest of the time telling me about the Trust 17.

Have you had any problems with your aids since you got them. Are you satified with your hearing at this point.
I was told it will take many months for some of the hearing noise to become normal again. This made me nervous as I started to wonder if that would drive us to more then 45 days making it harder for me to return them if I didnt think i had gotten value.
Now I will say again that I was very happy with the hearing test method and time spent with me, however my worries are laying out that price then the beltone company not taking care of my concerns and issues as many have stated in the complaints Ive read online. Of course I also realize that a lot of what we read online is only one side of any story.
Thanks again for taking time on this subject,
Rod
Click to expand...
 
I screwed up that last post and if you dont expand the quote you wont see my reply so here it is again.


I didnt include the Legend 6 because he told me that they really werent a good option for me. My hearing is very good on low frequency but moderate to severe on the High frequency. But the pricing he wrote down for the legend 6 was Reg $7798.00 and beltone price was $3490.00. Of course that would be 100% out of pocket.

Not really sure why they wouldnt have been a good fit because he spent the rest of the time telling me about the Trust 17.

Have you had any problems with your aids since you got them. Are you satified with your hearing at this point.
I was told it will take many months for some of the hearing noise to become normal again. This made me nervous as I started to wonder if that would drive us to more then 45 days making it harder for me to return them if I didnt think i had gotten value.
Now I will say again that I was very happy with the hearing test method and time spent with me, however my worries are laying out that price then the beltone company not taking care of my concerns and issues as many have stated in the complaints Ive read online. Of course I also realize that a lot of what we read online is only one side of any story.
Thanks again for taking time on this subject,
Rod
 
I didnt ask that, thanks for throwing that out. Yes I am that old! lol
Rod
 
I have no complaints. However... I'd say that I probably receive better service because of the number of people at my plant and 2 sister plants. I only wear them a couple hours a day. Never at work since I need hearing protection there.
 
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