Hearing Aids

​I’m sorry, What did you say?
 
By Brian Bondy

I recently got new hearing aids, from Hear.com. I’m happy with them. That’s all I’ll say for now. Apple, recently, came out with some air pods that are FDA approved to be used as hearing aids. There are some qualifications for that, but I am including a great article from CNET on that subject HERE. https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/apple-airpods-pro-hearing-aid-feature-authorized-by-fda-heres-how-itll-work/

For several years I used hearing amplifiers from Amazon. They started out costing $50 each and then became $50 for a pair. You can’t get any cheaper than that. As I broke several way more expensive hearing aids, I decided to go with some cheap amplifiers and they were great for a long time.

Hearing amplifiers are just that, they amplify all sounds. No frills here, just amplifiers with a volume control. I liked the rechargeable variety over the battery ones. They work fine but they amplify everything. For me, I was having a hard time on certain frequencies, voice being the main one. Sometimes, the amplifiers were too loud, depending on what was making sounds.
Carol appreciated the amplifiers though, as she thought I was ignoring her. I still couldn’t hear some things, like the alarm on the refrigerator door, the timer on the stove, or the cricket in our bedroom. The cricket actually worked out for me, but not for Carol, who couldn’t sleep.

Finally I tried out the Hear.com hearing aids by Horizon. They do a virtual appointment over a computer they send you, along with headphones and a pair of hearing aids. They have you do a test, and the audiologist connects to the hearing aids and adjust them to your specific needs. After a couple of weeks we ‘met’ again for another tweek. After a couple more weeks we had another session for tweeking, but I was happy with them. I can hear the crickets outside, the timer on the stove, and the alarm on the fridge.

My hearing isn’t perfect but it’s way better. There is an app so I can alter some things as needed, and my phone connects to them which is HUGE. I love that feature.