FolkGuitar

12 hours ago, JackGats said:

1. Can't you do everything with the app (after downloading it from Google Play)? I mean even the initial tuning? 

 

2. If you buy a top (expensive) brand, isn't the sound quality guaranteed to be top-notch? I wouldn't know the difference because I'll be wearing hearing aids for the first time.

 

3. Note that in some countries where adjustments at regular intervals are included in the purchase price, audiologists might be happy about the app as it would save them some work.

1. Sorry, I don't know. I have never seen it in use. But modern hearing instruments are being designed with user friendliness involved. The fitting software that audiologists use to adjust the hearing aids simply isn't that complex, and could easily be put in phone app size.  It's actually much easier for the user to get the correct fitting as they no longer have to 'translate' their hearing into words the audiologist can understand regarding the quality of sound. The user can be listening to, for example, music, and adjust the sliders back and forth until they 'hear' exactly what they want, rather than saying; 'No... too much... take it down a little.... no that was not enough... take it down just a little more.... hmmmmm.... almost, but can you get rid of the snarly sound?  (if you are controlling the adjustments yourself, you avoid all of that, and get it exactly to you liking!)

2. Yes and no.  Which do you prefer; heavy bass, light bass, heavy mid-range, heavy treble, etc.,?  Of course, each of these can be modified... a bit. Each model of every brand has a slightly different sound quality. Although the higher priced models will have 'better' sound quality, is it the particular range that 'you' wish to hear?

3. Sure.... they love to have their incomes cut by modern technologies. I've never had to wait for a queue number in an audiology office or hearing aid shop. 

4 hours ago, JackGats said:

Audimed in Bangkok and Chang Mai have Starkey hearing aids. Do you mean they would not provide repair services? So if I buy a Starkey hearing aid in Europe and it breaks down in Thailand I'm in a spot.

One of the shops I visited today was Audiomed. They told me that they would have to special order Starkey.  That means one would not be able to listen to the voice quality of the different models before buying, and that voice quality really does change from model to model.

2 hours ago, OneZero said:

Thank you Folk Guitar,

Yours is exactly the type of experience I was looking for. 

Information like this is indeed a time, trouble and money saver.

You're welcome. If you have other questions, just message me.

There is so much misleading info out there, much of it put forth by audiologists who need clients to be chained to their services in order to make a living. A lot of it just isn't true. You CAN adjust your own hearing aids without having to go to Audio school for 4 years, but the audiologists tell you that you can't. They won't even sell you a copy of the adjustment (fitting) software. But many of today's hearing aids can be adjusted with a Smartphone... if... the audiologist will teach you how. But then, they don't make any money when you come back to have an adjustment.  If you plug into some of the audiology forums, you can read what different audiologists are saying about these new self-adjustable hearing aids. They ain't happy.

2 hours ago, FolkGuitar said:

.............. If I had found a place here in Chiang Mai that sold nationally-recognized brands, I may have bought here in town. All of them had posters and other advertising for name brands on the walls of their shops, but didn't sell them, and only sold their store brand.Perhaps things are different now...

 

I went looking around today, and found two shops that would 'special order'  Starkey and ReSound brands (two leaders in the market,) but would not offer the same factory 4-year warrantee, only 6 month, and could not provide repair services.  So, I was incorrect. Recognized name brands ARE available in Chiang Mai, but...

2 hours ago, OneZero said:

Folk Guitar,

Is Sriphat not a "One Stop" point of service for such support? 

Do Sriphat patients find it necessary or beneficial to go to outside shops or online for hearing aids (& their software if needed)?

 

If that is the case, I'm wondering what kind of service is available at BHC (Bangkok Hospital Chiang Mai).

Sorry, but I can't answer that. My connection with Sriphat for audiology service was only for a comprehensive hearing test, not buying hearing aids. I don't know if they sell them, or recommend someplace in town.

If I had found a place here in Chiang Mai that sold nationally-recognized brands, I may have bought here in town. All of them had posters and other advertising for name brands on the walls of their shops, but didn't sell them, and only sold their store brand. Perhaps things are different now. As it was, I bought online, and will do so again when I need new ones. I've been dealing with this ( https://hearsource.com) company for over 20 years with no complaints, either buying, repairing, or having them spend 90 minutes online WITH me, at now extra cost, teaching me how to use to use the fitting software so I can now adjust my own in the comfort of my home.

Personally, as hearing aids often need to be adjusted once or twice a year, and one has to pay each time, I prefer to be able to do my own adjusting while wearing the devices so I can adjust and correct the sound rather than trying to tell the audiologist that it now 'sounds like a fork got stuck in a garbage disposal' or music sounds 'bad,' and hope the audiologist; A- speaks enough English to know what I'm saying, or B- knows what "I" actually mean when I say "bad."  If you have questions about this (self-adjustment software) feel free to message me. I'll be happy to help.

Hearing aids 'can' be a wonderful, life-changing investment. It really pays to get exactly what you need, in terms of device abilities, controls, and sound output, and don't expect that if you go for the very low end units that the sound will be natural. That takes some money... 

23 hours ago, drtreelove said:

And across the street and West a couple of blocks from Sriphat OPD: 

DEAR HEARING CENTER

No. 203 Suthep Road
Suthep Subdistrict, Mueang District
Chiang Mai Province 50200

Tel : 053-904-082
Email : [email protected]

Does this shop carry and service nationally-known brands of hearing aids, or only their own store brand?  I've found that to be the case in every shop I tried, since the place in Panthip Plaza closed.  I had to buy online, get the adjustment software and learn how to fit my hearing aids (there are companies that provide this service,) and for the past several years have been doing all my own adjustments. It ain't rocket science.

One can make 'cold-water' (also called 'Sun Tea,') with ANY tea. No need to buy something special.  In fact, it may be the most commonly used method in the US Southern states for making 'Ice Tea.'  Just fill a pitcher with water, put in the proper amount of tea leaves or bags for the amount of water, and set it aside (on a window sill? Or not...)  In just a couple of hours one will have a nice pitcher of tea. It won't have the depth of flavor of a brewed cup of tea, but it works very well for iced tea.

2 minutes ago, Serhii said:

By "chaos on the roads" do you mean everyone driving 40 km/h? Going faster being stoned feels too fast.

People are starting to wait for blinking red lights to turn green...

Since I've been in Chiang Mai, the city has twice tried setting up modern, large public bus systems with routes all around and outside the city. I rode them a few times myself. Usually they were just about empty. I guess the locals prefer the old ways.

I've never seen the 'Sabrosso' brand extra-virgin named in any of the Scam Oil Lists.

Not cheap, but very nice for cooking or even dipping bread.

17 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Thanks - obviously a lot more expensive than I had thought.  Mine were done few years ago here in Bangkok at a major private hospital for about 70k including lenses (but mono).  Guess prices have greatly increased if paying that without lens at a university hospital.  

Mine too, at Sriphat Medical Center and done by Dr.Paradee, was just about 70K for both eyes, including mono-focus lenses. In at 11am, home by 2pm each time. 23 minutes in the operating room for one, and 28 minutes for the other (she was teaching a student that time.) No problems with follow-up care.

A lot depends upon your location in Thailand.

I had True in town (Chiang Mai) for years but started losing speed every night, internet shutdowns every time it rained, etc., and started looking for something more reliable.

I found that with 3BB.  1G down and 100mbps up. We've had ONE shutdown in the past two years. Lasted less than an hour.  No other problems.  Sometimes the speed does drop during busy times, but never below 500+/- download. Fast enough for anything I need to do, even when using a VPN.

20 hours ago, NancyL said:

I think you'll find that what they did was to open a new account in both your names.  You can't simply "add" a name to an existing account.  Check your old and new bankbooks to confirm if the account number is the same.

With respect, what they did was add my wife's name to the existing account. For two different accounts, actually, that we updated that day. The account numbers are the same for each pair.

It seems to me that if a company was relocating part of its holdings, and requires its customers to know in the future where to go to handle transactions that they would have informed the customers of that fact. They certainly have our addresses on record. Simple to send out another boiler-plate letter telling us where we would need to go. A simple chart showing which branch one must use for which service (IF that really is required... Frankly, I haven't found it to be so.) Especially true for such an very important daily service such as banking. 

7 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

If I had walked into the Nimman branch to ask for a new bank book or ATM card/other services they would say please go to Kad Suan Kaew branch.  Thus my simple  query didnt ask for a highbrow dissertation on the nature of financial reality but thanks.

What makes you think so?  When I wanted to add my wife's name to an account, we did it at a different branch, more convenient to us at the time. That involved getting a new bank book with both our names in it, and a new ATM card for her. They did NOT send us back to Kad Suan Kaew despite the fact that I usually did 99.9% of my banking there. They are 'branches,' not 'specialized divisions' of the bank.

31 minutes ago, Captain Monday said:

Was just about to ask. At least I know where KSK manager and my accounts had been moved to

Was worried it would be somewhere far, but Airport Plaza would have been OK. Will pop in maybe next month. Do account holders have to get new bank deposit books or anything?

Your account, mine, and thousands of others who regularly banked at Kad Suen Kaew, did NOT have our accounts 'moved.'  They were never 'at' Kad Suen Kaew. Since the day we opened them, our accounts have been in the central Bangkok Bank computer. No matter which 'branch' of Bangkok Bank we walk into tomorrow, our account information will be available, and all banking transactions can be done. We do NOT need to locate a specific branch to find our accounts.

That said, it is nice to see familiar faces when we walk into a bank. I think it would be difficult to suddenly take 10-15 people and place them all together in another branch. Do they just fire the ones who were there before?

47 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I noticed in the Philippines how polite everyone was.

I'd be polite, too, if I lived in a place where there are teen-age armed guards carrying shotguns everywhere you look, and half the people are carrying weapons of some sort.

Road fatalities will not go down until there is a viable live police presence ON THE ROADS. On ALL roads.  Everything else is just window dressing.

Excellent service, comprehensive health check (blood panel, Urine, EKG, X-Ray, Abdominal Ultrasound,) at Rajavej Hospital.  In at 8:30, finished with tests by 9:30,  back at 11:00 for a hands-on exam by physician and explanation and discussion of test rests. 4,900 Baht.

Several stores in Icon Square (the building behind Computer Plaza) on the North side of the Moat carry portable, foldable, roll-able, Bluetooth keyboards.

A plastic ketchup squirter bottle filled with 50%/50% vinegar-water solution, and a 24" rattan baton. I don't want bloody floors, I don't want drawn-out court cases. I just want to stop anyone who should not be in my house. Unless they have a firearm, this will stop them.  I've kept this same combo available to me since I was 18 and living alone. Never needed to use it once in 65 years.

On 6/3/2022 at 9:58 AM, BritManToo said:

How can they do revolting things?

Tip or not comes after you've eaten.

In the States, I've eaten at lunch counters where you have to put your tip in front of you before a waiter will even come and take your order. Until I put two dollars on the counter in front of me, no one would take my order. I sat for five minutes waiting, until a 'regular' there explained what was required. As soon as I put down my tip, the waiter came over and took my sandwich order.

It's not the waiter's fault. It's the fault of all American who permit restaurant owners to pay less than minimum wage to waitstaff, requiring them to live on their tips.