Hearing Aids

[uptheos]

I would be very grateful to hear from anyone who uses a hearing aid.

• Good or bad reviews welcome.
• Brand, cost etc.
• Whether you bought it in Thailand (where) or elsewhere.
• Overall satisfaction 1-10 (10 being excellent)

Feel free to pm me if you prefer.

Cheers

[uptheos]

No response, wow I'm impressed by the hearing quality of 1,000's of members.

Or maybe it's vanity.

[uptheos]

NO ONE!

Have to shout in case they're all deaf.

[kokesaat]

Got mine through Eartone, a pair of in-the-canal, in Jan 2011. Paid 38,000 for the pair. It took probably 4 months or so to get accustomed to them....having something stuffed in your ear......but from day one, the sounds of leaves crunching under your feet, birds singing, or water crashing into the bottom of a cup under a faucet.....wow! And for the first time in probably 7 or more years, I could carry on a full conversation with most anyone...male or female.

On the downside.....carrying on a conversation with competing noise.....busy restaurant, for example, can be difficult....but still much better with my hearing aids than without.

Each aid uses one battery per week on average. I get a beeping warning, audible only to me, when a battery is about to need replacing.

My wife can still hear things I can't......but the list is much diminished from the days before I got my aids.

A side plus......when I want to shut off the noise.....I simply remove my hearing aids.....easy enough to do.

I'm considering upgrading to a Porche variety....if there is such a thing. I've gotten my money's worth from these...and would be willing to pay even more to up my rating from an 8 to a 9 or a 10.

[Lefty]

OP does not say where he is. In Korat there is a Seimens hearing aid center on the first floor of St Mary's Hospital. I have not used it as yet.

Lefty

[uptheos]

OP does not say where he is. In Korat there is a Seimens hearing aid center on the first floor of St Mary's Hospital. I have not used it as yet.

Lefty

Thanks for the response, Lefty. I'm in Chiang Mai and there are a couple of reliable ear doctors, plus a Siemens centre.

I'm really more interested in the level of satisfaction that people have, who wear one. Good points/bad....better/worse....hard to get used to etc.

I'm not too bothered about the cost, but I chatted to the Siemens place here and the price ranged from 14,000 - 140,000, though I got that down to 50%.......shows you how much they will get away with if they can.

[CaptHaddock]

I have been using two hearing aids for the past 4 years. They are indispensable, but there is a lot to know before buying them. If you think you need HA, you almost certainly do. The first step is to go to an ENT doctor to make sure that you don't have a medical condition like an infection that is causing hearing loss. If that is not the case then you go to an audiologist who tests you to produce an audiogram, that measures your hearing loss in 9 steps from 250 Hz to 8000 Hz, which is the range for human speech. There will also be a test of word discrimination. Several patterns of hearing loss are possible, but the commonest is the "ski slope," i.e. little hearing loss in the lower range and more loss in the upper range. This is my own hearing loss pattern. The effect is that it sounds like people are mumbling and making out words becomes difficult. The reason is that, in English, the consonant sounds occur in the upper frequency ranges, while the vowels are in the lower ranges. If you aren't getting the consonants you will have trouble making out the word.

When you go to buy aids, you will not have any idea what you need, what you will like, or how much you ought to spend to get a reasonable improvement. ("Improvement" in is the operative word, since you will never get your original hearing back no matter what you buy.) If you survey prices for hearing aids over the last 10 years or so, you find an astounding anomaly: unlike all other electronic devices, HA prices have been going UP, not down! How can this be? What is different about HA? Well, not the technology. HAs use digital signal processors, the same kind of device used in every cell phone. The technology is not unique and should have benefited from the same economies of scale that have lowered the prices of cell phones. So, if the technology is not special, what is? Well, what's unique among the electronic devices you buy is that the HA is the only device you buy (in your state of complete, dependent ignorance) directly from a commissioned sales person in his role as a white-coated medical professional. Doctors, with some exceptions, do not get commissions on the treatments, devices, or medicines they prescribe because they don't sell them directly to you. But audiologists do. What's more the first-time HA customer is especially ripe to be oversold a device that will generate a huge commission for two reasons: 1) he has no basis to distinguish one product from another and 2) no matter what he buys, cheap or expensive, the HA will almost certainly give him a big improvement in understanding speech.

Consumer Reports did a study that found that, although 40% of HA buyers were not correctly fitted for the device they wear, nevertheless 75% like their HAs. You might think that the first-time buyer could simply try out several pairs in the audiologist's shop to see if the cheaper one will be good enough. That strategy doesn't work so well, because it takes time, measured in months, to become accustomed to using HAs. It took me a month, during which it felt strange to be wearing them. Then, one day, it suddenly felt strange if I was not wearing them.

So, the audiologist has a strong financial incentive to oversell the first-time HA buyer. And the manufacturers, who compete for distribution in the audiologist-as-retailer model, have accommodated their retailers by producing ever more expensive models that do not, however, outperform basic models. For example, if you do feature comparisons on HA models you will see manufacturer's boasting about the number of channels their models offer: top of the line used to be 16, then 32, now I see 64 channels. However, studies have shown that 95% of HA users derive no benefit at all from having more than 4 channels. Indeed, since the audiogram only takes 9 measurements (250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 1500 Hz, 2000 Hz, 3000 Hz, 4000 Hz, 6000 Hz, and 8000 Hz) any adjustments at frequencies other than those 9 is just guesswork since the loss is not known.

The audiologist who is attempting to oversell you can do so, knowing that you will likely be very satisfied with the result. This is an ideal opportunity to oversell. And the commissions are huge, since the actual cost of producing a HA is about $250. My pair cost $1400. My friend who always likes to buy the best spent $12,000 for his pair. We are both very happy with our aids.

In the US sellers of HAs that do not operate on the commissioned sales basis include the Veteran's Administration and Costco. I bought mine pair from americahears.com, an online distributor who can adjust my aids over the internet. However, they will not knowing sell to a foreign resident.

In the US state law and retailer policies provide trial periods of 30 to 90 days with a full refund if not satisfied. I doubt that you will find such a policy in Thailand, but I haven't tried to buy them here, nor do I expect to.

So, the good news is that virtually anything you buy will help you, probably a lot. But the sales process will be geared toward selling you the most expensive solution. My advice is to decide beforehand how much you are willing to spend, and get a pair for that price or less.

Good luck.

[uptheos]

Thank you VERY much Capt.......excellent response.

[Artist]

This recent issue of the Health Report may help http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/healthreport/monday-february-16th/5234802

I have been wearing hearing aids in both ears for many years now and I couldn't do without them. Apart from clarifying sounds they also reduce the level of ringing (tinitus)

However, as the Health Report says, for a long time I tended not to wear them as I wasn't experiencing a great improvement as it takes time for the brain to adjust to the changed range of frequencies. I still can't hear what people are saying in a noisy environment which is very destructive as it cuts you out of the conversation and isolates you.

I had mine fitted in Australia and even here when I went for a checkup the audiologist discovered that the previous audiologist had set them up on the wrong ears. CaptHaddock covered the issue very well.

[dotpoom]

OP thanked "Lefty" and "Capt" for their responses.....I was left wondering why he didn't thank "Kokesaat" ...his was the first serious response and I myself found it very interesting and very descriptive of what it was like after initially getting them fitted and the subsequent benefit he got from them.

[ronthai]

Must be a real pleasure to sometimes just turn it off.

[Mudcrab]

I tend to wear hearing protection where I live. especially when the monks put on their greatest Buddha cd at 4:30am or the wonderful karaoke superstars at 12 midnight! ! But I do sympathise with the people who need a hearing aid , nothing funny about it.

[bradenroger]

Hi, I've been using hearing aids for almost half of my life (I'm 63 now) and I could hardly function without them. The doctors have said that I have nerve deafness. I totally agree with what the other guys have shared with you. I have used various brands over the years including Siemens, Starkey, and a Danish brand (that I cannot remember at the moment) and I've paid around 1600-2000 US$ for each one since I wanted to have close to the best technology each time and I wanted in-the-canal HA's which are always much more costly. My greatest sadness is due to the fact that I play the piano (by ear, no less!) and always loved to sing in choirs - well, those days have been over since I have the HA's although I still play piano when I'm alone just for old time sake. They have yet to develop the technology (to my knowledge) that can handle such musical situations....I am now retired here in Thailand but before that I spent a number of years working here and visiting here. My life partner is Thai. I have used the audiologist (Khun Nid) at Bungrungrad Hospital in Bangkok for many years and have been very happy with their audiology service and kindness to me over the years....Finally, the HA's will improve the quality of your life and as one brother has said, you will hear the birds singing again!! Go for it!

[misterphil]

This recent issue of the Health Report may help http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/healthreport/monday-february-16th/5234802

I have been wearing hearing aids in both ears for many years now and I couldn't do without them. Apart from clarifying sounds they also reduce the level of ringing (tinitus)

However, as the Health Report says, for a long time I tended not to wear them as I wasn't experiencing a great improvement as it takes time for the brain to adjust to the changed range of frequencies. I still can't hear what people are saying in a noisy environment which is very destructive as it cuts you out of the conversation and isolates you.

I had mine fitted in Australia and even here when I went for a checkup the audiologist discovered that the previous audiologist had set them up on the wrong ears. CaptHaddock covered the issue very well.

I have tinnitus. Can a hearing aid help reduce the ringing noise in my ears? Ive had it for about 2 years now and I feel its getting louder and more often. Sometimes I don't hear the ringing at all, then something will set it off and its there with me for the rest of the day. Its very bad on a night when I go to bed especially after I've been watching TV. Listening to something for several hours then having nothing to listen too is very annoying. I have an app that does white noise, running water etc to help me get to sleep but sometimes its so loud I cant sleep for it.

Thanks

[maybefitz]

I am now almost totally deaf, and use a basic hearing aid, a single piece with 2 wires to earpieces. I've had all kinds of expensive aids in the past, but I'm now at the point I gain no benefit from expensive aids. So, my aid costs just 6,000 baht. I am well past the point of hiding it, behind the ear or in the ear - people think I'm listening to music on a player. Siam Hearing on the left of Suthep Road on the way to the University - but I agree on the observations of power selling to get commission.

[Anon999]

Some very good replies above.

I've been wearing hearing aids for about 30 years as a result of the noise generated by military aircraft, I should be so lucky!

My level of loss is classed as Profound which means that in the ear products are no good for me.

In 2012 I bought a Naida 5S unit from a supplier in England, having sent them an audiogram. This was a great improvement over the BTE units I had previously and the one I bought in BKK, for more than one reason. Both rain and sweat caused all my previous units to cut out so not helpful at all. The Naida products are waterproof to a great degree, however, I doubt that wearing them in a shower would be a good idea.

Last year I bought a matching unit from Eartone, from the main office in BKK at Sukhumvit 22 Klong Toey. The MD proved to be very helpful and spent a lot of time trying to get them tuned in. However, that is virtually impossible at the first attempt and at least another visit or more will be needed to get them set up properly. I'm going back again in a few weeks for some fine tuning.

One of the best places to have your hearing checked is the Bangkok Hospital in BKK. They have a couple of Professors in audiology although they would very much like to sell you some products too!

Best of luck with getting your hearing problem improved.

[uptheos]

OP thanked "Lefty" and "Capt" for their responses.....I was left wondering why he didn't thank "Kokesaat" ...his was the first serious response and I myself found it very interesting and very descriptive of what it was like after initially getting them fitted and the subsequent benefit he got from them.

I can assure you I thanked kokesaat very,much.

Is it OK by you if some things are said and done in private?

[uptheos]

Some very good replies above.

I've been wearing hearing aids for about 30 years as a result of the noise generated by military aircraft, I should be so lucky!

My level of loss is classed as Profound which means that in the ear products are no good for me.

In 2012 I bought a Naida 5S unit from a supplier in England, having sent them an audiogram. This was a great improvement over the BTE units I had previously and the one I bought in BKK, for more than one reason. Both rain and sweat caused all my previous units to cut out so not helpful at all. The Naida products are waterproof to a great degree, however, I doubt that wearing them in a shower would be a good idea.

Last year I bought a matching unit from Eartone, from the main office in BKK at Sukhumvit 22 Klong Toey. The MD proved to be very helpful and spent a lot of time trying to get them tuned in. However, that is virtually impossible at the first attempt and at least another visit or more will be needed to get them set up properly. I'm going back again in a few weeks for some fine tuning.

One of the best places to have your hearing checked is the Bangkok Hospital in BKK. They have a couple of Professors in audiology although they would very much like to sell you some products too!

Best of luck with getting your hearing problem improved.

Excellent....thank you very much.

[uptheos]

What??

I wondered who the first idiot would be?

[pennine]

If it's not too far off the main topic, I would like to ask where can I get batteries for my in the canal hearing aid in Samui? The battery description number is "312". Boots in Chaweng is the only place I've found them, but they are mostly out of stock.

[dotpoom]

OP thanked "Lefty" and "Capt" for their responses.....I was left wondering why he didn't thank "Kokesaat" ...his was the first serious response and I myself found it very interesting and very descriptive of what it was like after initially getting them fitted and the subsequent benefit he got from them.

I can assure you I thanked kokesaat very,much.

Is it OK by you if some things are said and done in private?

I'm very happy you did Uptheos but there is no need to get angry, I simply said "I was left wondering why you didn't etc.," a logical conclusion when, I think at that stage three people tried to help and you appeared in public to thank two of them leaving out the third....I simply thought that was strange. I'm sorry and thank you for replying in connection with this...it has restored my faith that there are still some people out there that appreciate it when people try to help them.

I myself whenever possible try to be of assistance if I can and at times i wonder why I bother, sometimes a simple "Thank you" is enough to charge the batteries and keep the desire going, at least one knows that their efforts have been appreciated.

Only this week I offered to bring a man to hospital who said he was sick and asked for help on here (TV) . Other times I have searched out old documents for some people who asked me for details with regards to a car in one instance and a condo in another. not a dicky bird of a thank you from any of them. I think some people go through life thinking that it is their "God given right " that people help them and it never so much as occurs to them that a "thank you" might be in order. Anyway.......alls well that ends well.

I have Tinnitus myself Uptheos and was interested in the topic you raised and my hearing is not good (sometimes a distinct advantage if one is in a marriage situation 555). God Bless.

[hhfarang]

A member of my family has been wearing hearing aids for the past 18 years and we have done much research in our home country as well as here. This person has a substantial hearing loss (40%+) and through experimentation and study we believe Widex brand is the best. Siemens is also a consideration as is another brand that I can't remember the name of now, but Eartone on Soi 22 Bangkok sells them and will recommend them in cases like this. Widex, to my knowledge is only sold and serviced at Dmed on Soi Sukhotai in Bangkok. Near top of the line in the canal models run about 100k each (after some bargaining, which you should do on hearing aids as they are a high profit item).

Bear in mind that depending on where you live, you may have to travel to Bangkok a couple of times per year to get batteries, adjustments, and service.

[Muhendis]

This topic is very interesting because I am a hearing aid user. I have a hearing disorder called otosclerosis. It is a progressive disease of the middle ear. It was surgically corrected many years ago but fifteen years from then I needed to wear hearing aids again. I progressed to more and more powerful hearing aids but that did not affect my decision to move to Thailand. All the help and service available in the UK is also available here in Thailand. There is, for me, only one hearing aid manufacturer that suits my hearing loss and that is Oticon. These are available here in Thailand through Audimed in Bangkok. Prices are a little bit cheaper than in the UK but for some reason the import duty is, to my mind, excessive. For price comparisons you might like to have a look at this web site http://www.crystalhearinguk.co.uk/

I have bought a Dynalogic from Dmed but found the device not powerful enough for me. There is a Dmed office in Chiang Mai. It is worth noting that a hearing aid will not necessarily return your hearing to what it once was but it will be better than nothing.

My hearing problem has now put me into the realms of a cochlear implant which I have just had done in Ramatibodi university hospital in Bangkok. Switch on will be in four weeks so for me it's fingers crossed.

I sincerely hope you find what you need.

[1Ping1]

You have got some great advice, info, thought I would add my own as I just came across your request for info.

I have had "severe" tinnitus and hearing loss since 1994. My hearing loss is a severe high frequency hearing loss in both ears since that time due to an explosion.Meaning it is 90% gone. mid range and lower frequencies, I still have about 25-30%, without hearing aides. Meaning that I pretty much do not hear anything but the roaring in my head, unless I have my hearing aides in.

I Have worn "masking, and amplification" hearing aides for roughly the past twenty years. Masking comes in a variety of flavors but is basically white noise that is coming from outside, meaning external to the roaring going on in my head, to offset the 80db high pitched screaming that is coming from inside my head. Yeah, it can and has caused more than a few to take a jump. Not something that I would wish on my worse enemy, if I had any that is.

I truly though would go crazy without the "masking" portion of the hearing aides. Since my hearing is so weak, the hearing aides also help fight off the roaring in my head by bringing in more masking, just by the amplification itself.

Having stated the above, you asked about brands. I have had more than a few. The best of the best for me are from Widex and are called Widex Mind hearing aides. They are fit behind the ear, have the clear tube with inner ear bud and do the masking, amplification and since they are fit behind the ear, you do not get the plugged ear feeling as you do with the inner ear devices. Technology jumped in leaps and bounds over the past twenty years and you can find decent hearing aides for far cheaper but the widex mind are 7k us dollars. As some have noted though, you can get just amplification for 30-50k baht.

Info below is from a Franchise company that has hearing aide centers spread around Thailand. Relevant to me as they do carry Widex if I was to need some work done. You can google it to come up with the different locations but I only know that they have one in Bangkok for sure. While I know they have over a dozen areas they cover, I am not sure where they are.

DMED Hearing Co., Ltd is a specialist in hearing problems. We have provided service over 20 years. Our company is the authorized dealer of the global company that trading hearing aids such as Widex which comes from Denmark, Siemens, Audufon and Maico the audiometer are from Germany. We do have teams of professionals in hearing aids and advise a solution of hearing problems. We also have support teams that will provide service after sales for your hearing aids.

As for those looking for batteries, I feel your pain. I did though manage to find an audiologist in Bangkok that will send them via mail and they were not to expensive. I sadly do not have the address or phone any more as I bought a ton of batteries the last time in states. Google Audiologists Bangkok, and then make a few phone calls though and you should be able to find someone to send them to you. You might also google and then call DMED hearing aide centers. I never have but I am guessing that they may be able to ship batteries as well.

Best of Luck to you all

[AmeriThai]

Thanks to uptheos for starting this thread, and to all those who have replied. I'm going through the process of getting a pair of invisible (so-called) in-the-ear/in-the-canal HA very soon. I haven't made a commitment as yet, but they are really small, All that can be seen is a tiny clear bead at the outer part of the canal. The bead is attached to a flexible line that looks like thin fishing line. A tool is used to hook the bead to pul the HA out. My hearing loss has a harder time with higher frequencies and better with lower frequencies. Tintinnitus is also a problem.

As mentioned, sweating can be a problem for many hearing aids. I'm planning to get a dryer for them which hopefully will help. It can get pretty toasty in Thailand, and I do tend to sweat, so that is a concern. I know they need to be removed when showering or going for a swim. I'll have to get some more in-depth info as to how much sweating they can actually handle. It's really amazing how far the technology has come these days. My father had a bulky pair of Beltone HAs that looked like ear plugs.

I was given a pair at the office that had been adjusted for my hearing for a demo of how it sounds. I was very surprised at hearing more clearly, although certainly not like natural hearing. I didn't really notice the tintinnitus which was a nice change. I'm told it takes time to get adjusted to the "new" sounds, anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. The sound was a little bit tinny with the demo, but that's also to be expected when you first get them. After a while, many people don't even notice the tinny sound after they've gotten used to it. The nice part of the ones I'm getting is that they automatically compensate for different conditions, from quiet environments to noiser ones. In effect, the claim for the in-the-ear/in-the-canal types is that the sounds are captured by the natural shape of your ears.

It'll be interesting to see how it all pans out.

[Muhendis]

Hearing aids are designed to function in the most inhospitable of environments and until fairly recently little was done to improve the water resistance of them. For years a type of varnish was applied to the electronics called conformal coating. This was only partially successful. There has since been a huge leap forward in this area with the use of nano coating. The way this works is down to size. Yes, size matters. Water molecules are larger than the size of the gaps between nano particles thereby preventing the ingress of water into the electronics. The plastic case is also nano coated. It would be a good idea to investigate the possibility of hearing aids that have this nano coating. Having said that you are still advised not to wear your hearing aid in the shower or when swimming. This is probably due to the effect of water on the battery/battery terminals, microphone and loudspeaker. The battery will be of the zinc/air type which need to have access to a small supply of air to work and are common to many hearing aids. This air is allowed in through a small hole in the battery compartment. A well designed entrance for water/sweat.

The idea of using a drying box is ok but drying by definition can only happen after it has got wet. Sooner or later the the salt left behind by the evaporation of your sweat will cause problems. This might not be for some years however.

My cochlear implant was switched on four weeks ago and I am now getting used to a "different" way of hearing. Tinnitus is a minor problem and only noticeable in the absence of sound. I feel sure this is a creation of the auditory centre of my brain since I have no hair cell damage.

I sincerely hope all hard of hearing contributors are able to find a solution to their problem. Deafness can be a truly isolating disability.

[AmeriThai]

Hearing aids are designed to function in the most inhospitable of environments and until fairly recently little was done to improve the water resistance of them. For years a type of varnish was applied to the electronics called conformal coating. This was only partially successful. There has since been a huge leap forward in this area with the use of nano coating. The way this works is down to size. Yes, size matters. Water molecules are larger than the size of the gaps between nano particles thereby preventing the ingress of water into the electronics. The plastic case is also nano coated. It would be a good idea to investigate the possibility of hearing aids that have this nano coating. Having said that you are still advised not to wear your hearing aid in the shower or when swimming. This is probably due to the effect of water on the battery/battery terminals, microphone and loudspeaker. The battery will be of the zinc/air type which need to have access to a small supply of air to work and are common to many hearing aids. This air is allowed in through a small hole in the battery compartment. A well designed entrance for water/sweat.

The idea of using a drying box is ok but drying by definition can only happen after it has got wet. Sooner or later the the salt left behind by the evaporation of your sweat will cause problems. This might not be for some years however.

The nano coating sounds like a good step for protection, but it adds up to a higher cost. If money is not an issue for some people, then it's a worthwhile investment. From what I'm learning is that the average life expectency of hearing aids is around 4-5 years. A good part of that might be related to changes and improvements in hearing aid technology.

What I understand about the drying box, is that it uses packets of moisture absorbing crystals in the same fashion as those used for cameras, etc. Salt build up is a good point. However, it's still a good idea to see a hearing aid specialist periodically anyway to have the devices inspected for any need of adjustment, which should also include cleaning the devices. Having devices that incorporate nano coating is certainly a convenience but comes at a higher cost. I suppose it would be a question as to whether the extra cost for nano coating would be less than the periodic inspections which should be done anyway, Hopefully, in time, nano coating would be a standard feature in hearing aids. Until then, it'll remain an option for those who are willing to splurge on it. I'm seeing prices for nano coated hearing aids at about US$3000+ per device, or US$6000+ per pair. Is nano coating really cost effective?

If the average life of hearing aids is 4-5 years, then replacement cost is bound to be another factor to take into consideration in the long run. It all depends on the budget and particular needs of the invidivual. It's all new to me and I'm still learning. It's important to be as informed as possible to make the best choice.

Thanks for addressing the nano coating. That's something I didn't know about that's worth consideration.

[Muhendis]

There are two types of drying box. The one mentioned by AmeriThai which uses silica gel to absorb moisture and an electric heating box. My personal preference is for the silica gel. After the granules have absorbed all they can, you can put them in the microwave to drive the moisture out and re-use them (don't cook them too long or too hot). As far as the age of hearing aids goes 4-5 years sounds a bit short to me. Hearing aid manufacturers tend to introduce newer models and better technology whether you need it or not. Such is the progress of technology. I have behind the ear hearing aids more than ten years old which still work as they they did when new but they don't have any speech discrimination circuitry nor do they have any form of directional capability. Also for many patients there is a progression of deafness which can often only be addressed by changing to a more powerful device. I can appreciate where AmericaThai is coming from with regard to the increased cost of nano coating however many manufacturers are now doing this as a matter of course and the costs are coming down as the technology matures. One needs to be aware that it is a good sales pitch to extol the virtues of this "wonderful new technology" and thereby bump up their profit a bit. All salesmen are willing to negotiate to secure a sale. The cost of nano coating to the manufacturer are now no greater than conformal coating but the benefits are that you can get caught out in a tropical storm (Songkran) without any worries.

[AmeriThai]

There are two types of drying box. The one mentioned by AmeriThai which uses silica gel to absorb moisture and an electric heating box. My personal preference is for the silica gel. After the granules have absorbed all they can, you can put them in the microwave to drive the moisture out and re-use them (don't cook them too long or too hot). As far as the age of hearing aids goes 4-5 years sounds a bit short to me. Hearing aid manufacturers tend to introduce newer models and better technology whether you need it or not. Such is the progress of technology. I have behind the ear hearing aids more than ten years old which still work as they they did when new but they don't have any speech discrimination circuitry nor do they have any form of directional capability. Also for many patients there is a progression of deafness which can often only be addressed by changing to a more powerful device. I can appreciate where AmericaThai is coming from with regard to the increased cost of nano coating however many manufacturers are now doing this as a matter of course and the costs are coming down as the technology matures. One needs to be aware that it is a good sales pitch to extol the virtues of this "wonderful new technology" and thereby bump up their profit a bit. All salesmen are willing to negotiate to secure a sale. The cost of nano coating to the manufacturer are now no greater than conformal coating but the benefits are that you can get caught out in a tropical storm (Songkran) without any worries.

I took the 4-5 years life primarily relates to changes in the technology. If they work fine for 10 years or longer, and a person still feels comfortable with how they work, that's what counts. As I mentioned, as did you, it depends on the person's need and the price. My dad wore the same pair of Beltone hearing aids for a lot of years. I don't think he ever went in for a routine check up. But I did notice that when talking to him, I'd have to repeat what I said pretty frequently. He said sometimes the HA's would squeal from feedback sound. That's not much of a problem with what's available today. On the other hand, a routine check up for both your hearing and the condition of the devices is a good idea. Batteries is another cost factor. I'm not really sure which is cheaper in the long run - standard batteries or rechargable? Regular batteries last about 5-7 days, maybe longer depending on how much you use them. They're rated in terms of hours,. Rechargables can last up to a year before needing to replace them. I'm not sure how long they last before you need to recharge them. Rechargables also need a charger which I'm seeing priced in the neighborhood of US$100.00 to US$150.00.

Yeah, you're right about getting soaked during Songkran, and the rains in Thailand can come down in buckets. I'm gong to ask about whether or not the ITC HA's I'm thinking about are nano coated to protect against too much moisture. Moisture from sweating has also been a concern of mine. I'm not too worried about salt build up since that can be cleaned off during a periodic inspection and cleaning. The nice part about the ITC's is that they're virtually unseen and you can tap your ear to adjust the volume. They're said to be auto-adjusting for different conditions though. The demo I tried was similar to yours, behind the ear. It was a mini. For me, I noticed if I used my hand to brush my hair back a bit, it was pretty noisy from the hair going over the component behind the ear. That'd drive me nuts. The ITC shouldn't do that because everything is in the ear canal. Time will tell. I'll have 90 days to try them out, and if I don't like them, I can either get something different or get a full refund.

[Muhendis]

I haver never used rechargeables for my BTE hearing aids but I am now using them for my CI (cochlear implant). If it is anything to go by, my rechargeables last about 18 hrs against 3days for the zinc cells. So for me it is economical to have rechargeables. The batteries in my BTE used to last about ten days so it was not economically viable to use rechargeables.

It might be an idea to check how many charge/discharge cycles the manufacturer guarantees. This will tell you how often you will need to replace them and would give you a guide as to which would work out less expensive. Zinc air batteries in Thailand are about the same price as in the UK. however in the UK I used to buy in bulk on the internet to make significant savings. The zinc air batteries have a use by date which is two years after the manufactured date.