[jwx48]

I need hearing aids. I even want hearing aids. After finally getting to see an audiologist I looked at the $5000US price offered by the in-house shop and could not stomach it (in part because they were not covered by my insurance). This was back in February of this year, so OTC hearing aids were officially a thing, and I'd hoped against hope that the prices would reflect that. After surveying the OTC hearing aid landscape for the past 10/11 months I may just go ahead and get them, because I've not found any good sources of information on them. Just lots and lots of marketing copy.

[bookofjoe]

>OTC Hearing Aids: What You Should Know [Content current as of 05/03/2023]

https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/hearing-aids/otc-hearing...

>A Complete Guide to Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids [Updated November 7, 2023]

https://www.consumerreports.org/health/hearing-aids/complete...

>Guide to over-the-counter hearing aids and personal sound amplifiers [November 9, 2023]

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-rngr6ToVv4q/learn/otc-hearing-...

>The Best Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids and Other Hearing Solutions [Updated December 4, 2023]

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-over-the-cou...

https://archive.ph/tjyaU

[technofiend]

Hello fellow hearing-challenged person.

First let me say I purchased OTC hearing aids for $799 (Jabra Enhance) out of frustration and the particular ones I use are adequate at best. They tune to your hearing loss via a crude test which only has three frequency ranges categorized as high, medium and low frequency bands. They additionally have three modes that change the mix of in room sound to help to adapt to different listening situations.

The biggest frustration with them is they aren't particularly discrete around amplification or rejection of sound: want to hear someone speaking? You're going to get lots of room noise too because of the wide bands which just amplify everything rather than say just speech and/or where your specific hearing loss is deepest.

In fact even though my insurance does cover hearing aids, it's through a certain discount supplier, and their offerings strike me as lower-end. As you've discovered the most expensive options are eye-poppingly expensive, but they are also have the most features. For example I was quoted between $5k and 7.5k for the best performing hearing aid. And here's the frustrating bit: for that difference in price it's the same fucking hearing aid, just with features unlocked! The audiologist told me the real difference in price is mostly more discrete bands. lol. From memory it tops out at twenty four bands.

I'm currently debating between going to Costco and using my insurance with Amplifon. I suggest you investigate both as Costco's hearing aids get decent reviews. Also apparently the prices vary by state, but here in Texas the cheapest ones are $1,499; less than half the price you quoted.

Good luck!

[garciasn]

I went to an audiologist and they found nothing wrong with my hearing, but yet, I have trouble hearing normal conversational tones. Hearing completely fucking annoying sounds like fluorescent lights? That I can do with abandon, but hearing someone in the same room as me comes out muffled, particularly if there is a noisy background. The audiologist actually had the audacity to tell me that my wife may just be making things up.

So, OTC hearing aides may be a solution for me, but while they are far more inexpensive than prescription aides, they are still expensive ($1000+) and what if they do not work or do not work to solve my problems and only exacerbate the issues I have?

Does anyone have recommendations on which ones to try when I eventually bite the bullet?

[Kon-Peki]

You may have some form of APD [1], and if so there is basically nothing on the market for you. It affects me, and it's frustrating as hell when people get angry at you for it, and especially when they think you're just making it up.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditory_processing_disorder