I'm brand new to hearing aids and have a couple of questions, for those of you who, (I assume there are some users in this forum) have experience with them and woodworking.
1. How do you typically deal with them in the shop? I've been taking them out on my way but then I thought I could use a "muff" type over them?
2. I travel some wanted to know what you use to pack all the items for a trip (extra batteries, domes, wax traps, stay-dri container. All I got from the audiologist was a cardboard box - $3500 + and they come in recycled cardboard - seriously?
3. What battery do you think is the best value?
Thanks for reading. If you are uncomfortable replying to these queries in our forum a PM is okay.
Hearing Aids
Moderator: admin
Hearing Aids
New Leaf Custom Woodworking
Berry Conway - Chief Dust Maker
Berry Conway - Chief Dust Maker
I got a pair of MDHearing Aid AIR about 6 months ago for $700 which includes extra ear pieces and batteries and other goodies. These are the best hearing aids I have had and by far the cheapest. They are over the ear tubing which is the best and most comfortable for me. They have a volume control and 3 additional internal programs for different backgrounds. I operate mine with the volume set at just above 1 with 3 being the highest volume and the first of the 3 additional program to reduce some back ground noise. I find the second program works well in a really noisily environment. I have had tinnitus problems for more than 30 years with my previous hearing aids but this problem has disappeared with these new hearing aids. The hearing ability far exceed any of the many thousands of dollars hearing aids that I have had over the past 40 years. I can strongly recommend these hearing aids. It took me a few tries to get the proper ear dome plug fitted (Has many different sides and forms to select from) that offers the best comfort and hearing ability. The battery size is great and lasts for a few weeks. They come with at least a years supply of batteries.
http://www.mdhearingaid.com AIR
http://www.mdhearingaid.com AIR
Bill Mayo bill.mayo@verizon.net
Shopsmith owner since 73. Sell, repair and rebuild Shopsmith, Total Shop & Wood Master headstocks, SPTs, attachments, accessories and parts. US Navy 1955-1975 (FTCS/E-8)
Shopsmith owner since 73. Sell, repair and rebuild Shopsmith, Total Shop & Wood Master headstocks, SPTs, attachments, accessories and parts. US Navy 1955-1975 (FTCS/E-8)
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robinson46176
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 4182
- Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2009 9:00 pm
- Location: Central Indiana (Shelbyville)
Below is a re-post of one I made in another earlier discussion of hearing aids.
BTW, I have bookmarked the site Bill just posted, looks to have reasonable possibility. Thanks Bill.
I realize that many people are quite self conscious about anything of a visible support nature but need not be. For my part if I need a cane (I did for a time) I grab a cane. If I decide that I need a hearing aid I'll just get one. I have done some homework on them before and quite frankly for me I would look closely at what is called a "body worn" hearing aid. It's basically like the old original hearing aids where the electronics are in a small box in a pocket or belt clip and usually has a wired ear-piece. They actually have several potiential advantages like huge battery capacity which allow more powerful electronic functions etc and cheaper batteries. They can be a good choice for folks with the most serious hearing losses due to the power available. They can also be quite inexpensive to buy if a lot of fancy stuff is not needed or if it is just used part time. I have a BIL that only wears his for meetings at work.
It is all a very individual thing.
************************************************
************************************************
As I type this I am being kept company by a few hundred crickets... Not really, just my tinnitus. It has gotten a lot louder in the last year so I went researching and yes it can be a side effect of my thyroid medication. Oh, joy...
I have long had a minor level of hearing loss. Not serious but some people I can hear from across the room with their back to me and some I can't hear well from 3 feet away and looking at them.
In addition to a lifetime running a lot of very noisy farm equipment I spent a few years in a factory room with hundreds of pneumatic cylinders of all sizes. They ranged from little ones that would fit in the palm of your hand to larger ones that were about a 4" bore and a 24" stroke. That was in the early 1960's and none of them were muffled. It sounded like a shooting range in there all day except when we shut down for break and lunch and shift change. When we shut down the silence was deafening... Really spooky. The thought of any form of hearing protection was totally alien there. It just was not done. Different times.
Now about aids... I would have no fears of someplace like VA (except that I do not qualify, not a vet) or one of the hospitals etc. but I am here to ring a warning about "hearing aid sellers"...
We once shared a building (with a thin wall) with one and there was never a bigger shyster and fear monger on the planet. That building had strange acoustics. I had occasion to listen from his side a couple of times and he could hear nothing from our side but from our office we could hear (very plainly) anything they said over there.
He was there to sell hearing aids period. Need didn't enter into the equation, anyone that walked into his door "needed" a hearing aid regardless of the phony testing he supposedly did. He had a very standard patter where he really pressured mostly old people largely by repeating the same crap over and over telling the "victim" that if they didn't hear well "everybody" would think that they were "stupid". And he really laid into the word stupid... Usually repeating it several times.
His receptionist was a retired bookkeeper but he would not let her see his books. She was a fairly outspoken old gal with a lot of spirit and she would at times start taking him to task for his ways. One year they had a little Xmas party with the two of them and a half dozen other people. The next day she really laid into him. It seemed that he drank a little too much and told everybody that he only had to pay $13 each for those base model hearing aids that he was selling for $300 to $500 (this was back in the 1980's). She also was taking him to task for sticking so much money in his pocket and never writing anything down... She claimed that he was only reporting less than 10% of what he took in and as a lifetime bookkeeper it did not sit well with her. She even expressed worry that she might also get in trouble since she had to know what he was doing.
I never did hear what he was paying for the aids he was selling for thousands but I'll bet that it was not a whole lot more than what he paid for the cheaper ones.
You do not always "get what you pay for"...
.
BTW, I have bookmarked the site Bill just posted, looks to have reasonable possibility. Thanks Bill.
I realize that many people are quite self conscious about anything of a visible support nature but need not be. For my part if I need a cane (I did for a time) I grab a cane. If I decide that I need a hearing aid I'll just get one. I have done some homework on them before and quite frankly for me I would look closely at what is called a "body worn" hearing aid. It's basically like the old original hearing aids where the electronics are in a small box in a pocket or belt clip and usually has a wired ear-piece. They actually have several potiential advantages like huge battery capacity which allow more powerful electronic functions etc and cheaper batteries. They can be a good choice for folks with the most serious hearing losses due to the power available. They can also be quite inexpensive to buy if a lot of fancy stuff is not needed or if it is just used part time. I have a BIL that only wears his for meetings at work.
It is all a very individual thing.
************************************************
************************************************
As I type this I am being kept company by a few hundred crickets... Not really, just my tinnitus. It has gotten a lot louder in the last year so I went researching and yes it can be a side effect of my thyroid medication. Oh, joy...
I have long had a minor level of hearing loss. Not serious but some people I can hear from across the room with their back to me and some I can't hear well from 3 feet away and looking at them.
In addition to a lifetime running a lot of very noisy farm equipment I spent a few years in a factory room with hundreds of pneumatic cylinders of all sizes. They ranged from little ones that would fit in the palm of your hand to larger ones that were about a 4" bore and a 24" stroke. That was in the early 1960's and none of them were muffled. It sounded like a shooting range in there all day except when we shut down for break and lunch and shift change. When we shut down the silence was deafening... Really spooky. The thought of any form of hearing protection was totally alien there. It just was not done. Different times.
Now about aids... I would have no fears of someplace like VA (except that I do not qualify, not a vet) or one of the hospitals etc. but I am here to ring a warning about "hearing aid sellers"...
We once shared a building (with a thin wall) with one and there was never a bigger shyster and fear monger on the planet. That building had strange acoustics. I had occasion to listen from his side a couple of times and he could hear nothing from our side but from our office we could hear (very plainly) anything they said over there.
He was there to sell hearing aids period. Need didn't enter into the equation, anyone that walked into his door "needed" a hearing aid regardless of the phony testing he supposedly did. He had a very standard patter where he really pressured mostly old people largely by repeating the same crap over and over telling the "victim" that if they didn't hear well "everybody" would think that they were "stupid". And he really laid into the word stupid... Usually repeating it several times.
His receptionist was a retired bookkeeper but he would not let her see his books. She was a fairly outspoken old gal with a lot of spirit and she would at times start taking him to task for his ways. One year they had a little Xmas party with the two of them and a half dozen other people. The next day she really laid into him. It seemed that he drank a little too much and told everybody that he only had to pay $13 each for those base model hearing aids that he was selling for $300 to $500 (this was back in the 1980's). She also was taking him to task for sticking so much money in his pocket and never writing anything down... She claimed that he was only reporting less than 10% of what he took in and as a lifetime bookkeeper it did not sit well with her. She even expressed worry that she might also get in trouble since she had to know what he was doing.
I never did hear what he was paying for the aids he was selling for thousands but I'll bet that it was not a whole lot more than what he paid for the cheaper ones.
You do not always "get what you pay for"...
.
--
farmer
Francis Robinson
I did not equip with Shopsmiths in spite of the setups but because of them.
1 1988 - Mark V 510 (bought new), 4 Poly vee 1 1/8th HP Mark V's, Mark VII, 1 Mark V Mini, 1 Frankensmith, 1 10-ER, 1 Mark V Push-me-Pull-me Drillpress, SS bandsaw, belt sander, jointer, jigsaw, shaper attach, mortising attach, TS-3650 Rigid tablesaw, RAS, 6" long bed jointer, Foley/Belsaw Planer/molder/ripsaw, 1" sander, oscillating spindle/belt sander, Scroll saw, Woodmizer sawmill
farmer
Francis Robinson
I did not equip with Shopsmiths in spite of the setups but because of them.
1 1988 - Mark V 510 (bought new), 4 Poly vee 1 1/8th HP Mark V's, Mark VII, 1 Mark V Mini, 1 Frankensmith, 1 10-ER, 1 Mark V Push-me-Pull-me Drillpress, SS bandsaw, belt sander, jointer, jigsaw, shaper attach, mortising attach, TS-3650 Rigid tablesaw, RAS, 6" long bed jointer, Foley/Belsaw Planer/molder/ripsaw, 1" sander, oscillating spindle/belt sander, Scroll saw, Woodmizer sawmill
1. I take em out because they amplify the sound.berry wrote:I'm brand new to hearing aids and have a couple of questions, for those of you who, (I assume there are some users in this forum) have experience with them and woodworking.
1. How do you typically deal with them in the shop? I've been taking them out on my way but then I thought I could use a "muff" type over them?
2. I travel some wanted to know what you use to pack all the items for a trip (extra batteries, domes, wax traps, stay-dri container. All I got from the audiologist was a cardboard box - $3500 + and they come in recycled cardboard - seriously?
2.Mine came with a hard case to store them in and a soft envelope for when I might have to take them out, like during a rain storm while outside. I was told DON'T put them in a Kleenex because they might get thrown away.
3. Mine came with 80 batteries, so haven't thought about other brands.
SS 500(09/1980), DC3300, jointer, bandsaw, belt sander, Strip Sander, drum sanders,molder, dado, biscuit joiner, universal lathe tool rest, Oneway talon chuck, router bits & chucks and a De Walt 735 planer,a #5,#6, block planes. ALL in a 100 square foot shop.
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Bob
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Bob
Good experience
I resisted hearing aids for quite a while until I either got them or my spouse just quit talking to me - I kept saying "what did you say?" too often.
I was able to afford Starkey's that go totally in the ear. I wear them in the shop since my ear muffs cover everything up and machine noise goes down.
Because they are small, they use a #10 battery that last for around 8 days. I first bought them at COSTCO but their source had a problem and they were lasting 2 or 3 hours, not days. I now use Duracell DA10B8 at my drugstore.
They came with a travel case that holds them, wax guards, and brush (actually a cut off old toothbrush.) Batteries go in my my fanny pack when traveling.
They have come in handy in the gym. I have 2 settings that knock down the high frequencies and that helps with music that is often too loud.
Forrest
I was able to afford Starkey's that go totally in the ear. I wear them in the shop since my ear muffs cover everything up and machine noise goes down.
Because they are small, they use a #10 battery that last for around 8 days. I first bought them at COSTCO but their source had a problem and they were lasting 2 or 3 hours, not days. I now use Duracell DA10B8 at my drugstore.
They came with a travel case that holds them, wax guards, and brush (actually a cut off old toothbrush.) Batteries go in my my fanny pack when traveling.
They have come in handy in the gym. I have 2 settings that knock down the high frequencies and that helps with music that is often too loud.
Forrest
Forrest
Huntington Beach, CA
1985 500->510->520, bandsaw, jointer, planer, PowerPro, double-tilt, 3" casters,(now obsolete) speed increaser
Huntington Beach, CA
1985 500->510->520, bandsaw, jointer, planer, PowerPro, double-tilt, 3" casters,(now obsolete) speed increaser