Should Mom Get a New Hearing Aid?
Monday December 31, 2007
ForMother writes on the forum:
I am looking for advice on behalf of my 85 year old mother who has been wearing hearing aids for about 20 years and whose hearing is getting progressively worse. By now, she has profound hearing loss and wears Phonax brand hearing aids in both ears. Though her hearing with the hearing aids is far from perfect, it is certainly an improvement. However, a major problem is feedback noise that has become almost constant...What do you think? I am aware that feedback can be caused by poorly fitting earmolds. Does this sound like a problem that can be resolved by getting new hearing aids, or could it be resolved by simply getting new earmolds?
Comments
Gee … Same Hearing aids for 20 years? It’s time!
Nothing wrong with a 20 yr old hearing aid if it still works and you like analog. What it’s really time for is a new mold for a better seal and thus eliminate the feedback.
Poorly fitting molds is a very common cause of feedback but I think she should get an audiologist to look at the aids before spending out either new molds or complete new aids.
It may be that the feedback reduction programme can be re-run on them to eliminate, or at least reduce, the feedback. If that doesn’t work - or the aids are so old that they aren’t programmable - then the audiologist may be able to block the vents. Blocking the vents increases the occlusion effect but can fix the feedback problem.
Happy new year!
My 87 year old mom just got new hearing aids last year and she noticed a big improvement. Today’s hearing aids are like computers - the new models are so much better than the ones of just a few years ago. Your Mom will most likly experience a noticeable improvement in her hearing.
However, good hearing aids are very expen$ive, and it is important to go to a really good audiologist who can fit them properly to her particular level of hearing loss. Expect to spend about $2000 per ear.
If the only problem is feedback from poorly fitting ear molds, then new ear molds are a lot cheaper - around $100.
Also, some of the newer hearing aids have “open fit” in which they don’t need ear molds.
Poorly fitted ear molds can cause feedback. Also, wax build up in the ear can cause feedback. If the hearing aids are several years old, the newere hearing aids have quite a few programmable features that eliminate feedback.