this post was submitted on 09 Feb 2025

54 points (96.6% liked)

Ask Lemmy

28145 readers

2678 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected]. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

6) No US Politics.

Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try [email protected] or [email protected]

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

Why can't my grandfather find hearing aids he likes? (self.asklemmy)

submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by 11111one11111 to c/asklemmy

14 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Looking for anyone with experience with helping pick out hearing aides. It's hard for him to describe what he doesn't like about them so I can't provide much in the way of specific issues. One thing he has said was that they change how loud some things are compared to how they should be which I think he means they will make certain pitches louder than other pitches so something like setting spoon on glass plate will be loud but the sound of a low voiced man talking is quiet when normally the low voices are the only ones he can hear. He is the typical old geezer so it's easier to list all the numbers in Pi than it is to get him to a doctors office.

We have tried 2 different very expensive aids costing thousands each, we tried the new apple ones, he tried countless magazine ads hearing aids and doesn't like any of them. He's a very straight forward man so it's not his way of getting around using them or that he's embarrassed. He wants to find a pair he likes but he is also a very picky man who was a mechanical engineer so I feel like his expectations can be a little high sometimes for things to be perfect.

Just thought I'd see what other people's experiences were with hearing aides and if there's anything anyone can recommend.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] NeoNachtwaechter 15 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

who was a mechanical engineer

Tell him my greetings. I am an electrical engineer (I have even studied acoustics for several semesters) and I have made my jokes about mechanical engineers all my life. But I don't think that they are actually stupid ;-)

He's a very straight forward man

he is also a very picky man

He is right about it. They are bad. The sad truth is: they are all less than perfect, and hard to endure.

Scientists have improved them during the last 10 or 20 years, and they still have to improve them a lot more in the next 10 years or 20. Until then, everybody can only choose these current ones, that are less than good.

But these devices are even worse if they are not adapted to the person.

You can't just buy them off the shelf and wear them like you do with a wooden leg, that has either the correct length or you cut off a little.

You need to adapt many different parameters before they start to be somewhat helpful. It is because hearing is super complex.

So regarding your question about the best device, it is neither the brand nor the price, but whether you (or your audiologist) can adapt it good to the person.

This will take some weeks of trying it out, and then adapt again.

This is the actual choice he needs to make:

Either have the stamina to let somebody adapt the devices for him, then try them for a few weeks, and then repeat this for at least three rounds of adapting and trying. Or let it all be, and grow old as a deaf man.