I’d appreciate the HN view of what should be looked at (or not) when starting to look into hearing aid technology as of 2022. Thanks in advance.
It is important to test the aid during the trial period. They are never "pop them in and go" you will find some things too loud and others too quiet, a first fitting is rarely correct and certainly not the for the first time wearer. Check wind noise, background noise in bars and pubs, check what people sound like behind you and to the side. Do all the normal things you do everyday and see how the aids perform in those situations, many are not perfect everywhere, so what it sounds liek at home may be different to the office, etc.
Bluetooth connectivity has been a solved problem for many years. Most new-ish aids will work amazingly with iPhones and most with Android.
Check the apps. GN ReSound app is briliiant, Phonak's is too. Interestingly, Oticon have very little custom tuning in their app whereas other brands do (ie. you can move the bass/mid/treble etc) I thought this was a terrible mistake when I first got the OPNs but it was not, the aids are so good I never needed to fine tune them myself.
The "OTC" (over the counter) act is happening right now, which means hearing aids will be available to buy off the shelf and online. Some places are already doing this, Gn ReSound have a reseller online (I forget the name, Amplify?). But other brands like Oticon and Widex are still only available by going to a practioner and getting a fit from them.
If you do go and see a professional and get a hearing test and a fit, be very choosy, ask a LOT of questions. Just like any other profession, there's a human element and not all audiologists and registered hearing aid fitters are equal. Some will do a hearing test, fir the aids to the defaults settings and kick you out the door, you want someone who will tweak them based on your feedback.
I haven't posted much of late but check out our hearing aid info site at www dot hearingaidknow dot com.
One thing that led me to this realization was doing a simple app-based hearing test and then applying the audiogram to my airpod pros (after reading the thread below). The amount of extra detail I heard was startling - but also annoying in terms of things I didn’t care to have amplified. So in that sense, I may have slightly more than zero understanding of what tuning might sound like.
https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/xd9p3y/apple_airpods...