jrace

Exactly, just useful for a screening, but not for determining actual settings.

And there is more that is taken in to account when setting the hearing aids, such as: Age Speech comprehension issues Loudness thresholds cognitive issues

As well there are a handfull of "red flags" that are looked for, some of which can only be done with a visual examination, and others by more involved audiometric testing.

In the industry (at least in Canada) outside of the medical system customers are "clients" and not "patients".

When you have hearing loss you also have decreased loudness threshold levels, which will be freq specific. It is important that you do not exceed these levels, both for comfort and for speech understanding.

hearing loss is far more than just "make it louder".

Tuning for them is more about slowly increasing the sound levels overtime than adjusting for understanding.

As well you may want to work with a Speech Language Pathologist.

A better analogy is what if your vision loss was not only clarity, but also brightness?

And once you put on your glasses everything is brighter.

You need to adjust to the change, and then slowley adapt.

Now what if putting on the glasses meant you saw far more on your peripheral vision?

This too would be a big change and a barrier to getting better.

That sometimes was benificial, but mostly with just one n one and TV. Those you can control, but what about when a few more people come over? Or when the neighbor is mowing their lawn?

yes.

Hearing aids can exceed 120dB.

As well improper mid-long term use can cause comprehension and "hearing in difficult situations" issues.

Same rational for an eye exam and Rx. it is more complicated than just "do you see or not?" And medical issues can, and are, discovered with a comprehensive hearing evaluation.

As well improper use can cause permanent damage.

In Canada I did the very same, but for free.

Free hearing evaluation, discovered ear infections, referred back to GP. At no time was I compensated by the client or the government.

yes, I know Phonak hearing aids were doing that since about 2012. For some of our more severe hearing impaired patients it was a noticeable improvement in speech comprehension.

That is exactly what the tech does, automatically adjusts based on the amount of noise and speech in the environment. And going a step further, applying directional microphone control to better pick up sounds where the speech is.

Asprin is not rx...and has killed millions.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16086703/#:~:text=Death%20ra....

And the test is done in a controlled environment with calibrated equipment.

A "iphone hearing test' is a useful screening tool, and no more sadly.

Then you need to go to a different audiologist.

Most of my rejected fittings were from people who had far too high expectations. that did not stop me from trying, and when unable to get success provide a 100% refund, and refer to a different AUD.

Apply new firmware to the hearing aids. help you set your phone to work properly. Return them and use a different make/model that works with your phone.

They would need a properly calibrated set of headphones/microphones and environment to conduct a proper hearing test.

Would you rather pay $100 for something you are not sure will work...or would you rather ay $0.00 to try it first?

And then still be able to return it at least within the first 30 days of paying for it?

They can.

As far as I know (at least for Canada, circa 2015) there were no laws or regs stating how, what or when to charge for services. --other than some kind of return period.

Hearing aids allow you - rather enable you - to listen again. Without them your understanding and comprehension gets lazy.

Imagine if you stopped playing basketball because of a bad knee.

Then years later you get a knee brace and are able to play again.

How long, and how much practice would you need before you could play at the level you were at before the knee problem?

And without properly fixing the problem (just using a mobility aid) could you ever return to pre-knee problem levels?

Perhaps it is because most of those people expected the hearing aid to work for them, and did not want to do any of the work they needed to do themselves.

Imagine not reading for 10 years because of bad eyesight, eye glasses do not make it so your brain can read, but instead makes it easier for your brain to see the symbols. your brain still needs to decode and comprehend them.

Our hearing system is far more complicated. You can look in the direction you want to see....but you hear all around you, even through walls.

You cannot stop hearing, even in your sleep. It is far more crucial to our environmental awareness than more people realize.

Hearing aids have volume controls, which some clinicians disable for new users - as it causes more problems than it fixes.

And just like the TV remote they increase all sounds - good (speech) and bad (music and explosions).

The issue is not just "is it loud enough" but rather, "can you understand what you want to hear when you want to hear it?"

imagine yourself at a busy restaurant. you want to hear your spouses speach better, and the wait staff- but turning their speech up also turns up the people you do not want to hear.

how do you fix that?

noise reduction, speech enhancement, directional microphones are just some of the tools a hearing aid uses.

But ultimately what needs to happen is your brain works harder at comprehending what you want to hear(yes, it is work, and like all work people do not want to do it).

So they think...hmmm, I will just pay $xxxx.xx and I wont have to work anymore.

So you should be treated differently than someone who "doesn't walk much because my knees are sore.

Because improper use can cause significant hearing loss.

THere may be now, but not 5 years ago.

I have many ideas about how the industry can be improved, especially with the use of a smart phone app and user interactions.

Not only is it plausible, but would make the clinicians (fitter) job easier and lead to far more hearing aid sales.

It was not an argument, but a statement.

If one model (pay as you go) causes harm to the whole industry (people know believe hearing aids do not work) then why would the industry continue?

My opinion: do those things have to cost thousands of dollars? --yes and no, costs could come down, but in the lifetime of a hearing aid it could be replaced 3 times or more at no charge to the user.

What are the primary cost components? The primary components are: Microphone {cheap to produce} Receiver (speaker) {cheap to produce} Processing Chip {expensive to R&D, cheap to produce}

Are the people doing these jobs highly paid? Salary in Canada was between $60,000 (diploma) - $100,000 (Doctorate) when I left the industry.

Are they highly paid because of high costs of college tuition? Depends, but after leaving for IT and making more than that with less education - I am unsure if they are "highly paid"

Would free college help lower their costs? I would hope so, but doubt the savings would pass on to the consumer.

No idea, but an initial search at "Connect Hearing US" (which also has a large Canadian arm states;

"2-week FREE hearing aid trial* Try before you buy, absolutely free! Take a new pair of hearing aids home for two weeks to see how they work in everyday situations — no money down and no obligation.

3 years FREE Batteries Get three years of batteries included with your purchase no matter what hearing aids you buy. Each year you will receive a box of 60 batteries for each hearing aid.

3-year Warranty and 3-year Loss & Damage Enjoy a three-year manufacturer repair warranty and three years’ loss and damage coverage for all hearing aids" https://www.connecthearing.com/cost-of-hearing-aids/the-conn...

Perhaps you do not realize, or are just trying to be funny, but most audiology professionals do this to help people hear better.

You can cause more than "minimal" harm. Both hearing loss and comprehension can be changed by an improper hearing aid.

The tech in the hearing aids is cheap.

it is the fitting and follow up where the money you spend should be going. -- that and repairs and regular maintenance.