I cut my hair with a flowbee, and buy reading glasses over the counter.
These state licensing boards are a throw back to the anti-competitive old trade guilds
WWW said:
JR
Duplicating a hearing aid curve with a graphic eq?
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These state licensing boards are a throw back to the anti-competitive old trade guilds
JR
They had signs at my local audiologists place looking for staff ,free training given .
Ive read stories about people with some audio and electronics knowledge getting hearing aids , all too often the seller(so called audiologist) didnt have a clue what their taking about , they bandied around a few buzz words to qualify the sale .
If a hearing aid is capable of almost 140db spl theres certainly a potential for further hearing damage in certain situation with loud ambient sounds . I asked a Fraudiologist if hearing damage was possible if exposed to loud sounds amplified by a aid ,of course they re-assured me a hearing aid could do no harm , lies . We know from various electro neurological testing increasing the stimulus beyond a certain point only leads to further dulling of the senses . Another thing I noticed the sellers doing is every once in a while they invite the customer back , re-test and up the volume level in the ear pieces , after a certain point they'll tell you you need to upgrade to a more costly model . In the case of my moms hearing aids , one of the driver transducers became faulty , she handed it in for repair and was told ,no sorry not servicable , you'll need a new pair for 2.5k euros . The original set came with a replacement set of transducers , later I was easily able to fit the part and it worked perfectly again , obviously the seller had no interest in fixing it , he was on a healthy commission for selling a new product . I wonder if the regulatory authorities who deal with medical devices would be interested in the lack of audio knowledge , miss selling, lack of reasonable service and high commissions driving new sales . We'd all cry foul at the old and vulnerable being duped on the doorstep or over the phone by bogus sellers , just because someone sits in a nice office with a sharp suit on and has the sweetest bedside manner doesnt make it any less grievous especially with the large sums of money involved .
Ive read stories about people with some audio and electronics knowledge getting hearing aids , all too often the seller(so called audiologist) didnt have a clue what their taking about , they bandied around a few buzz words to qualify the sale .
If a hearing aid is capable of almost 140db spl theres certainly a potential for further hearing damage in certain situation with loud ambient sounds . I asked a Fraudiologist if hearing damage was possible if exposed to loud sounds amplified by a aid ,of course they re-assured me a hearing aid could do no harm , lies . We know from various electro neurological testing increasing the stimulus beyond a certain point only leads to further dulling of the senses . Another thing I noticed the sellers doing is every once in a while they invite the customer back , re-test and up the volume level in the ear pieces , after a certain point they'll tell you you need to upgrade to a more costly model . In the case of my moms hearing aids , one of the driver transducers became faulty , she handed it in for repair and was told ,no sorry not servicable , you'll need a new pair for 2.5k euros . The original set came with a replacement set of transducers , later I was easily able to fit the part and it worked perfectly again , obviously the seller had no interest in fixing it , he was on a healthy commission for selling a new product . I wonder if the regulatory authorities who deal with medical devices would be interested in the lack of audio knowledge , miss selling, lack of reasonable service and high commissions driving new sales . We'd all cry foul at the old and vulnerable being duped on the doorstep or over the phone by bogus sellers , just because someone sits in a nice office with a sharp suit on and has the sweetest bedside manner doesnt make it any less grievous especially with the large sums of money involved .
user 37518
Well-known member
I would say that a 3 band tone control for him to tweak will probably be the best solution, if you want someone who is really not an expert in audio to completely mess things up, give him a 31 band EQ. Or you can do whatever everyone else is suggesting, I would suggest you try a 3 band tone control first thou. My 2 cents.
I suspect the nature of hearing loss may be relatively narrow band frequency specific. I wouldn't give them a parametric, but IMO octave wide GEQ is not crazy, and 1/3rd oct might allow the patient to better zero in on corrective EQ.
JR
JR
The hearing aids I helped test, all were wireless for the software upload. All the audiologist needs to do, is prepare the curve and other settings on a PC and then press "upload". There's also an "overload" setting that prevents them from being too loud and inflicting further damage.
Hearing aids are free here and the price social security is charged for is 800 to 1200 euros, depending on type. Free unless you have plenty of income, in which case you pay around 10% of that.
As the speaker part it fits inside the ear canal, only a small part is visible. That part is needed to remove it. It's attached by a thin wire to a tiny box behind the ear containing the mic, electronics and battery. Nearly invisible. Batteries last about a week.
There are different other models, and I'm sure some details have changed since. What was the newest and the greatest then, was a model that fitted entirely inside the ear canal. Not reimbursed completely by social security. I don't remember the price, but it was several thousands. And battery replacement turned into complete replacement. Of course the power source lasted for years, with wireless charging.
Hearing aids are free here and the price social security is charged for is 800 to 1200 euros, depending on type. Free unless you have plenty of income, in which case you pay around 10% of that.
As the speaker part it fits inside the ear canal, only a small part is visible. That part is needed to remove it. It's attached by a thin wire to a tiny box behind the ear containing the mic, electronics and battery. Nearly invisible. Batteries last about a week.
There are different other models, and I'm sure some details have changed since. What was the newest and the greatest then, was a model that fitted entirely inside the ear canal. Not reimbursed completely by social security. I don't remember the price, but it was several thousands. And battery replacement turned into complete replacement. Of course the power source lasted for years, with wireless charging.
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The FDA has changed the regulations allowing over the counter sales of hearing aids without the expensive audiologist "dollars dance". Turning these into mass market consumer products should make them a modest fraction of the previous stratospheric prices.
JR
JR
I'm a Flow-Bee guy since 2001...
Brian Roth
Well-known member
I know that when I lived in Oklahoma hearing aid sales were tightly regulated and only sold by "licensed" vendors for shockingly high prices. I think it's the same here in Kansas.
Bri
Bri
- The Food and Drug Administration said a new regulation finalized Tuesday permits a new class of hearing aids to be sold online or over-the-counter at pharmacies and other retail stores.
- The status applies to devices for adults with mild to moderate hearing problems. Those with more severe hearing loss will remain prescription only.
- The new rule will take effect in mid-October.
JR
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I just had the coolest reading/working glasses made, called "executive bi-focals" (full bottom/executive segment), they are my normal monitor-distance script on the top (I drew the line where I wanted the transition) and 3.5s on the entire bottom half, two lenses literally glued together. They are magnified 100% across the bottom, and the other 100% across the top. None of that drug induced shifting of the image...
scott2000
Well-known member
user 37518
Well-known member
Wait, was it illegal? I used to buy them at Aliexpress for my grandma, that is crazy
