posted on January 3, 2005 06:29:19 PM new
I wish I could buy THESE on Ebay!!
I've just got to show this to somebody! I'm looking into buying new hearing aids after 10 years and I was surfing to see what's new and improved. They have these hearing aids in the Netherlands (and Germany) that are the world's smallest and most powerful hearing aids out there right now.
When I go to the audiologist they tell me I have to wear Behind The Ear (BTE) aids because I am so deaf that a "normal" hearing aid they can't get enough power into one to fit me.
This guy in the Netherlands invented this one and I can wear it! I sent him copies of my hearing tests and he sent me "dummies" of his hearing aids. He said if they fit my ears then he can fit me. They do. These dummies aren't any bigger than just the earpiece of my BTE aids.
Folks - this is AMAZING!! I would invest $$ in this company if I could. He said he will be trying to bring this to the USA soon. Meanwhile, I want to go to the Netherlands and buy my own! I can't even FEEL these in my ears and you can't see them once their in!!!
posted on January 3, 2005 06:35:27 PM new
How wonderful - for you and everybody else! Would it be possible for you to buy those right from the maker in the Netherlands, or do they need to be fitted personally? Is there any reason they can't be imported here soon?
posted on January 3, 2005 06:45:14 PM new
I've started a "Let's send GG to the Netherlands so She Can FINALLY Hear What I'm Saying Fund". Would anyone like to donate??
We luv ya girlf friend!
[ edited by ltray on Jan 3, 2005 06:47 PM ]
posted on January 3, 2005 06:51:56 PM new
I've got my fingers crossed and I'm waiting to hear from him now.
I guess the main problem is the fitting software. They normally do it for you in the office. They fiddle and twitch and say "how's that sound now" or "can you hear me now"? That's part of the price of buying aids. These BTE's that I wear now I DID buy off of Ebay for $200. Locally they want $600. to adjust them to my hearing specifications - but they work pretty good so I said no way.
There's a company in the USA that is selling aids online for half the price of what the so called "name brand" places sell theirs for AND you get computer software so that you can twitch your own adjustments. The Hard of Hearing online community is RAVING about their product. America Hears is the company.
This guy will be a billionaire if he ever sells these here. He used to work here in the US for a company and figured he could build a better product - so he went over there where he could do it his way. The FDA is still pretty strict I guess with "medical devices".
"It is only with the heart one sees rightly,
what is essential is invisible to the eye."
Antoine de Saint Exupery
posted on January 3, 2005 07:43:29 PM new
I think the problem with hearing aids that you can't adjust the volume to your hearing is that if they are to loud you could go completely deaf. This is just my opinion.
posted on January 3, 2005 08:01:48 PM new
Glassgrl,
I am profoundly deaf in one ear and no hearing aid will help it. I have a small "in the ear" aid in the other ear. The hearing aid I have was pretty expensive but it is not that helpful in most situations. Background noise is so annoying and hearing only on one side still means I miss a lot. It also makes me feel really congested when I wear it too long.
Hope these will work out for you. I know what it is like not to hear.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
posted on January 4, 2005 07:39:01 AM new
Glassgrl -- I have worn hearing aids my entire life. It was quite hard when I was a little girl, but when I became a teen, I insisted on the smaller aids (due to vanity). For years I wore these smaller aids. They were CONSTANTLY breaking down. It was such a hassle to go without my aid until it could be fixed, not to mention the expense of fixing it each time. Finally, a few years ago, my audiologist of 20 some odd years, convinced me to try a behind the ear aid. It was the very best thing I could have done. I have one digital in one ear, and the other one isn't digital. With the digital one I hear so well that I'm saving to get another one. The first one I was fitted with went 5 YEARS before it broke. When I sent it in for repairs, they replaced it with a brand new one!
For me, I would never go back to the smaller aids.
