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We have the same issues with my 89 yr. old dementia mother. She lost one of her hearing aids last year, we ended up buying her another one at Sams Club (still $1,200) and she's lost that one now in a matter of 3 months. So frustrating. We've searched inside furniture and all around her small apartment in Assisted Living. Why is this age of modern technology can they not develop a hearing aid that rests on a charging pad instead of changing teeny tiny batteries? Also, can you put a GPS on those darn things so we can find them with an app on our iphone!?! Wait....I may be on to something!
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Timely question for me, as we are scheduled to go get Dad's hearing aids cleaned this week and I was wondering about getting him new ones. That would be about $5k and he doesn't want to spend the money. But it makes such a difference when he wears them. And with dementia, I want him to hear the conversation. I compare them to glasses and I also don't understand why Medicare can't pay for them every 3-5 years.
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That would be great - a GPS on the hearing aids!
Mom was in her mid 90's when we realized she was no longer capable of managing the batteries or caring for the hearing aids herself. Up until then, she understood their importance and relied on them, cared for them. Then, like freqflyer, we began to find dozens of little batteries all around Mom's apartment, in her purse, in drawers, etc. She peeled the tabs off them and dumped them all in a box, then put used ones in there too. Every 6 months one would break down because ear wax would corrode it. We replaced at least 5 lost aids in a 3 year period. It broke our hearts to watch her slowly lose contact with people because she couldn't communicate with them. It made her dementia worse. She would sit at the lunch table and watch her friends, and would laugh when they did - but had no clue what was going on.
I think she would have done much better with a big amplifier she could hold in her hand or even an ear trumpet (think more manual control for the non tech generation especially with dementia!) When her hearing got really bad they upgraded her from the in the ear, finger controllable ones to the behind the ear with the little tube and plug in the ear that automatically adjusted for her. It totally confused and freaked her out - even though she could hear better, she could not adjust to the change and she was always frustrated.
Depending on the level of dementia, replacing hearing aids over and over might not be the answer. If we had it to do over, we would look for the simplest solution, like something handheld if its out there. Once Mom's dementia got bad, it was a waste of money to buy the most expensive high tech aids because there is a level of understanding needed to know how to use them and care for them.
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That would be great - a GPS on the hearing aids!
Mom was in her mid 90's when we realized she was no longer capable of managing the batteries or caring for the hearing aids herself. Up until then, she understood their importance and relied on them, cared for them. Then, like freqflyer, we began to find dozens of little batteries all around Mom's apartment, in her purse, in drawers, etc. She peeled the tabs off them and dumped them all in a box, then put used ones in there too. Every 6 months one would break down because ear wax would corrode it. We replaced at least 5 lost aids in a 3 year period. It broke our hearts to watch her slowly lose contact with people because she couldn't communicate with them. It made her dementia worse. She would sit at the lunch table and watch her friends, and would laugh when they did - but had no clue what was going on.
I think she would have done much better with a big amplifier she could hold in her hand or even an ear trumpet (think more manual control for the non tech generation especially with dementia!) When her hearing got really bad they upgraded her from the in the ear, finger controllable ones to the behind the ear with the little tube and plug in the ear that automatically adjusted for her. It totally confused and freaked her out - even though she could hear better, she could not adjust to the change and she was always frustrated.
Depending on the level of dementia, replacing hearing aids over and over might not be the answer. If we had it to do over, we would look for the simplest solution, like something handheld if its out there. Once Mom's dementia got bad, it was a waste of money to buy the most expensive high tech aids because there is a level of understanding needed to know how to use them and care for them.
I don't have hearing aids (yet) so I can't say for myself, but my husband now has the high tech ones, and he claims it is not comfortable to have something in your ears, even though it helps you hear. He and many of my friends who have aids rarely use them.
Seniors with dementia maybe are unconsciously reacting to the discomfort of something in their ears once they can no longer comprehend the necessity and reason they are there?
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That would be great - a GPS on the hearing aids!
Mom was in her mid 90's when we realized she was no longer capable of managing the batteries or caring for the hearing aids herself. Up until then, she understood their importance and relied on them, cared for them. Then, like freqflyer, we began to find dozens of little batteries all around Mom's apartment, in her purse, in drawers, etc. She peeled the tabs off them and dumped them all in a box, then put used ones in there too. Every 6 months one would break down because ear wax would corrode it. We replaced at least 5 lost aids in a 3 year period. It broke our hearts to watch her slowly lose contact with people because she couldn't communicate with them. It made her dementia worse. She would sit at the lunch table and watch her friends, and would laugh when they did - but had no clue what was going on.
I think she would have done much better with a big amplifier she could hold in her hand or even an ear trumpet (think more manual control for the non tech generation especially with dementia!) When her hearing got really bad they upgraded her from the in the ear, finger controllable ones to the behind the ear with the little tube and plug in the ear that automatically adjusted for her. It totally confused and freaked her out - even though she could hear better, she could not adjust to the change and she was always frustrated.
Depending on the level of dementia, replacing hearing aids over and over might not be the answer. If we had it to do over, we would look for the simplest solution, like something handheld if its out there. Once Mom's dementia got bad, we wasted thousands of dollars trying to help her by buying the best, expensive high tech aids but she did not have the level of understanding needed to know how to use them and care for them.
I don't have hearing aids (yet) so I can't say for myself, but my husband has the high tech ones, and he claims it is not comfortable to have something in your ears, even though it helps you hear. He and many of my friends who have aids rarely use them.
Seniors with dementia could be unconsciously reacting to the discomfort of something in their ears once they can no longer comprehend the necessity and reason they are there?
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freqflyer - Hearing aid technology is advancing at an incredible pace and rechargeable hearing aid options are available right now, as we type.

I understand the frustration with the batteries, however hearing is incredibly complicated to treat. Prior to becoming a hearing specialist, and as a person who is half-deaf and just wanted to hear better, I had no idea. If people wouldn't mind wearing around giant headphones all the time, we could fit nice big batteries and have all the processing power we wanted to make many hearing wishes come true. Unfortunately, due to stigma and the desire to not appear different, people insist that hearing aids be invisible by fitting all inside the ear or around somehow hidden by the ear so that we don't have to stick out (as if people don't notice when we don't hear well :sigh:). Due to the size constraints, and the power constraints due to the teensy tiny batteries that it takes to run the processors, we haven't been able to solve all the world's hearing problems yet. Rest assured, there is a TON of research going on every day to try and solve these problems because people want to hear and they want to hear well.

I can tell you from experience, the last decade has brought amazing strides in better hearing... but it comes at a cost. The market is relatively small, especially if you compare to things like computers or cell phones that sell millions of exactly the same unit off the shelf. Furthermore, you have to consider that no two people have the same ear canals or hearing abilities or lifestyle considerations. Given that this is a medical device that you are supposed to wear all day long, getting it customized to make sure it works is extremely important. They can't just make a million of the same thing and expect to make everyone happy - has to be individual. Ear trumpets went the way of the dinosaur because they were of extremely limited help.

Anyway, to sum up (because i could seriously go on about hearing related stuff all day - I'm sure you couldn't tell) if your family member can't handle batteries, ask your hearing healthcare provider about rechargeable options and eliminate the hassle of batteries. These can be made suitable for most hearing losses. Hope this is helpful info for you. :-)
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I am reading DISCOVER magazine [March 2017] - they have 2 ads for hearing aids -

1 - less than $300 at 1 -800-409-6503 or GetMDHearingAid use offer code DB89 they say free batteries for a year - supposed to be invisible

2 - $179 each when buying pair at 1 -888-291-3810 or AdvancedHearing.com/D73 use coupon code D73 - these are rechargeable - behind ear with little tube coming into ear with a small earpiece

I don't have any actual knowledge of these companies but they might be a good starting spot - good luck & let us know if they work out for you
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MDHearingAid Acoustitone PRO Hearing Aid

I bought 2 of those for my grandmother and for all I know, they're fancy versions of the super cheapie kind you can find in many mail order catalogs full of senior stuff, and not really that much better. I bought both kinds and tried them on myself, just to hear what it sounded like, before cutting to fit for my grandmother. They did help. Since I don't have significant hearing loss, one hearing aid sounded much like the other to me, the $300/set sounded similar to $40/set.

Both were over/behind the ear types. I can't remember if both were cut-to-fit tubing or just the MD ones.
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I quote from Aphoenix comments earlier "For all the readers, education time. Untreated hearing loss severely increases the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease. A mild untreated hearing loss doubles your risk of developing dementia. A severe untreated hearing loss is a 5x risk of developing dementia. If you have a family member with dementia or Alzheimer's, you want to do everything to make sure you minimize your risk, and being proactive about taking care of your hearing and treating your hearing loss if any hearing issues are found is an incredibly important piece. Wearing properly fit hearing aids mitigates this increased risk by up to 90%. Get your hearing tested. Treat your hearing loss appropriately for proper brain health throughout your life".

I would like to ask a question of aphoenix please. I would like to know why it would be that if you do not treat hearing loss, that would lead to dementia? I never heard about this before and my husband has quite bad hearing loss in one ear and it is not treated so far.
Many thanks.
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Hi there - we finally received the hearing aides for my mom. First pair was lost in the mail. My mother can put them in by herself as well as shut them off. Her expensive ones had to be opened to keep the batteries from dying. She says they amplify sounds and conversations are better, but there's a lack of clarity with her TV. They seem to be okay for now. She's been wearing them for a week- she said she probably won't wear them to the dining hall as all sounds are amplified. The brand is Britzgo. We purchased them on Jet.com. They are sold as hearing amplifiers. The ones we purchased, they seem to have many options were $54 each. There is no right or left ear which also works well for my mom.
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Chris - I wish we had known about that kind when Mom was with us! It makes sense that aids may not work well for tv. A neighbor told me she has earphones she uses for watching tv that work better than her hearing aids because they are clearer and filter out outside noise. I'm going to find out the brand and get a pair. Will post if they work out!
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I really appreciate all of the helpful suggestions. The repaired hearing aid is now missing in action. Unfortunately, we can't follow her around all day. I have an app't with Costco Audiology, the perform the test, and, while, the least expensive is $500 each, they do have guarantees again loss and breakage. Not sure what the decision will be but I think I'll try the Britzgo one, first. Thank you, ChrismSherman, for posting the results, and, everyone else, who offered their insight. I think her hearing loss is pretty profound so it's a mystery. Onward. I will post the results as we try different options!
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1 - seniors quite often put hearing aids in Kleenex then in pocket - gets tossed as an old used Kleenex by whoever does laundry because nobody looks inside an used Kleenex

2 - I would think the hearing loss to some who is used to hearing might mean less brain activity thence tipping the balance into dementia but I would think that both ears would need some loss -

I'm not a medical person but that makes sense to me maybe some knows more info & can please post it
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