Amazing!

[TheMailMan]

Yesterday I headed over to the VA to pick up my new ears. This is my first set of new hearing aids in about seven years.

I'm totally blown away with the sound quality of these things! They don't sound like hearing aids. I've been wearing hearing aids for about 20 years now and the technology is amazing.

Just as your cell phone is now a pocket computer that makes phone calls my new hearing aids are computers that help me hear.

I looked up the price of these little suckers and I'm damn glad I've got the VA.

So, anyway, if you're a Veteran with hearing problems and have been putting off getting hearing aids I strongly urge you to head in and get some. You don't have to have a service connected hearing problem to receive them either. The VA has acknowledged that the rate of hearing loss among Veterans is much higher than among the general population.

Also, if you're a Veteran with tinnitus and you haven't filed a claim you really should. If you had a MOS where you were exposed to noise it's pretty much a gimme. It's $140.05 a month of free money.

 

[JCC]

Congratulations! I am always glad to hear when the VA is taking care of our veterans the way they should.

I did see an advertisement for a lawsuit for earplugs that the military uses. Maybe the manufacturer of the earplugs.

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[nlam01]

What kind are they? Mine are Oticon and they are very fine tuned.

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[BRD@66]

My HAs are 3 years old & this describes the technology pretty well:

 

[Byrd666]

The modern hearing aides are awesome

They'll never give me a disability rating for my hearing though. Been fightin', and losin' that battle for so long, I just give up on it.

 

[avvidclif]

Don't give up. Recently a VFW member I know got hearing aids from the VA (last 3 months) and a 10% disability rating. The system has changed because my son got a new pair last year and they refused disability because the hearing aids fixed it. HUH!!!! I guess they think a prosthetic fixes the loss of a leg also.

 

[karlac]

It's $140.05 a month of free money.

Congratulations, thanks for the head sup and good to hear (NPI) the VA considers tinnitus SC.

That said, the older I get, and considering the battering many of our bodies took at the time, have a hard time looking at it as free.

 

[toddnjoyce]

That said, the older I get, and considering the battering many of our bodies took at the time, have a hard time looking at it as free.

Exactly.

 

[TheMailMan]

They are Siemens Signia.

I'm rated for hearing loss. 0%. You've got to have a pretty severe hearing loss to get even 10%. However the tinnitus is fairly easy and a lot of times you'll also get that 0% for hearing.

I did say free money kind of tongue in cheek. I know all too well that the money was earned and is earned every damn day. With a degenerative back condition like I have the VA treats me pretty well, that being said, I wish I could be healthy. Right now it feels like someone is jabbing me in the back with a knife. That's going to spread down my left leg sometime today. Oh joy.

 

[TheMailMan]

Don't give up. Recently a VFW member I know got hearing aids from the VA (last 3 months) and a 10% disability rating. The system has changed because my son got a new pair last year and they refused disability because the hearing aids fixed it. HUH!!!! I guess they think a prosthetic fixes the loss of a leg also.

Did he get a 0% for hearing loss or a denial?

 

[karlac]

They are Siemens Signia.

I'm rated for hearing loss. 0%. You've got to have a pretty severe hearing loss to get even 10%. However the tinnitus is fairly easy and a lot of times you'll also get that 0% for hearing.

I did say free money kind of tongue in cheek. I know all too well that the money was earned and is earned every damn day. With a degenerative back condition like I have the VA treats me pretty well, that being said, I wish I could be healthy. Right now it feels like someone is jabbing me in the back with a knife. That's going to spread down my left leg sometime today. Oh joy.

Know the feeling all too well, and fully understand about the percentage rating. IME, the extra money at 100% would be welcome, but not worth the extra 20% in what would have to be that much worse for me to get it ... except that it gets worse with time anyway.

 

[AustinN4]

What kind are they? Mine are Oticon and they are very fine tuned.

I have Oticons also. They are good in most situations, but I spend a lot of time outdoors and the wind noise gets amplified. Nobody can figure out how to tune just it out. And if I turn the volume down to tune it out I lose all the other stuff that I need out in the woods.

 

[nlam01]

I have Oticons also. They are good in most situations, but I spend a lot of time outdoors and the wind noise gets amplified. Nobody can figure out how to tune just it out. And if I turn the volume down to tune it out I lose all the other stuff that I need out in the woods.

Same problem here.

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[TipBledsoe]

I hem-hawed around and put it off too long and I'm getting my first set of hearing aids next week. The brand is Widex and the model is the Moment 440. Does anyone here have experience with these?

Younger folks: I urge you to protect your hearing.
Along with my hearing loss I have tinnitus and I sure hope they are worth the awful high price and I feel how the OP feels here.

I think this is a really monumental thought, yet maybe difficult for many to understand: As much problems as my hearing loss causes, what I miss the most is being able to hear SILENCE. I used to get great enjoyment from going outside early in the morning before the world wakes and just hear silence. Then hear the birds stirring and starting to sing.

I have a vested interest in improving my hearing.
My memory is still fresh about resisting conversation with my elderly parents and in-laws because they couldn't hear well - I don't want anyone to have that reason for not wanting to talk with me.
I have a granddaughter due any day now - I don't want to miss a single sound that comes from her.