[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Rsenholzi

I went to an audiologist and got Oticon hearing aides. Extremely expensive but came with a 5 year contract. He spent 4 weeks just adjusting the aides to suit me - no cost. They are connected to my phone and I can adjust the sound myself at any time. They are. Put on a charger every night so no battery changes by me. I have had to have the dr change the battery once but again it was covered. I have severe tinnitus and while the aides are in my ears it goes away. Love them for that! They even decrease the background noise to some extent which is when I have my biggest loss of sound. I have had some problems with them clogging due to ear wax but he taught me how to change out the inside piece and gave me extras to do that. I am amazed how much I was missing like birds singing. I recommend you don’t listen to those that tell you to just forget getting them. Dementia has been traced to hearing loss as has many other diseases.

My audiologist told me how to effectively, safely clean the ear wax. You need an eye dropper, or a curved tip syringe (the better option), hydrogen peroxide (just the mundane strength from the pharmacy first aid aisle), a towel/wash cloth, and the sink.

Put around 2 capsful of peroxide into the syringe/dropper. Turn your head to the side so one ear is facing the ceiling and the other is against your shoulder. SLOWLY add the peroxide from the dropper/syringe, a few drops at a time, against the edge of your ear canal. You don't have to put the tip INTO your ear, just at the edge of where it curves in. Let it drip in naturally.

It'll sound horrible, and it'll itch. Keep going, until you sense that it's getting full. It'll be around 3/4 of what you put in the dropper (if you don't put enough, you'd be shoving air down there, which you don't want to do).

As the peroxide displaces the air, it'll continue feeling weird - but it won't hurt. It will still itch. Don't rub your ear. Just let it itch a couple of minutes.

Then - bend forward over the sink and turn your head so your peroxide ear drains out into the sink. Use the towel/washcloth to DAB your outer ear dry.

Repeat with the other ear.

Do this once every month, for normal ear wax cleaning. Don't do it more frequently than that unless your doctor suggests that you do - if you have especially waxy ears. Usually they will say you can do it once every 3 weeks instead of once every 4 weeks.

If you do this every month for several months, you'll find you need it less often in the future.

[Gginajijic]

For pre-purchase research, check out u-Tube videos from Dr. Cliff. He is an audiologist in Arizona and reviews all the top brands. Has several videos on Costco and major hearing aid manufacturers. If your current hearing aids are not working for you, there are options available without buying new hearing aids. One is seeing an Doctor of Audiology and getting refitted. The Villages Health has an audiologist at every location.

[sdheindel]

Can you share your hearing aid make and audiologist? Thanks, been using costco hearing aid for 5+years and time to upgrade