by Hope
I will be honest, I can’t remember my last hearing aid update. So I’m going to recap what all has happened and then tell you where I’m at now…
Recent History
I’ve known I needed new hearing aids for a little over a year now. The ones I have used for the last 3-4 years, also can’t remember, were not strong enough. And one of them stopped holding a charge for more than an hour. Became unbearable.
In August, I went to Sam’s Club and got a hearing test. And priced their hearing aids. Audiologist there referred me to an ENT after a plethora of tests indicating some unusual disconnects.
In September, finally got in to see an ENT. They required me to meet with their audiologist before meeting with the doctor. The two tests showed exactly the same results, with the questionable disconnects.
After doctor did some additional tests, he indicated that there is damage to the bones inside my ears. And that I could have surgery to repair them. But it wouldn’t restore my hearing, I’d still have to hearing aids for the rest of my life, but it would slow down the progression…maybe. I quickly opted out of the surgery option.
I met with their audiologist again and ordered the recommended hearing aids. But they would take a month to come in…so they graciously loaned me a pair for Beauty’s wedding.
New Hearing Aids
After I returned from Georgia, I got my new hearing aids. They were $4,600. The latest and greatest. They were one step down from the ones they had let me borrow.
I wore them for 29 days. I had 30 days to test them.
Overall, they were good. I could hear great, even in restuarants which I haven’t been able to hear in for almost a decade now.
HOWEVER…
At church and music concerts, no matter the volume or program, they had a staticy white noise, that hurt my ears. Nothing I tried would stop it. So I ended up having to turn them all in those situations.
At a check in, about two weeks in, I shared the experience with the audiologist and she was going to work with the manufacturer to figure it out…
I never heard back from her.
So I returned them 1 day before my review period ended. I will get a full refund.
More New Hearing Aids
The same day I returned them, I went to see the initial Sam’s Club audiologist. I trust him.
Told him my needs. And said I just don’t want to spend that kind of money for something that I am already having trouble with.
Now I am wearing a pair of $2,000 hearing aids, with a $250 upgrade to have rechargeable batteries. And I have until February to see if they do the trick…
It’s a process. But I want to spend the least to get what I needed. And I’m willing to test them out until I find the right fit.
(Oh, one more note, Dad bought me a pair of the Amazon hearing aids, around $200. They are TERRIBLE, don’t work at all for me. But we tried.)
I will keep you posted…
Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.
But life has a way of rewriting your plans.
A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.
Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.
Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.
She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.
