Mum's hearing aids no. 2 part 2

So, when suitable, I made an appointment with 20dB. The audiologist, Ashley, kindly informed me of reserved parking bays for us to park in. She was patient and helpful throughout the consultation :)

At the outset, I told her of mum's main problem with the previous hearing aids.

 

Previously, it was the RIC type. It was a little difficult for her to attach them to her ears and more importantly, one side dropped twice. 

I thought the ITE type is suitable: it looks easier for mum to attach it because of its size. However, the audiologist said that its vulnerable to breakage if it drops. Also, its range of listening environments is at entry level, whereas for safety issue, we want greater range. (refer to this 20dB webpage).

Ashley recommended the BTE type where the transparent part that goes into the ear canal is customised to fit into the ear. Ashley demonstrated to mum how to attach it to her ear.

Results of the hearing test:

Bass = low-pitched sounds. Treble = high-pitched sound.

The hearing impairment is similar for both left and right ears. Mild to moderate impairment for bass. Severe impairment for treble. It's quite bad, isn't it? I recently wondered whether the instances that mum appear not to understand questions verbally asked of her were not due to cognitive impairment but rather hearing impairment.

Next decision is to pick hearing aid that has a charger ("C") or that requires regular change of battery ("B"). Comparison:

(1)  C: RM 10k. B: RM 8.4k, for the same range of listening environments. B needs to change battery at least once every 2 weeks (RM 8 per pair) and the silica gel at least once every 3 months (RM 5) if reuse it by microwaving it (otherwise, once a month).

(2)  C: last between 5 to 8 years before a new one is needed due to degradation of internal battery. B: last longer since its battery is regularly changed and thus no need to replace the device itself.

For both versions, the transparent piece has to replaced once it hardens and becomes yellowish, about once every 3 to 6 months. The replacement is FOC. 

Ashley suggested that if we opted for B, we can get the hearing aid with larger battery, which was what we aimed for mum to try out first. We also paid RM 85 x 2 to get customised ear mold for the trialed hearing aids so that mum can try out.