CROS Hearing Aids - Where to Buy and Comparison?

freefall101 on 17/06/2022 - 15:06

I've been deaf in one ear since I was a baby, just ignored it, but had a hearing test today and they really recommended a CROS hearing aid - basically microphone on one side pumps audio into a hearing aid on the other.

Went to Hearing Australia, grabbed the pamphlet on prices, figured I'd check out online what they're all like and immediately got lost. Hearing Australia don't give you model numbers, not even a brand, just features and a "fair, good, great" rating scale. Considering they're from $990 to $7500, not very useful.

Anyone have experience with hearing aids and how not to get screwed on price? Or how to even figure out which ones Hearing Australia are selling?

Find Me A Bargain Hearing Aid

Comments

  • Muzeeb on 17/06/2022 - 15:40

    Sorry!

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 17/06/2022 - 15:52

    Obviously the more you pay, the better they should be. My Partners were @ $3000 a pair. They've already been replaced once?

  • Third_Gear on 17/06/2022 - 15:59
    +1

    Ive gone through this process and went with a set from Hearing Savers and claimed the bulk back on private health. About $2k all up but I negotiated a bit on price to bring it down.

    Paying the bit extra for rechargeable ones is worth it. They will tell you about being able to stream music and talk hands free etc to the good ear but it doesn’t work very well due to the type of speaker that is used. Too tinny. Don’t get caught up on all the features that they can supply for app integration. You will likely never use it.

    I only wear them when I’m going out and if I know I’m going to be in a crowded area such as a restaurant etc to help with hearing. They work OK but I would say don’t get your expectations up too high.

    My left is deaf with Tinnitus and my right is fine btw.

    Oh if they don’t offer you 30 days or more to try them and return for a full refund don’t bother. Your brain takes a while to figure out what is going on. Need min 30 days. Costco is 3 months but they don’t sell CROS.

    And they don’t help with sound location or hearing anything in Stereo. Which won’t be an issue for you as you have never had that. I really do miss sound location and stereo music!!

    Good luck and feel free to ask any questions you may have.

    • freefall101 on 17/06/2022 - 17:06

      Thanks so much for this! Great info. Good to know about the addons not being worth much, I was wondering about using them instead of my earbuds for music or for taking calls at work, will probably just stick to using headphones.

      Hearing Australia only offered 2 weeks of a trial, definitely will try elsewhere. I also realised most CROS ones have a normal hearing aid then a specific CROS one, they tried selling me on two hearing aids which looks a lot more pricey.

      And they don’t help with sound location or hearing anything in Stereo. Which won’t be an issue for you as you have never had that. I really do miss sound location and stereo music!!

      When someone first explained stereo to me it completely blew my mind! I think it was only when surround sound started becoming something available at home and I couldn't figure out what it was for.

      • Third_Gear on 17/06/2022 - 22:06
        +1

        Yeah hearing aids absolutely suck for music. I thought I would be able to happily stream audiobooks to my good ear the sound quality just isn't there. If you have no hearing in one ear there is zero point in having amplification in that ear…

        Every audiologist used to offer 30 days as a minimum but that seems to have been reduced as of late. I have found that most of them will sell you whatever the most expensive is as that is more money for them. Another thing to check is whoever you are going with do they charge you for each visit. Ideally you buy the hearing aids and get unlimited access for free to get them set up etc as you go. I had an excellent experience with Hearing Savers but that was becuase I knew exactly what I wanted due to experience with hearing aids and research.

        *** Edit

        I forgot to say. With hearing aids you have various fitting options and these days it is quite common to get them so they have a silicon tip much like in ear buds. I find those more confortable than the ones that are specifically molded to your ears. If you are used to wearing in ear buds (like Sennheiser CX series) they feel the same and you can get a few different tip sizes to adjust up/down as you like.

  • Quantumcat on 17/06/2022 - 16:04
    +1

    Something else you can look at is BAHA (bone anchored hearing aid). You get something drilled into your skull on your deaf side and you plug a little box into it. It transmits the sound through your skull for your other ear to pick up. I have been interested for a long time but never got around to talking to a specialist (ear nose and throat surgeon).

    • panda123 on 17/06/2022 - 16:18
      +1

      Agree that this could also be an option to look into. Your local implanting centre should provide you with a trial of a BAHA on a headband in addition to a CROS, so you can make a comparison and make a decision for yourself. I've found (I am an audiologist) that not many patients enjoy wearing a CROS as it can be difficult to get used to.

      • Quantumcat on 17/06/2022 - 16:37
        +2

        I used to wear a hearing aid as a kid (until I was too old for free ones) and I don't think I ever got used to it. I used to find it too loud and would turn it down and then a few hours into the day find that I'd turned it all the way off.

        It was really useful for pissing off my grade 4 teacher though. When she told me to stop reading I'd not look at her at all but simply reach up and switch off my hearing aid and continue reading. She would go absolutely bonkers 🤣

    • freefall101 on 17/06/2022 - 17:08
      +1

      Thanks, didn't know it was a thing, didn't come up at all. Honestly, the tiny size of the CROS ones these days and the lack of wires, plus not wanting to go through the surgery, has me leaning towards CROS. Definitely something I'll find out a bit more on though, cheers.

  • Benoffie on 17/06/2022 - 18:53

    There are essentially two options and you may be able to utilise both - NDIS and Hearing Services Australia

    https://hearingservices.gov.au/wps/portal/hso/site/eligibili…

    Vouchers can be redeemed anywhere. My partner gets his audiologist to run the tests, recommend a product, trial them and then they buy from Hearing Savers online.

    Guaranteed to a) peeve your audiologist who is no doubt charging more and b) get max bang for buck through this method.

    You cannot double dip though. If you claim with a voucher, you cannot claim with NDIS and vv. NDIS can be a pain to get on but is good if you have life long disability and are under 65 years old.

  • Some Human on 17/06/2022 - 18:59

    I got hearing aids because my hearing is what I describe as blurry - I lost my high range quite some time ago. They only seem to have assisted in amplifying annoying sounds such as children screaming at the shops or that annoying beeping sound at maccas. Without them I don't notice these sounds. Work is too loud to have them in, so people have just learned to talk louder to me. Cupping my ear also helps. Haven't worn my aids for like 2 years. 4k basically wasted.

    3/10 would not recommend hearing aids.

  • pharkurnell on 17/06/2022 - 19:29

    Some really good info here… first hand as well. which is unusual..

  • jujube32 on 17/06/2022 - 20:57

    Have you checked out Costco? Heard they might be cheaper there.

    • Third_Gear on 17/06/2022 - 22:09
      +1

      Costco hearing services are second to none in my opinion but they don't do CROS systems unfortunately. They don't get paid a commission on the sale of the hearing aids and their Kirkland brand (rebadged Resound I believe) our about 1/2 the price of anything else for the exact same thing. They work to find the hearing device that is best suited to you, and your budget, as opposed to the most expensive thing they can sell.

  • dasa on 18/06/2022 - 10:04
    +2

    I have been using signia and definetly do not recommend, their aids are crap and trying to get any help from them is a nightmare

  • Sandys on 24/06/2022 - 09:05

    My dad recently went to Costco for a hearing test and audiologist recommended either Kirkland hearing aid ($1800) or Rexton ($2400) Main difference is battery life.

    Kirkland 15 hours v Rexton 35 hours. Couple of other features that aren't that important to him although the Rexton has a travel charger whereas the Kirkland just has a charger. Audiologist reckoned that having to charge up less often might mean the Rexton has a longer lifespan than the 3-5 years both aids claim.

    Never having had a hearing aid before, he's not sure if he needs one for 35 hrs or if 15hr charge is plenty.

    If it makes any difference, he struggles to differentiate words (eg beagle sounds like treacle) rather than needs sound amplified. Tinnitus in one ear.

    Any suggestions to help us make our decision?

  • hooray on 24/06/2022 - 15:29

    I have profound hearing loss. I have been using hearing aids for 15 years. I now use Spec Savers Audio for the last two pair . They sell Brand names in a plain brown wrapper for supposedly half price my health society gives me $1500 towards the cost

    By the way hearing aids are really easy to lose

    • freefall101 on 24/06/2022 - 15:40

      Somehow I get my glasses from Specsavers but didn't know they did hearing aids! Thanks, I might give them a shot as they look pretty good on cost and service (90 day return period sounds excellent).

      Wish I'd heard of them first, I paid $99 to Hearing Australia for the test too.

      Any idea what brand it actually is that they sell? I've done a tonne of reading on how they work and specifics on each one, I've found the top end ones likely wouldn't offer me any benefit for my day to day life when digging into the technical specs, but it varies a lot between brands on what they do or don't include.

      • hooray on 25/06/2022 - 14:43

        the brand changes probably by whatever company gives the the best deal. the previous ones were Resound but my latest pair I dont know. They will tell you though

  • freefall101 on 01/08/2022 - 16:53

    Just in case anyone ever comes back to this thread, just had my specsavers ones fitted. It was a good experience and to top it off the ones I asked for were on backorder so they upgraded me to the next model up for free (got a $2,495 set for $1,995, not bad). And they weren't interested in upselling me - talking to the audiologist they're not on commission so they don't really care what they sell, unlike other places I talked to where they jump straight to the top end of the range on pricing (I had one place tell me I should pick from the $5k or $7k set, specsavers said that was rubbish for cros).

    Also got a zillion batteries, rubber tips, wax filters, a couple of storage cases, etc. The non-rechargeable version is a lot cheaper and they gave me over 12 months worth of batteries, considering they only need to be changed once a week or so I figure it's more convenient too than charging nightly.

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