front and rear microphones?[/quotew]
Normally all 4 microphone produce sounds from all around but is someone talks at the front then the rear mics are muted a little and the same for the sides.QuoteAre you talking about a hearing aid you bought, or one you sell/fit? Could you provide a bit more info?I tried the latest Widex hearing aids but I did not like the sound. Then I tried the latest Phonak hearing aids and they sound wonderful so I bought them with a pretty good discount.QuoteSome "direct to consumer" hearing aids sold in the US are listed here..
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4755807/table/T1/QuoteWhat do you think about their critiques?I think they are trying to say that US consumers should be able to get a wider choice given the falling prices of electronics generally.Bangood also sells a cheap hearing aid that is good for almost nothing. You need to have a free 3 months demo Like I did. During the demo the equalization and a few other features were adjusted to my taste.QuoteAs far as tuning, some of that could likely be performed by a "wizard" (part of the software) Some but perhaps not all. Since some hearing loss is likely caused by Rx drugs, a patients doctor should be in the loop - maybe a prescription some older person is taking might be aggravating their hearing loss?Drugs? I had a heart attack before getting hearing aids and took and still take asprin, a blood pressure reducer and a cholesterol reducer like most old people do. I need the drugs to stay healthy and since my hearing failed so slowly and not suddenly then I doubt they caused my "normal" hearing loss.Quote.... hearing aid affordability ....My hearing aids were expensive but I wanted them and I could pay for them so I did pay for them. My government payed 25% because I have low income and am old.
I forgot to say that my hearing aids pickup a magnetic telephone signal from one of them and plays the equalized sounds in both hearing aids. They can also receive Bluetooth audio from a TV, stereo or remote microphone.
Poor people need and want many things I have but why should taxpayers give them these things for free?
OK, but I found in USA, Cosco has pair(2) of highly customer rated aids for $1800 with super liberal return period. I have decided when the time comes (soon) that is who I will use. Forget the 4,6,8 thousand brands.
QuoteWhy are hearing aids so expensive? $2000 or more is just nuts for what is essentially an audio amplifier.
They don't have to be super-miniaturized, really. just work well.
Thanks, my thoughts exactly....surely there is an off the shelf hearing aid i can buy for a reasonable price....or even off the shelf integrated amplifiers etc that i can just solder together?...even if it has a tuning screw to tune the frequency?
A while back there was a discussion about contests..
This would be a good project for a design contest..
people could design a DSP hearing aid and then the winning design, there could be a second contest to miniaturize it?
(presbyacusis) effects nearly everybody later in life to some degree.
Do you remember the names of the drugs they gave you and what they were for? Were they for tinnitus
I can remember pregabalin, amitriptylene, and believe it or not some anti psychotics. They were all used at much lower than normal doses for their side affects rather than main conditions. None were specific for tinnitus, just known to help in some people. None of them helped with my tinnitus.
(presbyacusis) effects nearly everybody later in life to some degree.
Do you remember the names of the drugs they gave you and what they were for? Were they for tinnitus?
It seems to me that the combination of small size, sophisticated DSP and low power some of the cutting edge could be jettisoned to allow people to have a cheap high functioning hearing aid for less.
Sorry deleted too many quote controls, should have looked like.
A friend of mine works for a company that produces hearing aid transceivers (oddly enough they just call them receivers).
He is actually R&D engineer there.
Guess what the cost when they leave the factory including profit..............................?
And than you have actually a very decent model.
He said that 2-3 bucks is absolute tops.
So a middle man in between is filling his pockets very well.
I have been working as an acoustic engineer pretty much my whole career, and I can also tell that everything more than $100-200 is absolute nuts.
I probably had to be a bit more clear. I am in between engineering and marketing the last few years. So I do have a very good sence about these things.
I also do follow your arguments, but I always find some of them a bad excuse. The fact that your company has to be that expensive is not the customers business. It means you're bad in running a business. Normally that's not an issue because there are enough competitors who make sure there is enough choice.
In this case I know that in some fields (like hearing aids) prices are being kept high. Years ago I even went to a few lectures about exactly this issue.
Because let's be honest, the cost of running a shop for these kind of things are not much higher than any other shop. If you can't earn enough with only haring aids, simply sell other stuff as well or try to come up with a format that makes it cheaper (like an online store or available on amazon or something)
Your is more a general term. So your as in 'a company' or 'people' (something)
Maybe it's a matter of speech that some languages/people/cultures are not used to.
Sorry for the confusion.
Ones you have your prescription, you can buy your glasses online (this is what I meant with 'Amazon').
You can use exactly the same idea for hearing aids.
Btw, you really don't need 'very special dedicated' rooms anymore to check someones hearing.
Same goes for the equipment.
I bet some companies still do, but that's really old fashioned.
I am member of the AES and I have seen proposals to do this even on a way so people can do a decent test at home.
Not saying it's there yet, but it gives a good picture what the possibilities are.
Indeed, but to get to that point you need specialists with special knowledge and special equipment - and that's the expense.
I'd like to see you reliably create moulds of your own ears.
I don't know what is inside/outside of your definition of "very"; that wasn't a term I used.
But you appear to be arguing that hearing could be tested in general shop with general noise levels and distractions. Please give an indication of how that could be done - because the shops I go into aren't like that.
http://www.aes.org/
About the mould, I personally think that part is a bit overlooked, it's mostly just for comfort.
Btw, you can make these moulds yourself, pretty cheap and easy.
It's even being done for hearing protection plugs/buds.
I also really don't see why you need such a super fancy acoustic threaded room.
The background noise simply needs to be low enough, the numbers are a bit rusty, but out of my head that should be something like 24-40dB(a) or thereabouts.
This can be very easily done in a standard room with a proper headphone.
I have discussed this with quite some engineers in the field (went to a bunch of lectures about this subject).
The only thing I remember is that the market is kind of a locked environment.
So it's very hard to get in as an outsider.
Ones again, there is no rocket science in measuring it.
My friend the former drug company CEO gave me this example around twelve years ago.
According to her a five minute dipstick medical test for a crippling disease thats making inroads in the US - that costs less than $1 in Mexico might cost $700 in the US.
The actual tests might originate from the same factory, be sold and interpreted by two subsidiaries of / by the same company! And in fact BE the exact same test.
http://www.aes.org/
So an engineering society rather than medical or human factors or business. I have no concept of its relationship with "audiophools", but I bet most of its members have good hearing and are therefore not aware of the realities of hearing deficiencies and what's necessary to correct them.QuoteAbout the mould, I personally think that part is a bit overlooked, it's mostly just for comfort.
False, pure and simple. It is a critical part of the deafaid and significantly affects its performance.QuoteBtw, you can make these moulds yourself, pretty cheap and easy.
It's even being done for hearing protection plugs/buds.
You might be able to, but I presume that is an unproven assertion. Getting randomers off the street to reliably inject mould material into their own ear canal and then remove it is a rather different proposition.QuoteI also really don't see why you need such a super fancy acoustic threaded room.
Please stop inventing strawman arguments, it doesn't reflect well on the rest of your assertions. You are the only one inventing the concept of a "super duper" room.QuoteThe background noise simply needs to be low enough, the numbers are a bit rusty, but out of my head that should be something like 24-40dB(a) or thereabouts.
This can be very easily done in a standard room with a proper headphone.
Correct. The practical issue in a retail context is that such a room would have to be dedicated to this - so the retail "lost opportunity" cost is expensive.QuoteI have discussed this with quite some engineers in the field (went to a bunch of lectures about this subject).
They only see part of the issues; medical and human factors issues are equally (if not more) important.QuoteThe only thing I remember is that the market is kind of a locked environment.
So it's very hard to get in as an outsider.
So fix the market! Trying to use technology to fix non-technical problems usually fails.QuoteOnes again, there is no rocket science in measuring it.
You overestimate the competence of average members of the public doing strange and novel activities.
http://www.aes.org/
So an engineering society rather than medical or human factors or business. I have no concept of its relationship with "audiophools", but I bet most of its members have good hearing and are therefore not aware of the realities of hearing deficiencies and what's necessary to correct them.I am sorry, but calling members of the AES just some "audiophools" with only engineering skills and having no knowledge in the medical world, clearly shows you have very little knowledge about this subject.
http://www.aes.org/
So an engineering society rather than medical or human factors or business. I have no concept of its relationship with "audiophools", but I bet most of its members have good hearing and are therefore not aware of the realities of hearing deficiencies and what's necessary to correct them.I am sorry, but calling members of the AES just some "audiophools" with only engineering skills and having no knowledge in the medical world, clearly shows you have very little knowledge about this subject.
Which part of "I have no concept of its relationship with "audiophools"" do you not understand? It seems English is not your first language. Maybe that is the reason for yet another strawman argument.
I also notice you have chosen not to address the other, principally non-technical, points.