Recommendations for audiologist and hearing aids? (Huntsville, Madison: insurance, how much, house)

[FTG-05]

My hearing has gotten really bad the last couple of months, to the point that I'm missing out on conversations or constantly have to ask people to repeat what they just said. Irritating as crap for both sides of the question.


So does anyone have a recommendation for a good audiologist and/or hearing aid specialist? I'm really looking for someone that can take a good good hearing test, come up with a good prescription and not just want to high pressure-sell me some hearing aids. Yea, I want the world, sue me.




Whatcha got?


Thanks,

[AU HSV]

https://nalent.com/

[dwhisent]

Depends on what you need and how much you want to spend. I use nalent as AU HSV linked above, and am satisfied with my ENT doc. But, you will pay the max price for hearing aids there. This last time I went there and got a copy of my hearing test and ordered my aids online, saved a few thousand dollars (my insurance pays nothing for them). But, you don't get local support, which might be important for your first set.
You might also consider going to Costco, they can run a hearing test and provide aids.

[take57]

Save yourself time, money and hassle and just go to Costco. Testing is often superior to a private practice (Costco has the cash to buy nothing but the best in terms of diagnostic equipment) The techs probably see more people in a week than a private practice sees in a month, so very little is going to get passed them. The house brand aids themselves are made by one of three companies that serve the entire planet usually at half the cost elsewhere.

I suffer hearing loss working in the entertainment business I often worked in recording studios so I have a pretty good idea from frequent testing I did for professional reasons the difference of a good test vs. a bad one . Unless you have a profound loss or there's something else going on Costco will meet or exceed your needs. I get blowback from audiologists about recommending Costco, and what they won't tell you is how much money and business they are losing to Costco. It's a lot and they are not happy about so they'll often be less than honest about the quality of work coming out of Costco's Hearing Centers.

I'm willing to bet before this thread is closed there will be some "professional" talking down about Costco. Don't listen to them.

[tn_native]

I use Anita Giles as my audiologist and have for at least 6 years. I have a $2500 insurance benefit every 3 years, but that doesn't pay for even one quality hearing aid (at least it's something). You have 6 months appts to check that everything is OK. I really like her. Hearing re-checks every year allow for hearing aids to be tweaked to your current needs. I also like the trial period for new hearing aids. Three weeks for you to use new ones before deciding it's not for you, or it's perfect. If it wasn't for you, a different type is tried for the next 'trial period' until it's just right.
https://www.healthyhearing.com/heari...associates-p-c

[MisterEd51]

I also go to North Alabama ENT Associates as mentioned previously. I have had several hearing tests there. Unfortunately, even though my insurance pays for my visits there and the hearing tests done they will not pay for hearing aids from them. They do have coverage for hearing aids but I had to go to the place the plan designates. The default choice was hearing aids that used disposable batteries. I opted to pay extra for hearing aids that had rechargeable batteries.

[Southlander]

North Alabama Audiology, 256-534-2033
Charles Taylor is a degreed and licensed audiology who is constantly updating his training.
I highly recommend him.

[FTG-05]

Originally Posted by take57

Save yourself time, money and hassle and just go to Costco. Testing is often superior to a private practice (Costco has the cash to buy nothing but the best in terms of diagnostic equipment) The techs probably see more people in a week than a private practice sees in a month, so very little is going to get passed them. The house brand aids themselves are made by one of three companies that serve the entire planet usually at half the cost elsewhere.

I suffer hearing loss working in the entertainment business I often worked in recording studios so I have a pretty good idea from frequent testing I did for professional reasons the difference of a good test vs. a bad one . Unless you have a profound loss or there's something else going on Costco will meet or exceed your needs. I get blowback from audiologists about recommending Costco, and what they won't tell you is how much money and business they are losing to Costco. It's a lot and they are not happy about so they'll often be less than honest about the quality of work coming out of Costco's Hearing Centers.

I'm willing to bet before this thread is closed there will be some "professional" talking down about Costco. Don't listen to them.

I'm not a professional, but I'll talk down Costco for one simple reason: Locked Hearing Aids. If you don't know what locked hearing aids are, then you have no business giving advice on the subject. Nothing personal/no offense.




Ended up selecting Dr. Susan at Alabama Hearing Associates in Madison (first office complex west of the Catbird landscape place on Hwy 20). They have an office in Huntsville as well.

I picked her office because she follows hearing aid Best Practices, including selling only unlocked hearing aids and doing Real Ear Measurement tests as part of the fitting process. Google "hearing aid best practices" as to why this is important.

Bought the Oticon More #1s due to pretty severe hearing loss.

Very very happy with the results.

[dwhisent]

Since you didn't share, I'll answer. A locked hearing aid can only be reprogrammed by the place that sells it to you. This is not necessarily a big deal. I bought mine online (unlocked), so it was good that they were, because the highly rated place I purchased them went out of business. But even though they were unlocked, I had to pay an audiologist $250 to reprogram them. I consider that fair since they need to be paid for their service. I still came out ahead, as I saved almost $2000 by buying them online.
But I suspect it wouldn't bother folks who buy them at Costco to be required to go to Costco to reprogram them. If you get hearing aids (locked or unlocked) from pretty much anywhere (locally or online), if you want them reprogrammed somewhere other than where you bought them you will have to pay a fee, so typically you would take them to the same place where you bought them anyway.

[chucksnee]

Well, here are .02 cents. I know that "whatever" company you use, the base settings are to be made at "that" office, as mine was (or some office), however, with mine, I had an app. that I could go into and adjust loudness, bass, treble, and also had 4 or 5 presets for different situations.