I've finally wised up and decided to get my hearing-aid batteries from a less expensive source than my local pharmacy. There are a lot of battery sites on the web, but the best I've found for hearing aids so far is Microbattery.com. In addition to a huge choice of small batteries for all kinds of devices ranging from wrist watches to digital cameras to electronic dog collars, the site offers a comprehensive selection of hearing-aid batteries from all the top vendors. It promises to be the lowest-price supplier, and it offers comparative data if you are inclined to shop on performance as well as price, with a great rating chart based on surveys of users of the life of different hearing-aid brands and sizes when used by real customers wearing different models of hearing aids. I've decided to stick with my Duracell 13's, partly because in an earlier life Duracell was a client of mine, but also because I like their plastic cases. I can't get the four-pack holder which I prefer at my local CVS Pharmacy, so the fact it's available online is a bonus. Plus you can't beat the price. Whereas CVS sells two eight packs for $14.59, or 91 cents per battery, Microbattery.com sells a lone four pack for $2.96 (74 cents per battery) and a carton of 10 four packs for $24.95 (62 cents per battery).
Posted by David on Sep 18, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)
Hatis Assistive Listening Devices Make Hearing Aids Phone- and iPod-Friendly
To listen to an iPod or communicate successfully on the phone, even on my most powerful amplified phone, I need to hear with both ears. I've found the best way to accomplish that trick is with a line of products from Hatis that plug into my iPod and my phones. They have ear hooks that hang behind my ears and transmit directly into my telecoil-equipped hearing aids. Hatis products can plug into your cell phone with a 2.5 mm jack or into your iPod, CD player or other device with a 3.5 mm jack. Their silhouette ear hooks are slim, broad and flat, and their patented technology provides better transmission through the telecoils than any other silhouette product I've tried. These products are a godsend, because without binaural listening assistance in stereo, I can't use the phone, at least not for normal business conversations.
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Posted by David on May 2, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)
Invisible CIC Hearing Aids, High-Fashion Italian Designer Shoes, And Me
Buying a pair of hearing aids can be like shopping for a new pair of expensive designer shoes: you've got to get exactly the right fit; they have to be sturdy and comfortable enough to wear all day; but you want them to look really
good as well. It's not an easy combination, especially the part about looking good. In 1998 I got my first pair of the completely-in-the canal (CIC) Senso hearing aids from Widex. I realize now I put fashion higher on the list over function than I should have at the time. They Widex CICs sure looked good -- the pioneering Senso product would go on to win international consumer-product design awards -- and they were invisible in my ear. But I always had feedback problems with them, and while they stayed snugly in my ear, they weren't exactly what I would call comfortable, especially at the end of a 16-hour day. It was just like the Italian-suit phase I went through in the early '80s, when people still dressed up for business. Boy did I look terrific, and they made me feel like a million bucks.... except for the shoes.
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Posted by David on Dec 8, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)
Turn Down The Volume On Your IPOD
So now it's Apple Computer's IPOD. The London Evening Standard this week published a warning issued by the Royal National Institute of the Deaf in the U.K. that London commuters are permanently deafening themselves by turning up the volumes on their IPODs to drown out the noise in the city's underground subway system. The report says that with 39 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds listening to personal stereo headphones or earpods, an entire generation is at risk of developing early hearing loss. The institute has started a website, www.dontlosethemusic.com, to give consumers information and tips on how to prevent early hearing loss: First, turn down the volume. And if there's too much noise in the tube, wear earplugs. Seems like pretty simple advice. But survey after survey shows consumers, especially young people, routinely ignore or simply don't hear it. A recent study of MTV viewers by Harvard Medical School found that only eight percent regarded potential hearing loss as a significant long-term health problem, while more than twice that number put acne at the top of their list. More troubling, fully 61 percent reported having experienced tinnitus, or ringing in their ears, after attending concerts -- a common symptom from prolonged exposure to noise levels high enough to permanently damage hearing. However there is good news: 66 percent said they would use earplugs if they were aware of the potential for hearing loss in certain situations. So, spread the word.
Posted by David on May 13, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
