[Tweeters] Hearing Aids
STEVEN harper via Tweeters
tweeters at u.washington.edu
Mon Aug 11 13:14:01 PDT 2025
I also went with the Costco Phillips brand hearing aid which were a great deal and included a charger as well as all of the free cleanings and other benefits. I did a lot of research before buying these 18 months ago and I discovered that the top of the line hearing aids from Oticon, Phillips, Widex and other brands amplify sounds between 8,000 and 10,000 Hz while the less expensive models only amplify sound up to 8,000 Hz as they are really designed primarily for hearing human voices. Another thing I discovered is that the top of the line Oticon (Real 3) and the Costco Phillips brand are manufactured by the same manufacturer but sold under different brand names. I requested detailed specifications for both of these brands from my Audiologist and from Costco and the specifications for the top of the line Oticon and the Phillips from Costco were identical. I don’t mean similar I mean absolutely identical.
One other thing my wife and I have discovered (she has Widex hearing aids) is that using the music setting on your app for the hearing aids allows one to hear way more birds as this setting picks up sounds from all directions and not just toward the front. A very noticeable difference. Of course they pick up all of the other sounds as well.
> On Aug 11, 2025, at 12:01 PM, via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
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> 1. Re: Hearing Aids for Birding? (Bob Boekelheide via Tweeters)
> 2. Re: Hearing Aids for Birding? (Diann MacRae via Tweeters)
> 3. Re: Hearing Aids for Birding? (Tom Benedict via Tweeters)
> 4. My favorite Merlin non-ID oddity (Joshua Hayes via Tweeters)
> 5. Bike ride bird (Kevin Lucas via Tweeters)
> 6. Re: Hearing Aids for Birding? (Zora Monster via Tweeters)
> 7. Re: Hearing Aids for Birding? (Jim Betz via Tweeters)
> 8. RFI Binocular sources (via Tweeters)
> 9. Re: RFI Binocular sources (Zora Monster via Tweeters)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2025 13:56:05 -0700
> From: Bob Boekelheide via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> To: jimbetz at jimbetz.com, Tweeters Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Hearing Aids for Birding?
> Message-ID: <EA0DA0D7-3121-4A8A-AFC7-130D3636FFA7 at olympus.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Hi Jim,
>
> I use Phillips hearing aids I bought at Costco, which work very well for me. At Costco they have ?hearing aid specialists,? not audiologists. Before buying mine, I visited both an official audiologist as well as a Costco hearing aid store, both of which gave me what seemed like virtually identical hearing tests with virtually the same results. The main difference was that the Phillips hearing aids at Costco cost $1500 and the other hearing aids through the commercial store cost $4500 - $6000. Just like the more expensive hearing aids, the Phillips use a cell phone app to choose different ?programs? and sound levels, as well as an equalizer to adjust frequencies within each program. The app works very well, recently updated to increase its speed. I hate to sound like a Costco commercial, but it seemed like a no-brainer to buy the ones at Costco, which include free cleanings without an appointment and regular free appointments for adjustments and updates.
>
> When I first went in, I jokingly told the ?specialist? that my measure of success is to hear Golden-crowned Kinglets 100 feet up in the Doug-firs. I was losing high-frequency hearing above 3000 Hz, which these hearing aids definitely help. I?ve been very pleased, but?. I can now hear Golden-crowned Kinglets surprisingly well when they are nearby, but, dang it, I still have trouble hearing them 100 feet up in the Doug-firs. When I?m with some young birding friends with excellent hearing, my friends occasionally hear some high-pitched voices way up there that I struggle to hear. Maybe I?m asking too much, but the frequencies seem to top out at about 8000 Hz, even when adjusted with the equalizer. But it's a lot better than it used to be. There are a whole lot of bird sounds between 3000 and 8000 Hz.
>
> The other problem with hearing aids is they amplify all sounds, not just the birds you want to hear. So rivers, highways, footsteps, people talking, etc, are louder as well, sometimes getting in the way of hearing the birds.
>
> Hope this helps,
> Bob Boekelheide
> Dungeness
>
>
> From: Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu <mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu>>
> Subject: [Tweeters] Hearing Aids for Birding?
> Date: August 9, 2025 at 10:22:23?AM PDT
> To: via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu <mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu>>
> Reply-To: jimbetz at jimbetz.com <mailto:jimbetz at jimbetz.com>
>
>
> Hi,
>
> I'm interested in knowing what others experience is with hearing aids
> and the use of them for birding. Please include brand names for the aids
> you have used/are using. Also please share how well/not so well they
> are for the purposes of birding. Thanks!
> - Jim in Skagit
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2025 23:44:59 +0200
> From: Diann MacRae via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> To: tweeters t <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Hearing Aids for Birding?
> Message-ID:
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2025 16:01:37 -0700
> From: Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> To: Tweeters Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Hearing Aids for Birding?
> Message-ID: <17655C68-C01E-4531-B095-EFB127445176 at comcast.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
>> When I?m with some young birding friends with excellent hearing, my friends occasionally hear some high-pitched voices way up there that I struggle to hear. Maybe I?m asking too much, but the frequencies seem to top out at about 8000 Hz, even when adjusted with the equalizer. But it's a lot better than it used to be.
>
> Yup. The audiologist I used told me ?I cannot restore hearing. Once it is lost it is gone. What I can do is improve what is left."
>
>> The other problem with hearing aids is they amplify all sounds, not just the birds you want to hear. So rivers, highways, footsteps, people talking, etc, are louder as well, sometimes getting in the way of hearing the birds.
>
> Among other things. Who knew that slippers were so loud? And the sound of wind hitting the windshield while driving! I stopped wearing my hearing aids at dinner and when loud talkers are around. I?m a nervous and anxious type in general and have grown accustomed to my ?quiet? so don?t use the hearing aids unless I?m going to a presentation or music performance.
>
> Tom Benedict
> Seahurst, WA
>
>> On Aug 10, 2025, at 13:56, Bob Boekelheide via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Jim,
>>
>> I use Phillips hearing aids I bought at Costco, which work very well for me. At Costco they have ?hearing aid specialists,? not audiologists. Before buying mine, I visited both an official audiologist as well as a Costco hearing aid store, both of which gave me what seemed like virtually identical hearing tests with virtually the same results. The main difference was that the Phillips hearing aids at Costco cost $1500 and the other hearing aids through the commercial store cost $4500 - $6000. Just like the more expensive hearing aids, the Phillips use a cell phone app to choose different ?programs? and sound levels, as well as an equalizer to adjust frequencies within each program. The app works very well, recently updated to increase its speed. I hate to sound like a Costco commercial, but it seemed like a no-brainer to buy the ones at Costco, which include free cleanings without an appointment and regular free appointments for adjustments and updates.
>>
>> When I first went in, I jokingly told the ?specialist? that my measure of success is to hear Golden-crowned Kinglets 100 feet up in the Doug-firs. I was losing high-frequency hearing above 3000 Hz, which these hearing aids definitely help. I?ve been very pleased, but?. I can now hear Golden-crowned Kinglets surprisingly well when they are nearby, but, dang it, I still have trouble hearing them 100 feet up in the Doug-firs. When I?m with some young birding friends with excellent hearing, my friends occasionally hear some high-pitched voices way up there that I struggle to hear. Maybe I?m asking too much, but the frequencies seem to top out at about 8000 Hz, even when adjusted with the equalizer. But it's a lot better than it used to be. There are a whole lot of bird sounds between 3000 and 8000 Hz.
>>
>> The other problem with hearing aids is they amplify all sounds, not just the birds you want to hear. So rivers, highways, footsteps, people talking, etc, are louder as well, sometimes getting in the way of hearing the birds.
>>
>> Hope this helps,
>> Bob Boekelheide
>> Dungeness
>>
>>
>> From: Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu <mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu>>
>> Subject: [Tweeters] Hearing Aids for Birding?
>> Date: August 9, 2025 at 10:22:23?AM PDT
>> To: via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu <mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu>>
>> Reply-To: jimbetz at jimbetz.com <mailto:jimbetz at jimbetz.com>
>>
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I'm interested in knowing what others experience is with hearing aids
>> and the use of them for birding. Please include brand names for the aids
>> you have used/are using. Also please share how well/not so well they
>> are for the purposes of birding. Thanks!
>> - Jim in Skagit
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Tweeters mailing list
>> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2025 23:30:12 +0000
> From: Joshua Hayes via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> To: "tcstonefam at gmail.com" <tcstonefam at gmail.com>,
> "tweeters at u.washington.edu" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> Subject: [Tweeters] My favorite Merlin non-ID oddity
> Message-ID:
> <BrSVd9xUqB9G8g8HshKaUequz911aaSGe8yKblR9wrv2ZC8Tnkik6ndTbQ_qPNkCCTGgO0C93pa0o02YPQa-PyS2DxVsiHugGwQBgfC8QKU=@protonmail.com>
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> There are a number of peculiar misidentifications - don't get me wrong, I love Merlin, it's super useful, especially for songs I know I've heard only rarely - but I have stood 20 feet away from singing Varied Thrushes and watched Merlin insist there are no birds singing ANYWHERE. Nope. Uh-uh.
>
> They do sound kind of metallic and industrial, I guess, but c'mon, Merlin!
>
> Josh Hayes
> Joshuaahayes at proton.me
> Sent with [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/mail/home) secure email.
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2025 19:45:34 -0700
> From: Kevin Lucas via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> To: Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> Subject: [Tweeters] Bike ride bird
> Message-ID:
> <CA+YY603Ry2e8oSHPQUgL6oBjFkoCaE4P8ao+c1tVSBURpE7B8w at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Crippled up as a bicycling victim of a hit-and-run, I got really into
> seeing birds, hearing, watching, & studying them, surveying them, and
> helping a friend in his studies of one species. After a dozen years, a
> couple years ago, I was finally able to ride my bike again without too much
> pain. Now I love the combination of bicycling and bird watching and
> listening. Every ride offers treats. Today's most notable was a black and
> white crow. I've never seen one like it before. I stopped and took phone
> photos in the high 90's heat of late afternoon with salt sweat stinging and
> blurring my eyes. The photos are poor, but show a neato bird. I'll review
> my front-facing action camera files to see whether it captured footage of
> it too.
>
>> From my simple human point of view, it seemed to get along just peachily
> with all the other crows.
>
> Good Birding,
>
> Please ALWAYS practice ethical bird watching:
> https://www.aba.org/aba-code-of-birding-ethics/
> Even when you're not aware you too are being observed.
>
> Kevin Lucas
> Yakima County, Washington
>
>
> *Qui tacet consentire videtur*
>
> *I prefer truth and decency to lies, hate mongering, cruelty, genocide,
> self-dealing, and theft of billions of dollars by an oligarchy of
> addled-brained selfish billionaires.*
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2025 21:07:03 -0700
> From: Zora Monster via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> To: Tom Benedict <benedict.t at comcast.net>
> Cc: Tweeters Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Hearing Aids for Birding?
> Message-ID: <2D6F6847-E178-445A-8F52-1D48CD0AA8AD at mac.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
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> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 7
> Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2025 09:08:26 -0700
> From: Jim Betz via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> To: via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Hearing Aids for Birding?
> Message-ID: <67e9bd19-3d58-4246-a887-e35882be0234 at jimbetz.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
>
> Thank you ALL!
>
> ? There have been so many responders, both on and off this list, that I'm
> forced to have to a blanket thank you rather than individual.? So let me
> net out the responses ...
>
> ? 1) Almost everyone says "Yes, hearing aids have helped me for birding."
> ? ? ? ?Some even reported hearing birds they thought they had "lost
> forever"!
>
> ? 2) The use of hearing aids that let you control the sounds you hear (and
> ? ? ? ?don't hear) by the hearing equivalent of an audio equalizer are
> best.
>
> ? 3) There weren't any "total failures" of a particular brand reported.? So
> ? ? ? ?as long as you have a type that has #2 you will get improvements.
>
> ? 4) Several reported "annoying side effects" such as hearing sounds they
> ? ? ? ?would rather not hear to a level that they interfere with
> hearing the
> ? ? ? ?birds.? Examples of those sounds are footsteps, rustling
> papers/leaves,
> ? ? ? ?vehicle traffic, loud noises such as horns or even phone alerts
> ("dings"),
> ? ? ? ?and even wind noises or voices in a restaurant.
>
> ? 5) No one reported having aids that let the user "program them by
> ? ? ? ?sound type" ... for instance "I want to hear birds and voices better
> ? ? ? ?but not the rest of my environment" or "don't increase the volume
> ? ? ? ?of footsteps on gravel".? Several said they could do their own
> equalizer
> ? ? ? ?setup - but you have to know what area of the sound spectrum is
> ? ? ? ?"wind" in order to eliminate that sound type.
>
> ? 6) I am trying out the aids from hear.com that you may have seen
> ? ? ? ?internet ads for - and all of the above seems to be true.? At
> least one
> ? ? ? ?feature of these is the ability to focus your hearing
> directionally - this
> ? ? ? ?means you can tell the devices to 'accentuate sounds in front of me'
> ? ? ? ?(or to the left, right, or behind).? These particular aids are
> very small
> ? ? ? ?and, so far, none of our friends have noticed them - they have a
> very
> ? ? ? ?small wire that runs to a 'speaker' in your ear and then a very
> small
> ? ? ? ?thing that sits behind your ear.
> ? ? ? ? ? ?I have my first "repeat visit with the sound tech/audiologist"
> ? ? ? ?tomorrow and will report back on how well they could/couldn't
> ? ? ? ?improve the 'annoying sounds'.
>
> ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?- thanks again, you
> are the best ... Jim
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 8
> Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2025 09:50:03 -0700
> From: via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> To: tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> Subject: [Tweeters] RFI Binocular sources
> Message-ID: <d6cbc5c115917ac444150a86e2fb95ef at olypen.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
>
> I have to replace my lost pair of binoculars. The model I had is no
> longer available and I want to test new models before making a purchase.
> There are limited places that carry binocular here on the peninsula, but
> I have to take a friend to Swedish Cherry Hill for a procedure in early
> Sept. Since I'll have some time to spare, I wondered whether there is a
> shop anywhere in that general vicinity within easy walk or bus ride that
> would have inventory that I could try out for fit and function.
>
> Any info on possible spots would be greatly appreciated. Direct response
> is encouraged rather than clogging this site with info of little
> interest to others.
>
> judy mullally Port Angeles WA judyem at olypen dot com
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 9
> Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2025 09:59:38 -0700
> From: Zora Monster via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> To: judyem at olypen.com
> Cc: tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] RFI Binocular sources
> Message-ID: <46912483-DDAD-4DBC-9540-53EF0F70CB9C at mac.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Birds Connect Seattle (the former Seattle Audubon) has a large selection of binoculars to choose from. They?re probably your best bet in the city. https://birdsconnectsea.org/visit/
>
> Zora Dermer
> Seattle
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Aug 11, 2025, at 9:50?AM, via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:
>>
>> ?I have to replace my lost pair of binoculars. The model I had is no longer available and I want to test new models before making a purchase. There are limited places that carry binocular here on the peninsula, but I have to take a friend to Swedish Cherry Hill for a procedure in early Sept. Since I'll have some time to spare, I wondered whether there is a shop anywhere in that general vicinity within easy walk or bus ride that would have inventory that I could try out for fit and function.
>>
>> Any info on possible spots would be greatly appreciated. Direct response is encouraged rather than clogging this site with info of little interest to others.
>>
>> judy mullally Port Angeles WA judyem at olypen dot com
>> _______________________________________________
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>> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
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