<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">It’s normal to lose high frequency sounds as we get older. I have an electronic lighter that I use to light candles and my 30 something kids complain about the noise it makes when I use it. I can’t hear it at all, nor can my 40 year old step kids.<div><br></div><div>The Audiologist I saw back in 2022 strongly encouraged me to go to Costco for my hearing aids. He told me that the tech is a couple of years behind, but that they will work every bit as well as what he could sell to me at a fraction of the cost. </div><div><br></div><div>Earlier this year I had the speaker on my hearing aid die (the part that goes into the ear), and I was able to just walk in without an appointment and get it fixed on the spot. If you lose it, drop it in water, accidentally step in it, etc. you get a one time free replacement. </div><div><br></div><div>I have hearing loss only in my right ear, but have had it for over 40 years. Before I got the hearing aid I could not bird by ear; my hearing in that ear is on the border between severe and profound. The hearing aid has made all the difference.</div><div><br></div><div>And FYI Tiffany Sawin at the Sodo Costco in Seattle is a license audiologist. She’s really good at her job. And she handed me a tissue when I put the hearing aid in and starting crying. 40 years is a long time to go without being able to hear. </div><div><br></div><div>Zora Dermer</div><div>Seattle</div><div><br></div><div><div dir="ltr">Sent from my iPhone</div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Aug 10, 2025, at 4:02 PM, Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; 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. <div><br></div><div>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."<br><div><br></div><div>>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. <br><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>Tom Benedict</div><div>Seahurst, WA<br><div><br><blockquote type="cite"><div>On Aug 10, 2025, at 13:56, Bob Boekelheide via Tweeters <tweeters@u.washington.edu> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div>Hi Jim,</div><div><br></div><div>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. </div><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>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. </div><div><br></div><div>Hope this helps, </div><div>Bob Boekelheide</div><div>Dungeness </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div style="margin: 0px;"><font color="#0433ff"><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>From: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jim Betz via Tweeters <<a href="mailto:tweeters@u.washington.edu">tweeters@u.washington.edu</a>><br></span></font></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><font color="#0433ff"><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Subject: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>[Tweeters] Hearing Aids for Birding?</b><br></span></font></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><font color="#0433ff"><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Date: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;">August 9, 2025 at 10:22:23 AM PDT<br></span></font></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><font color="#0433ff"><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>To: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;">via Tweeters <<a href="mailto:tweeters@u.washington.edu">tweeters@u.washington.edu</a>><br></span></font></div><div style="margin: 0px;"><font color="#0433ff"><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Reply-To: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="mailto:jimbetz@jimbetz.com">jimbetz@jimbetz.com</a><br></span></font></div><font color="#0433ff"><br><br>Hi,<br><br> I'm interested in knowing what others experience is with hearing aids<br>and the use of them for birding. Please include brand names for the aids<br>you have used/are using. Also please share how well/not so well they<br>are for the purposes of birding. Thanks!<br> - Jim in Skagit<br></font><br></div></div>_______________________________________________<br>Tweeters mailing list<br>Tweeters@u.washington.edu<br>http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters<br></div></blockquote></div><br></div></div></div><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>Tweeters mailing list</span><br><span>Tweeters@u.washington.edu</span><br><span>http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters</span><br></div></blockquote></div></body></html>