My mother can't seem to find a pair of hearing aids and/or the right technicians to get them dialed in properly and its effecting all aspects of her quality of life in dramatically negative ways. If anyone has already gone down this rabbit hole, i'd love any tips or to connect to pick your brain.
She'd tried a few different types but nothing that successfully blocks out background noise so she can hold normal conversation. She's getting depressed and says she feels like a blind person since she can't do anything on her own any longer.
The government eased restrictions on them so prices are down and competition is up. Try the Jabra website. (My mom's main problem with her hearing aids is that she keeps losing them. I'm probably out 5K in lost hearing aids that will all turn up someday.)
As implied above I think Jabra is now the House brand and the aids--battery + microprocessor sits on top of the ear nudged against the head, with the fish line connection to the microphone that is fitted to the aural canal--yes, a mold has to be taken for each ear to get a snug fit. The hearing aids come back in about 3 weeks at about half the cost of comparable units.
It helps with the adjustment. You don't get the feeling you are in a cave.
i would strongly encourage your mom to see an ENT, and to have a proper, clinical hearing test done. then, if insurance allows, I would recommend a brand like Widex, which makes very low profile, high-tech, bluetooth enabled hearing aids.
a lot of what is on this thread is true - airpod pro 2 can emulate a portion of what real hearing aids can do, and the deregulation of hearing aid manufacture has given the consumer more options.
that said, hearing isn’t something where i would look for a bargain. hope that helps!