EPOQ The world's first sterophonic hearing system by oticon

[Desilu]

Hi Everyone,

I need some help. I went for a hearing test today and the results, in my opinion were not good! In 2006 I had 100% speech discrimination in my AN ear. This year it went down to 88%. The audiologist told me that if you don't use it, you lose it. Meaning that if I rely on my right ear so much that I will continue to lose discrimination in my AN ear. She said that by using a hearing aid it will help me to retain the 88% and hopefully it will not get any worse. I really don't know if she is pulling the wool over my eyes or not!

She put the EPOQ in my ear to see if I would like it and I did hear a lot better. This hearing aid issue is all new to me and I just want to make sure that what she is saying is true. The price of these aids are unreal, starting at $1,700.00 to $2,999.00 with my insurance not paying a penny.

I know that you guys can help me to make and educated decision whether to do this or not. So now it's up to you to give me some information. Thank you all in advance.   Ann in Indiana

[JLang]

Hi Ann,



I Really do not understand the use it or lose it Diagnosis  when it comes to loss of hearing, Did the Doctor recommend another MRI to see if there may be a cause in effect? A large purchase like this would be worthless if you're hearing worsens. My AN has taken over 90 per cent of my hearing not counting the ringing tinnitus.

I hope you're hearing improves with-out the aid.

JLang

[Desilu]

Hi Jlang,

It's not that I can't hear, it's a problem with distinguishing the words that I do hear. I was given a clean bill of health with my MRI at House last year. This is the first year that I haven't had an MRI in over 8 years. I truly hope that there is not an underlying problem. I have had some tinnitus since my surgery and when the hearing aid was in place, most of the tinnitus was masked by what I was able to hear.  I really appreciate your comment and hope others will give me their feedback also. Thanks again, Ann

[jb]

I was in to have my hearing checked this week and my audiologist also recommended that I consider the Epoq.  IMO, it seems like it might be a bit of salesmanship.  I went to the Oticon website and this is their top-of-the-line model.  And if I understand it correctly, you would need to use the devices as a pair (in both ears) to take full advantage of all the capabilities.  Not sure if you need all that for mild hearing loss in one ear.  I have loss in both ears, but still have 100% speech in my good ear.  She also showed me Oticon Delta in the office which was nice and light and almost invisible.  Still a little pricey though.  On the website they show several other models that might be adequate for mild hearing loss.  I'm just beginning to seriously consider hearing aids, so this is all a little confusing to me too.  At least I'll know a little more when I go back.

[Desilu]

Hi jb,

The quote I received from the hearing aid place was $2,700.00 for one and that was with a 40% discount. So when I got home, I looked Oticon up on the website. The model that I tried out was the W model which listed on the website for $2,399.00. So I called the hearing aid place back and asked the woman that helped me, what was the 40% discount off of? She went on the tell me that these hearing aids run up to $6,000.00 and that she was able to give me this wonderful discount because she wanted to. I politely said, well if that's the best you can do with a discount then how come I can get it on the website with a better warranty for only $2,399.00 for a moment there, she was speechless! Then she said I guess I have to check out the website and get back with you. That was Thursday and I didn't receive any calls Friday or Saturday. I giving her until Monday to respond and then I'm going to look elsewhere. Do these people think that after all we have been through that we're just going to believe anything they say without checking things out before we make a decision.

I really did like it but yes, it is expensive. You are right about all the things that can be done with these aids, you can use a cell phone, Ipod and bluetooth but all I really want to do is HEAR better. jb please let me know how things go with you. Thanks for responding to my post.  Ann

[jb]

Hi Ann,
I was researching Epoq a little bit and found a couple of links I thought I'd pass along:

http://www.thehearingaidforum.com/about17.html

Mentions Epoq and the wide ranges in price.  I haven't seen anything negative about it other than pricing.


http://aidright.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=430

Epoq-W description from online hearing aid retailer.  They quote a price of $2,499 compared to list price of $3,799.


Did you see $2,399 on the oticon website?   The aidright.com price was the lowest I found.  I think I'll call my audiologist next week and see if she can give me a detailed quote on Epoq and Delta.  It's nice to have the aidright.com prices for comparison.

[Desilu]

Hi jb,

Thanks for the information. It appears $2,399.00 is a good price. Just want to update you on the Ross Hearing Center. After my phone conversation with Diane on Thursday about the price (2,700.00) she said she would check things out and call me back. Tuesday afternoon I received message on my answering machine telling me that, yes, she can match that price and she hopes that we can still do business together! She was right, it is a business! Big money business if you ask me. I'm going to wait a few days to call her back and let her know my decision. In the mean time, I will check out the websites some more and see if I can find a better price. I hope others out there reading this post will learn from my experience to shop around and get the best possible price that you can. Don't be afraid to ask, the worst they can say is no!  Thanks again jb for the info and keep me posted on your progress.   Ann

The website was www.ahearingaid.com   

[Dealy]

Just wanted too let you know my experience with Digitial Hearing Aids. This is the only way I can hear after getting Radiation in my right ear-the left is dead so nothing will help it-that is another story. I spent $2500 dollars on the top of the line Phonak. Oticon is very good also. A good Hearing Place Center will let you use one for 30 day trial period. Mine let me use it for 60 days w/o no obligation whatsoever. You will need a good audiologist to fine tune them after you get it-perferably at the place of purchase. So distance is a consideration because any Hearing Aid Device will need to be adjusted to your Hearing Condition only. I hope this input helps-$2300 seems like a reasonable price. I always have to laugh when you see one of these magazine articles that advertise a Hearing Aid for just $9.95. Heck for that you don't need a Hearing Aid-a least for that price-you pay for what you get. Have a good day-Thanks-Ron.

[Desilu]

Hi Ron,

Diane did mention the 30 day free trial with a 1/2 down deposit, refundable if I do not like it. I really appreciate your input because this is all new to me and the prices of these hearing aids really shocked me! It seems that both you and jb feel this is a reasonable price ($2,399). Which makes me feel a little better. The Ross Hearing Center is about 8 miles from my house so that is good if I have to have some adjustments done. How often to they have to adjust them? Once you get the adjustments right, then how often do you go back?

I guess the old saying is still good "You get what you pay for"

Thanks again for your reply,  Ann

[Dealy]

Ann- I do not know if you are in a Metro area or not. I live in a small town of 20,000 and the competition is still stiff. Alot of places you can get Hearing Devices. In my personal opinion- I would pay nothing for a trial period-if they want your business they should be willing to work with you. I do not know what variety of Hearing Aid you would be getting from Oticon. If it is digitial-they program it to your latest Hearing Test Via a computer. They can take certain pitches out that may distort hearing. Most places will give you 2 weeks just for your ear to adjust to this new sound. Your brain says- "What the heck is that now"-no kidding your brain has too adjust to the new sound. Adjustments are made according to your preference . My hearing nerve was damaged from the radiation so the pitches and frequecies change-in your situation this may be entirely different. My ear is a wax factory and if wax clogs the Hearing Holes or sweat etc. it can shut off the Hearing Aid completely. The first time it did that too me I thought I was going deaf. You can buy a dryer for over 100 dollars though if you need to wear them for alot of activity. They gave me an absorbent chemical kit for 10 dollars that you can put the Hearing Aid in overnight to dry out excess mositure but I never used it yet. Hope this helps you some. Thanks-Ron

[Desilu]

Hi Ron,

Yes, your reply has helped a lot. I will call Diane about this on Friday or Monday and I will keep you posted on my adventure of getting a hearing aid! You said that I should be able to get a trial period without a deposit, that would be great! I will have to ask.  Thanks again, Ann

[Desilu]

Hi All,

Just want to update you on my EPOQ hearing aid. I began wearing it about 3 weeks ago.They let me take it with no money down and a 30 day free trial, with an option for 60 days. Everytime I moved my head the little wire in my ear kept popping out. I went back to the Hearing Center and they replaced the short wire with a longer wire and now I don't even know I have a hearing aid in my ear. Because I can still hear in my AN ear it's hard for me to determine if the expense ($2,400.00) is really worth it. I must admit that I do pick up hearing things a little better. Last week there was a man behind me in church and he was singing way, he came in loud and clear in both ears! At the end of the night when I take out the aid, it appears to me that I have more tinnitus in that ear than usual.  Has anyone else experienced this? It almost feels like my hearing is worse (which it is) after I take it out. Am I making any sense? It's really hard to explain in words something that only you can feel. Anyway, I need to make a decision pretty soon. Any input would be appreicated. I have not told anyone that I am wearing a hearing aid and no one has noticed (it is covered by my hair). I didn't want them to start whispering or yelling (one extreme or the other) to test my hearing. Thanks for listening to me talk!   Ann

[Desilu]

Hi All,

This is my final post on the EPOQ by oticon. I have decided not to purchase it. I did go back one more time and have adjustments made but when I left the office, I could't tell if it really made any difference. I believe part of my problem is that I can still hear pretty good in my AN ear (85-90%). Maybe my expectations of this hearing aid or any hearing aid for that matter were too high. Maybe they were unrealistic. But not knowing until you've tried it is probably the only way to tell. The EPOQ was very comfortable and easy to get used to wearing. Possibly if my hearing was worse, it would have helped more. I just couldn't justify $2,400.00 for something that I had been wearing for 4 weeks and not really sure if it was really helping me or not. I don't know if my experience will help anyone but I hope so. Take care, Ann

[sgerrard]

Hi Ann,
  I appreciate getting your detailed info on what trying out a EPOQ was like. I have no idea about that particular one, but my hearing is down on the AN side (its about 60% or so), and other people's experiences are useful to know about.
  The increase in tinnitus after wearing it makes sense to me, because loud sounds in general seem to have that effect. Also the sense of being deafer when you take it out sounds right, it is basically a sudden drop, which you have to get used to again. I wonder if you would get used to those things over a longer a period of time (months?) or not.
  The prices do seem ridiculous, my cell phone does more things at a fraction of the price. I guess the market is smaller, though, so the prices are higher. The aidright.com site seems like a good place to comparison shop.

Thanks for the mini-blog. Steve

[Desilu]

Hi Steve,

All of your comments are right on target! Maybe it would make a difference if I was able to wear it over a longer period of time. I guess when the price gets considerably lower, I might consider it again. One thing that I forgot to mention that the EPOQ came with a 3 year warranty, and I believe 2 year replacement if it is lost or broken, free batteries for the life of the aid and an annual hearing test at no extra charge. The woman told me that normally hearing aids last for 5 years, but many will last longer depending how well they are taken care of. One other point to make, after 5 years technology will advance so much, wearing an EPOQ will probably be like wearing a dinosaur in your ear! Thanks for your post.  Ann