Hearing loss support - Turbo Ear hearing aid?

Author

Turbo Ear hearing aid?

Mason A. Clark

2004-08-08, 7:59 pm

Does anyone use a Turbo Ear ($25) as their
hearing aid?

I could type more but will await expression of
interest.

Mason C

Serpent

2004-08-08, 7:59 pm

On Sun, 08 Aug 2004 23:47:03 GMT, Mason A. Clark
<masoncNOT@THISix.netcom.comQQQ> wrote:

>Does anyone use a Turbo Ear ($25) as their
>hearing aid?
>
>I could type more but will await expression of
>interest.
>
> Mason C

I think that you should type more, now. What has your visit to the
Audiologist shown your hearing loss profile to be?

This is not a hearing aid, in any true sense, but a simple, cheap
amplifier.

I think this statement on their web site speaks volumes:

"Do you suffer a minor hearing impairment that does not require an
expensive and complicated solution?"

So, just what did your hearing tests show the degree of your hearing
impairment, to be???

Mason A. Clark

2004-08-10, 9:08 am

On Sun, 08 Aug 2004 19:23:02 -0500, Serpent <> wrote:

>On Sun, 08 Aug 2004 23:47:03 GMT, Mason A. Clark
><masoncNOT@THISix.netcom.comQQQ> wrote:
>
>
>I think that you should type more, now. What has your visit to the
>Audiologist shown your hearing loss profile to be?
>
>This is not a hearing aid, in any true sense, but a simple, cheap
>amplifier.
>
>I think this statement on their web site speaks volumes:
>
>"Do you suffer a minor hearing impairment that does not require an
>expensive and complicated solution?"
>
>So, just what did your hearing tests show the degree of your hearing
>impairment, to be???

I'm my own audiologist; former hearing-aid repairman; genius.
I adjusted the frequency response of my Turbo Ear and have
an audiograph before and after (will post if asked).

Most people who would benefit by a hearing aid do *not* need
something expensive. Many such people cannot *afford* such
an aid. Most can afford a $25 Turbo Ear.

Opinion: the hearing-aid business has gone overboard with
complexity and cost. Remember when Zenith first put a truly
inexpensive aid on the market?

Mason C

Susan

2004-08-11, 2:38 am

You are only fooling yourself by not getting a professional opinion.

In article <l37gh0huh0r2vlb0vj96us8i72t2mstn7l@4ax.com>,
masoncNOT@THISix.netcom.comQQQ says...
> On Sun, 08 Aug 2004 19:23:02 -0500, Serpent <> wrote:
>
>
> I'm my own audiologist; former hearing-aid repairman; genius.
> I adjusted the frequency response of my Turbo Ear and have
> an audiograph before and after (will post if asked).
>
> Most people who would benefit by a hearing aid do *not* need
> something expensive. Many such people cannot *afford* such
> an aid. Most can afford a $25 Turbo Ear.
>
> Opinion: the hearing-aid business has gone overboard with
> complexity and cost. Remember when Zenith first put a truly
> inexpensive aid on the market?
>
> Mason C
>
>
>
>

Susan

2004-08-12, 10:18 pm

Hearing tests are covered by insurance, you are simply making excuses

In article <a0enh0hh6n75b5dtm49e79lqb3tv96qu1m@4ax.com>,
masoncNOT@THISix.netcom.comQQQ says...[vbcol=seagreen]
> On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 03:15:11 GMT, Susan <hearinghelper@spamverizon.net> wrote:
>
>
> What percentage of hearing-loss Americans *cannot* afford the
> professional opinion and "high-tech" of the hearing-aid industry?
>
> Of those, what percentage go without an aid of any kind?
>
> How many of those would be helped and harmed not at
> all by a $25 Turbo Ear?
>
> Is this group confined to the wealthy?
>
> Mason C
>
> P.S. Note that I have refrained from making any
> comparison with the drug industry.
>
>

Mason A. Clark

2004-08-13, 2:11 am

On 13 Aug 2004 00:11:48 EDT, tlshell@concentric.net wrote:

>On Thu, 12 Aug 2004 18:38:29 GMT, Mason A. Clark
><masoncNOT@THISix.netcom.comQQQ> took a very strange rock and
>inscribed these words:
>
>
>You can get the professional opinion without paying anything. I got a
>free hearing aid test from a local audiologist and he's also assisted
>me in getting my current hearing aids repaired even though he didn't
>originally sell them to me.
>
>
>That's not the same thing as the test.
>
>
>If the Turbo Ear was licensed as a hearing aid,

What agency licenses *hearing aids* ? None, I think.
Tell me otherwise.

Some states license hearing aid salespersons.
To avoid violating the law in those states, the
sellers of low-cost aids avoid calling them
"hearing aids." This does not mean they are
not hearing aids.

A post here and Google led me to
Songbird 400 Hour ($70)

SuperEar Plus ($60)

TV EAR ($145)

I use a modified Whisper 2000 ($ ) for TV and
a modified Turbo Ear ($25) for walk-around.

I'm getting the impression that the hearing-aid business
is in the group with burial services, drug companies,
used car dealers, and politicians -- some are unethical.

Supported by the FDA it seems. I came across a list
of audio amplifiers maybe under some kind of
import restriction. humph

> it would be sold as
>such. It's not and it would be unethical for anyone (layman or
>otherwise) to recommend it for that purpose.

I recommend trying a little, low-cost amplification for
mild deafness developing with age (I'm 83).

>
>
>No, although admittedly there are some here who are rather gung-ho on
>high tech solutions. You can always go for speechreading and sign
>language, which don't have an ongoing cost structure, and there is
>also the old standby, paper and pen.
>
>
>It's all health care, and in the U.S., health care tends to be
>overpriced for what society as a whole gets for it. Countries with
>socialized medicine tend to get more consistent care overall and more
>"bang for the buck" leading to healthier societies, but the U.S. is
>still recovering from the "Cold War" and as a result, many people in
>the U.S. have retained unhealthy attitudes about individual social
>responsibilities and government. I still have hope that this can
>change in my lifetime.

Serpent

2004-08-13, 11:13 am

On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 06:56:59 GMT, Mason A. Clark
<masoncNOT@THISix.netcom.comQQQ> wrote:

>What agency licenses *hearing aids* ? None, I think.
>Tell me otherwise.
>
>Some states license hearing aid salespersons.
>To avoid violating the law in those states, the
>sellers of low-cost aids avoid calling them
>"hearing aids." This does not mean they are
>not hearing aids.
>
>A post here and Google led me to
>Songbird 400 Hour ($70)
>
>SuperEar Plus ($60)
>
>TV EAR ($145)
>
>I use a modified Whisper 2000 ($ ) for TV and
>a modified Turbo Ear ($25) for walk-around.

I googled Whisper 2000, and only found New Age Singers, or Waterbeds,
so will concentrate on the Songbird, which I was actually able to
find.

First, I find that they do a disservice to those who are hard of
hearing with their "Screaming" Banner of "No Hearing Exam Required!".
Probably a good, self serving thing, as no Audiologist with any ethics
would EVER recommend these amplifiers.

These are Disposable aids, that if you use them 12 hours a day, will
last you for 30 days (from their web site). And, they advertise "2
hearing aids, 2 payments, ONLY $69.99".

Let's do the math. 2 X $69.99 per month = $139.98 X 12 Months =
$1679.767 X 5 years = $8398.80 for this CRAP!

Simply go out, buy a top of the line NAME BRAND Digital hearing aid
for 5K max, that should last you at least for five years, and you are
AHEAD $3398.8 for the Five years!

What an INCREDIBLE scam, that particularly plays to the elderly, and
their typically limited budgets. They are being TOTALLY ripped off, in
a five year period, fort least $3398.8!

J. Yazel

2004-08-14, 12:26 pm

>
>I googled Whisper 2000, and only found New Age Singers, or Waterbeds,
>so will concentrate on the Songbird, which I was actually able to
>find.
>
>First, I find that they do a disservice to those who are hard of
>hearing with their "Screaming" Banner of "No Hearing Exam Required!".
>Probably a good, self serving thing, as no Audiologist with any ethics
>would EVER recommend these amplifiers.
>
>These are Disposable aids, that if you use them 12 hours a day, will
>last you for 30 days (from their web site). And, they advertise "2
>hearing aids, 2 payments, ONLY $69.99".
>
>Let's do the math. 2 X $69.99 per month = $139.98 X 12 Months =
>$1679.767 X 5 years = $8398.80 for this CRAP!
>
>Simply go out, buy a top of the line NAME BRAND Digital hearing aid
>for 5K max, that should last you at least for five years, and you are
>AHEAD $3398.8 for the Five years!
>
>What an INCREDIBLE scam, that particularly plays to the elderly, and
>their typically limited budgets. They are being TOTALLY ripped off, in
>a five year period, fort least $3398.8!
======================

Did you say that you can get two hearing aids for $5,000?

Marnix

2004-08-14, 12:26 pm

"J. Yazel" <jyazel@ds.net>

> ======================
>
> Did you say that you can get two hearing aids for $5,000?

Without any assistance (provided by an audiologist) most name brand hearing
aids can be found half this price on various online shops. Just mail you
audiogram, they adjust (hopefully) the best they can to fit and that's the
service you receive, no return visits, no tweaking out to your experience.
But for that amount you will have name brand hearing aids that can be
programmed by an audiologist to your needs and pay him or her to do just
that job. I assume you will end up under 5k.

Regards,
Marnix

Serpent

2004-08-14, 12:26 pm

On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 14:54:37 -0400, J. Yazel <jyazel@ds.net> wrote:

> ======================
>
> Did you say that you can get two hearing aids for $5,000?

I certainly did. The Siemens 3P Trianos, which I have been Totally
satisfied with!

As to WHY anybody would pay $8398.80 for the Songbird for 5 years,
when you can get a top of the line, totally programmable hearing aid,
with unlimited Audiologist support for fittings and adjustments, and
even FREE replacements if I damage or simply lose them, for 5K... I
simply don't know!!!

ModernMiko

2004-08-14, 12:26 pm

<Serpent> wrote in message
news:c54qh0tfuop5l0e7fgaoa7ru8v4kjkis7q@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 14:54:37 -0400, J. Yazel <jyazel@ds.net> wrote:
>
>
> I certainly did. The Siemens 3P Trianos, which I have been Totally
> satisfied with!
>
> As to WHY anybody would pay $8398.80 for the Songbird for 5 years,
> when you can get a top of the line, totally programmable hearing aid,
> with unlimited Audiologist support for fittings and adjustments, and
> even FREE replacements if I damage or simply lose them, for 5K... I
> simply don't know!!!

Well some people may think more short term than you. It's so much per month
rather than 5000 at once. I agree with you but there must be some market for
it as they are still in business. Not in my office though.

--
JennL

Mason A. Clark

2004-08-14, 12:27 pm

On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 07:39:09 -0500, Serpent <> wrote:

>On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 06:56:59 GMT, Mason A. Clark
><masoncNOT@THISix.netcom.comQQQ> wrote:
>
>
>I googled Whisper 2000, and only found New Age Singers, or Waterbeds,
>so will concentrate on the Songbird, which I was actually able to
>find.
>
>First, I find that they do a disservice to those who are hard of
>hearing with their "Screaming" Banner of "No Hearing Exam Required!".
>Probably a good, self serving thing, as no Audiologist with any ethics
>would EVER recommend these amplifiers.

Apart from the short life (see below), why not? Are they bad
amplifiers?
>
>These are Disposable aids, that if you use them 12 hours a day, will
>last you for 30 days (from their web site). And, they advertise "2
>hearing aids, 2 payments, ONLY $69.99".

If a hearing aid can be sold for $70 with un-replaceable
battery, how much more would it cost to provide a replaceable
battery? Another $70? Surely not that much. So here's proof
that a price of less than $140 should suffice. Not $5000 !

Now. Tell me. Why the $5000 (or $2500) price?

There is simply no excuse for the current price of hearing aids.
A tabulation of the prices of various brands shows the
reason: price fixing -- probably by price leadership, an insidious
form of fixing -- if not by outright collusion. What is needed
is a prosecution. What may be necessary first is the publication
of a muck-raking book. Where is Jessica Mitford when we need her?

Mason C

-----------end

>
>Let's do the math. 2 X $69.99 per month = $139.98 X 12 Months =
>$1679.767 X 5 years = $8398.80 for this CRAP!
>
>Simply go out, buy a top of the line NAME BRAND Digital hearing aid
>for 5K max, that should last you at least for five years, and you are
>AHEAD $3398.8 for the Five years!
>
>What an INCREDIBLE scam, that particularly plays to the elderly, and
>their typically limited budgets. They are being TOTALLY ripped off, in
>a five year period, fort least $3398.8!

Ken

2004-08-14, 10:11 pm

Can this mavilous (sic) aid be programed to meet the clients needs or is it
just and amplfier? To good to be true, usually is just that. I wouldln't
wast my time with such things. I like what I hear too much for that.

Ken Funk

"Mason A. Clark" <masoncNOT@THISix.netcom.comQQQ> wrote in message
news:rrcrh0taf1sat1euii8av8simidd2rnm05@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 07:39:09 -0500, Serpent <> wrote:
>
>
> Apart from the short life (see below), why not? Are they bad
> amplifiers?
>
> If a hearing aid can be sold for $70 with un-replaceable
> battery, how much more would it cost to provide a replaceable
> battery? Another $70? Surely not that much. So here's proof
> that a price of less than $140 should suffice. Not $5000 !
>
> Now. Tell me. Why the $5000 (or $2500) price?
>
> There is simply no excuse for the current price of hearing aids.
> A tabulation of the prices of various brands shows the
> reason: price fixing -- probably by price leadership, an insidious
> form of fixing -- if not by outright collusion. What is needed
> is a prosecution. What may be necessary first is the publication
> of a muck-raking book. Where is Jessica Mitford when we need her?
>
> Mason C
>
> -----------end
>
>

Ken

2004-08-14, 10:11 pm

Well, after looking at the web site, it is NOT a hearing aid, it is an
Assisted Listening Device (ALD) I guess if you want to run around with a
thing in your pocket and ear buds in your ear... but it is NOT a hearing aid
in the manner that I see them. as far as an ADL, they might be fine.

Ken

"Mason A. Clark" <masoncNOT@THISix.netcom.comQQQ> wrote in message
news:6pedh0pmsafu61qr414auu180kua151t4g@4ax.com...
> Does anyone use a Turbo Ear ($25) as their
> hearing aid?
>
> I could type more but will await expression of
> interest.
>
> Mason C

Serpent

2004-08-14, 10:11 pm

Mason A. Clark

2004-08-15, 4:15 am

Susan

2004-08-15, 11:22 am

Greg Karson

2004-08-15, 11:22 am

I heard Songbird is in financial trouble and are making a big push to sell
inventory now. I also heard only a very small fraction of people are able
to use these units and most audiologists are now not selling them, at lest
not promoting them if they do have them.
How true all this is, who knows but that is what two different audis told
me.

--
gkk2001@alltel.net

Susan

2004-08-16, 2:12 am

tlshell@concentric.net

2004-08-16, 7:19 am

On Thu, 12 Aug 2004 18:38:29 GMT, Mason A. Clark
<masoncNOT@THISix.netcom.comQQQ> took a very strange rock and
inscribed these words:

>On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 03:15:11 GMT, Susan <hearinghelper@spamverizon.net> wrote:
>
>
>What percentage of hearing-loss Americans *cannot* afford the
>professional opinion and "high-tech" of the hearing-aid industry?

You can get the professional opinion without paying anything. I got a
free hearing aid test from a local audiologist and he's also assisted
me in getting my current hearing aids repaired even though he didn't
originally sell them to me.

>Of those, what percentage go without an aid of any kind?

That's not the same thing as the test.

>How many of those would be helped and harmed not at
>all by a $25 Turbo Ear?

If the Turbo Ear was licensed as a hearing aid, it would be sold as
such. It's not and it would be unethical for anyone (layman or
otherwise) to recommend it for that purpose.

>Is this group confined to the wealthy?

No, although admittedly there are some here who are rather gung-ho on
high tech solutions. You can always go for speechreading and sign
language, which don't have an ongoing cost structure, and there is
also the old standby, paper and pen.

>P.S. Note that I have refrained from making any
>comparison with the drug industry.

It's all health care, and in the U.S., health care tends to be
overpriced for what society as a whole gets for it. Countries with
socialized medicine tend to get more consistent care overall and more
"bang for the buck" leading to healthier societies, but the U.S. is
still recovering from the "Cold War" and as a result, many people in
the U.S. have retained unhealthy attitudes about individual social
responsibilities and government. I still have hope that this can
change in my lifetime.

--
Therese Shellabarger / The Roving Reporter - Civis Mundi
tlshell@concentric.net / http://tlshell.cnc.net/

J. Yazel

2004-08-16, 11:13 am

Marnix

2004-08-16, 11:13 am

ModernMiko

2004-08-16, 11:13 am

Serpent

2004-08-16, 7:16 pm

tlshell@concentric.net

2004-08-18, 11:10 am

On Thu, 12 Aug 2004 21:46:12 GMT, Susan
<hearinghelper@spamverizon.net> took a very strange rock and inscribed
these words:

>Hearing tests are covered by insurance, you are simply making excuses

Not everyone has insurance and in any case, this is irrelevant. One
can get free hearing tests.

--
Therese Shellabarger / The Roving Reporter - Civis Mundi
tlshell@concentric.net / http://tlshell.cnc.net/

Mason A. Clark

2004-08-18, 7:15 pm

On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 03:15:11 GMT, Susan <hearinghelper@spamverizon.net> wrote:

>You are only fooling yourself by not getting a professional opinion.

What percentage of hearing-loss Americans *cannot* afford the
professional opinion and "high-tech" of the hearing-aid industry?

Of those, what percentage go without an aid of any kind?

How many of those would be helped and harmed not at
all by a $25 Turbo Ear?

Is this group confined to the wealthy?

Mason C

P.S. Note that I have refrained from making any
comparison with the drug industry.

[vbcol=seagreen]
>
>In article <l37gh0huh0r2vlb0vj96us8i72t2mstn7l@4ax.com>,
>masoncNOT@THISix.netcom.comQQQ says...

Susan

2004-08-18, 7:15 pm

Serpent

2004-08-18, 7:15 pm

J. Yazel

2004-08-18, 7:15 pm

Serpent

2004-08-18, 10:12 pm

Marnix

2004-08-19, 2:10 am

Mason A. Clark

2004-08-19, 7:15 pm

Ken

2004-08-19, 10:11 pm

Ken

2004-08-19, 10:11 pm

Greg Karson

2004-08-20, 2:11 am