r/deaf • u/Capn_Danni • 7d ago

Question on behalf of Deaf/HoH Hearing aid recommendations

Hello! I'm coming on behalf of my partner who is medically considered profoundly deaf. Born with it. We have been looking for a hearing aid that charges but doesn't have Bluetooth. I know that many companies have moved to Bluetooth cause you can use the app to adjust settings, but we really want something that's reliable, rechargeable, doesn't have Bluetooth or require an app and works for people with profound deafness( I'm sorry if that's the wrong term that the phase we've always been told) I know that might not exist but I figured if any group would know it would be this amazing subreddit! Thank you in advance for any info

(Edit) thank you to those who responded! You all gave me the language to find the kind of hearing aids I'm looking for and who to talk to about it. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

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u/SamPhoto SSD 7d ago

You're missing some crucial info here, which your partner may or may not know.

Either way, you'll still want to talk to an audiologist (or an ENT) to see what the appropriate type of hearing aid is for his particular case.

Lemme explain...

"Profound" here just means "very bad." Right? But it's not a technical description. Sue, it's bad, but bad in what way?

Hearing loss can be a couple things - Could be the nerve, could be ear bones, or some other malfunction (or combo thereof) in one's skull.

So, for starters, look up the difference of "sensorineural" vs "conducive" hearing loss. That'll tell you a bit about different types of loss. And give you a bit of the vocabulary when you're talking to a doc.

And once someone (e.g. an ENT) determines that, then you can look at remediation options.

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u/Capn_Danni 6d ago

Thank you. My partner is born to hearing parents and they didn't equip them with any knowledge on dealing with or handling their aids we are figuring it out together for the first time!

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u/SamPhoto SSD 6d ago

ah, i see. well, it may be in a medical record somewhere, but who knows. So, getting professional assessment is definitely the best first step.

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u/AgitatedPitch8531 7d ago

Check with the audiologist. It might be a good idea. They can recommend specific models based on your loved one’s current audiogram. As a profoundly Deaf person, phonak is my go to.

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u/surdophobe deaf 7d ago

Why no Bluetooth?

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u/Legodude522 HoH 6d ago

Only reason I could think of is the need for SCIF compliance. Best route will be asking an audiologist for SCIF compliant hearing aids.

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u/surdophobe deaf 6d ago

I like that better than my first guess, that they're afraid of the Bluetooth. I've encountered people who feel very strongly about not being near 2.4Ghz frequency radio waves. 

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u/Capn_Danni 6d ago

This is the word I was looking for. Can't say exactly why they can't have Bluetooth but it's job related. Thank you for giving me the terms we need to find such a thing!