Oticon Vs ReSound…Which One Did I Choose?

Luckily, I was able to take home two hearing aids for two weeks.

My first visit involved an audiogram update which has not changed since my last one in 2013. Ha. I still have bilateral profound hearing loss. It’s not going anywhere people! Not yet anyways. We discussed hearing aid options and finances.

I came back in two weeks to try two different brands of hearing aids on. That process included tuning the hearing aids to a specific program that meets my hearing loss needs by a computer program. Pretty cool stuff here. With ReSound, they had to max out with the decibels. Oticon was pretty simple to do somehow. Both were programmed to my needs and I was able to get my ears impressed for the new molds at the same time. The goal was to see how and which one works better for me and return one brand in two weeks. And pick up my new ear molds.

I started out wearing ReSound leaving the office with tears of joy over how clear and how much I’m hearing. It’s also an overwhelming process. I do this every time I get new ones. I’m also hella emotional okay? ReSound has Bluetooth that’s very easy to use. I could use my iPhone to control the sounds, background noises and music. Simple right?

Oticon was not. It came with a streamer that’s like a remote and I had such a hard time trying to play music with it. I was very hesitant with it. “Why can’t it be simple?” It’s simple if you wear it less than 3 feet from you. Roll eyes. BUT…it’s way louder and is better for me. It definitely got overwhelming at first. I first wore it to work on the loudest day of the week and I had headache from 7 am in the morning til my shift ended at 5:30 pm. I was like hell no.

ReSound definitely did not eliminate the wind noise I was having from running one day. On a second thought, it also has been super windy lately!! It was constantly bugging me. The weather would be extremely nice out to open the sunroof and let the windows down….I could almost not hear music because of the damn wind. I’m like “my audiologist will fix it.” There’s programs for it. I think? Nope.

Oticon definitely had feedback. I’m hoping it’s a small thing and will go away with new ear molds. Eventually, I got the streamer to work and ran with it tucked in my sports bra. No wind in my ears. Just music. Loved it. It’s even clear. I realized that I don’t always need the Bluetooth streamer. I would use it mostly for travel. Which means I don’t have to wear those painful headphones that can bruise my ear cartilage leaving it red for days!

Looks like I’m going to need new workout gear with side pockets to hold my streamer and iPhone.

There we go. I said it already.

I went back and returned the ReSound brand. The new ear molds seems to help a lot with the feedback.

To be honest, I feel pretty good about the Oticon. The world is crazy loud and it’ll take some time to get used to. It’s also something I’ve worn in the past. These were the first brand I ever wore when I first got hearing aids. So they had a special place in my heart and worked best for me. Ta da!