I do hope you luck into an audiologist at your test, oldmanhenke. And best of luck with the hearing aids. I know I'd be a goner without mine.

Thank you, DrJBHL. I went on Thursday, as I said I would.

You were right about who does the test. The woman who saw me was very capable, but she was not an audiologist, and she told me so herself before we started, which I appreciated.

What I had not expected was the questions. Before anything else she asked where I found conversation hardest, which was exactly what I had said I was hoping for, and your list stayed in my pocket.

I have come home with a trial pair. They are not the two hundred dollar ones, and they are not cheap either. I have had four evenings with them, which is a long way short of the six months Victechnical mentioned, so I am not giving a verdict yet.

The kitchen is better, though not solved. With the fan going I can follow my wife if she is facing me. With the radio on as well I still cannot. That is further than the old pair ever got, and I intend to keep them long enough to find out whether it lasts.

Very glad you found this post!  Hope all goes well with you!:sun: 

Sounds like a discrimination problem. That's at the brain end of hearing. Phonak Lumity and Starkey Edge AI are the top rated ones...but they are quite expensive, sorry to say. If the finances are the deciding factor, they're way over $200. 

Anyhow, I do wish you the best of luck with whichever you choose. \the not so great part is that the hearing  loss/decreased discrimination could progress. I hope, slowly. 

Thank you, teddybearcholla. It was your thread to begin with, so it seems only fair that you hear how it is going.

DrJBHL, that is the same word you used a couple of weeks ago, discrimination, and I think it has finally sunk in properly. It was never really loudness that was the trouble with me. It is picking one voice out from the radio.

I do not know whether the pair I am trying is one of the ones you named, and I would rather not guess. The paperwork is in the drawer, and I will look before I go back at the end of the trial, because if they are not the sort meant for that problem I would like to know why I was given them.

The part about it getting worse is not news I wanted, but it is useful. It makes the length of a trial seem less like a luxury.

Please forgive me for not explaining earlier...

"Auditory discrimination is the brain's ability to differentiate between similar sounds (e.g., "bat" vs. "pat") and identify words in noise. This skill is distinct from pure-tone hearing thresholds and is often impaired by hearing loss, aging, or auditory processing disorders.

• Measurement: Audiologists assess this via speech discrimination scores, which measure the percentage of words a person can correctly repeat from a list at a comfortable volume. 

• Impact: Poor discrimination means speech may sound loud but garbled or unintelligible, particularly in noisy environments. 

• Causes: It can result from sensorineural hearing loss (Cochlea, and Auditory nerve problems), asymmetrical hearing, or central nervous system issues."

Thank you, DrJBHL, and there is nothing to forgive. You gave me the word some weeks before I was ready to hear it.

The part I have taken from your explanation is the speech discrimination score, because nobody gave me one. The test I had was the free one, and as you said at the time, it was not the audiologist's kind. I can tell you what I hear in my own kitchen, but I could not give you a percentage of anything.

So that is the question I will take back with me at the end of the trial: whether anyone measured how well I make out words, or only how loud things need to be. If it was only the second, I think I would rather pay for the proper test before I pay for the pair.

When I did the hearing test at Costco three years ago, they were already using REM (Real Ear Measurement), which is considered the gold standard for fitting hearing aids. When you see the person who fitted you, ask if they used REM during your test. Speech discrimination was definitely a part of my test—I remember strings of words with different consonants, which were sometimes hard to distinguish depending on how clearly I could hear that first letter. Good luck.