I know that hearing aids are expensive and Medicare doesn't pay for them, do the elderly really use them and do they really work?

deb i would have taken that hearing aid back and tell em that is too much money and ure going somewhere eles for 10 thousand dollars cheaper !
that comapny just made a hellva profit and that is thief ! tell em u want ur money back or eles ure going to report it ,

I learned in the last few months that my mom paid $11,000 for a set of hearing aides. She is 81, w/c bound and needs 24/7 care, but has no dementia. Her caretaker took her to the appointment and there you are! Do I think about the money? Absolutely, my mom is spending down her assests very quickly. I don't think being in a nursing home on medicaid is a good option but it may become the only one. Any company that would charge someone this out rageous cost should be investigated.
She has remote earphones for the TV/DVD/radio. Very reasonabe from radio shack. You can also buy listening devices with a bluetooth like receiver. I would certainly check these options before spending thousands of dollars.

dee2 . it is prob his ear mold that is not comfertable at all . i do know that when someone at the older age start wearing hearing aid they dont like it cuz everythings too loud . theyre used to not hearing at all or hear very little . then bam they got a new hearing aid , ears hurts cuz of the ear mold , theyre not used to it , they itch too , or its too loud . if he keeps takin it off then he shall keep it off .
yes they are very very expesnive ! cost 2 thousand just for one hearing aid , aint that awful !
when he has to go somewhere that requires for him to hear try to keep the volume down to 1 or 2 . maybe he will feel comefrtable on that . before puttin the hearing aid on him , try a lit bit of vasline on the ear mold so it will slide on in easy . hope that works for u guys .

expense is an issue for us and mom doesn't go out at all. She has a listening device that cost $20 and works for her TV. She can hear on her phone with it's amplifier too. I don't understand why a hearing aid should cost so much. I think the industry needs a look by someone who could get the cost down to $500 instead of $4000

Yes the money invested worries me since they cost SEVERAL(and I mean SEVERAL) thousand dollars. Now that his dementia has progressed I think anything he had would get lost and I am just to worn out to constantly keep track of them and its too expensive to get them replaced. So my sister and I pick and choose when we feel they would be benificial for the event. He doesnt really care. I guess that is why he has 7+ pairs of glasses, so he can find at least one of them. Last week his dentures disappeared for a couple of days. That literally made me sick thinking that dentures are just not an easy thing to replace, feeling sorry for him about this, and wondering if this is a new issue.

It seems you are more worried about the money invested than the purpose for which they were bought. Find him some comfortable aids - he doesn't seem to have a problem with trying them.

My dad has an awesome set of hearing aids.....I have put them away even though he needs them. I spent too many days looking for them and just hoping they would show up. It was more of me becoming a nervous wreck over them being lost than him. They would get uncomfortable and he would just take them out.
Now, he doesnt even miss them. If we are going someplace where they really may be helpful I get them out and tell everyone else with me to keep checking to see if he has them in or not. If he doesnt then they are to help find them right away before they are gone.
In the long run it has been a total waste of money.