by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A man asked:
What do you think of the new Lyric hearing aid shown on their website? I’d be interested in your thoughts.
I have mixed feelings about this Lyric hearing aid. Personally, I don’t think I would ever get one—even if my hearing was such that it would help me. (My hearing is too poor for that hearing aid to be of much use.)
First, I don’t like the idea of the hearing aid stuck in my ear canal for 3 or 4 months at a time. I think our ear canals need to have a free flow of air in them to keep them in optimum condition.
Second, this is really just a fancy “Songbird” hearing aid—that was already tried and failed. Both the Songbird and the Lyric were/are disposable hearing aids. When the battery dies, you throw them away and get new ones.
However, in the case of the Lyric, you can’t put the new one hearing aid in your ear by yourself—so if the battery dies while you are at an important convention for example, you not only won’t hear, but the hearing aid will block any sound trying to get in to that ear. I’d much rather buy a hearing aid I can put in and take out myself, and one I can change the batteries on too.
Third, it is a “plain Jane” analog hearing aid. It is not digital so can’t do any fancy digital speech processing that current digital hearing aids do.
Fourth, it does not have a t-coil in it so you couldn’t use it to hear via room loops or neckloops, etc.
Fifth, you will find that you are paying much more for it over the years than you would pay for a “conventional” hearing aid. You will need to purchase at lest 3 a year for each ear. Thus, you need to compare their “contract” price per year with what conventional hearing aids would cost you per year. When you amortize the cost of conventional hearing aids over 5 to 10 years (and I regularly get 10 years with my aids), I think you will find these Lyrics are VERY expensive—and remember that is for “plain Jane” aids, not fancy digital conventional aids.
Sixth, if you wanted to go swimming, you could take them out with the gizmo provided—but then you are deaf until you can go to your audiologist and get them inserted properly again.
Seventh, any hearing aid that has as its prime selling point, that it is totally invisible is barking up the wrong tree. The main selling point should be that it helps you hear ever so much better. Being invisible isn’t really a positive thing. Actually, it is better that the hearing aid IS visible. That way people know you are hard of hearing and can make allowances for you. When you wear invisible hearing aids, people just assume you have perfect hearing and treat you like a boor if you don’t move when they say “excuse me” from behind you and you don’t hear them.
I’m sure there are more things I could say, but those are some of the things that immediately come to mind. As you can tell, I’m not too enamored with them.
However, on the plus side, because the Lyric is inserted so far down the ear canal, your outer ears should work normally in collecting and filtering sounds before these sounds reach the microphone. This should make things sound quite natural.
Neil,
My name is Ben Quigley and I am the marketing lead for Songbird Hearing. I just wanted to point out that Songbird is actually back on the market, after having been unavailable since 2004. Songbird took its product off the market to evaluate customer feedback and to improve elements of the product and business that needed it.
In the years since, the company has completely redesigned the product. It is now an adjustable benhind-the-ear model, which has proven in testing to be much more comfortable than it’s precursor in 2004.
Many of the same elements remain that the company felt were important – the low price, the digital signal processing, the 400 hours of active use (when it’s turned on), the ability to order it by phone or online.
We feel that Songbird has an important place in the option set that people with mild-to-moderate hearing loss have to choose from. We find that some people find Songbird a great way to address hearing loss when they are not ready for a traditional hearing aid, and the expense and ongoing maintainance that they sometimes require.
Thank you for writing about this important topic – I just wanted to write an update pointing out that Songbird is actually back and available…and why.
Many thanks for listening.
Ben
Just a brief note. After years of hearing aid expenses I lost my hearing completely and now have a cochlear implant. Just want to comment on one thing Neil said. Why should hearing aids be Invisible.
I was shopping one day and heard nothing or no one behind me..Next thing I knew I was shoved from behind. Nearly went head first it the section I was checking. Rudely told to get out of the way on a lady in a wheelchair. .Hey people. Wheelchairs can be seen Eye glasses can be seen. Why be ashamed of hearing aids.
I’ll tell you one reason, so your loved one with dementia can’t pull them out and lose them….again!
Another reason. My ears are so small I can’t fit the hearing aid and my glasses over my ears at the same time, so I either see or hear. That’s my choice. I am going to try the invisible hearing aids for a month on a free trial basis. Then I’ll make my decision.
I’ve been using lyric for one year. I have to get the extra small. And it does not get completely in my ear canal. But it is an obvious that I’m wearing hearing aids. I am told it lyric can make one to fit my small ear canal
No one is “ashamed” to be a hearing aid wearer, but that doesn’t mitigate the societal stigma that comes with them – old and feeble.
Hi Jay:
Maybe you’re not ashamed to wear hearing aids, but some people are. Perhaps a better word would be “embarrassed” rather than “ashamed”.
Cordially,
Neil
I’ve worn Lyric for three years and rely with confidence on their performance and the great change they have brought to my life. You have seven reasons against their use and I wanted to comment on each.
You write: “I have mixed feelings about this Lyric hearing aid.”
Doesn’t sound like your feelings are at all mixed; you are clearly against this new device and/or you think your hearing loss is too great to benefit from it.
You write: “First, I don’t like the idea of the hearing aid stuck in my ear canal for 3 or 4 months at a time. I think our eardrums need to breathe, etc.”
A ventilation port is part of the Lyric to help adjust for changes in ambient air pressure changes such as you’ll get in an aircraft descent. I don’t like having something stuck in my ear canal either, except with the Lyric I generally forget it is there.
You write: “…in the case of the Lyric, you can’t put the new one hearing aid in your ear by yourself—so if the battery dies while you are at an important convention for example, you not only won’t hear, but the hearing aid will block any sound trying to get in to that ear.”
You can easily remove the failed device. I’ve had one Lyric fail and discovered that the second one can compensate adequately until I can get the first failed one replaced. A benefit of the disposable nature is you are always getting new devices (microphones and receivers wear down over time due to debris, ear was and moisture) In addition, you always get the latest technology when you get a new device. The office visit to get the new Lyric is very brief like a trip to the post office — and not at all like when you need your hearing aid repaired and you have two visits and the use of a loaner device or nothing at all.
You write: “Third, it is a “plain Jane†analog hearing aid. It is not digital so can’t do any fancy digital speech processing that current digital hearing aids do.”
Digital hearing aids actually have features that in large measure are meant to overcome the unnatural placement/variability of placement of traditional hearing devices (feedback, directionality, noise reduction etc) At the end, the signal that is heard is returned to analog. Research has shown for over 25 years that a hearing aid that has the microphone totally in the ear and the receiver ~ 4mm from the ear would deliver the best sound. The deep canal fitting provides less distortion, better directionality, better high frequency gain, less occlusion etc.
You write: “Fourth, it does not have a t-coil in it so you couldn’t use it to hear via room loops or neckloops, etc.”
I don’t need the loops since my Lyrics restore my hearing to near normal. I have no difficulty in theaters, restaurants (I turn them to standby when the noise it too great, and hear my dinner partner very well). Lyrics also work fine with my cell phone held next to my ear and I can use ear buds with no feedback.
You write: “Fifth, I don’t know the price, but I think you will find that you are paying much more for it over the years than you would pay for a “conventional†hearing aid. You will need to purchase at lest 3 a year for each ear. Thus, you need to compare their “contract†price per year with what conventional hearing aids would cost you per year. When you amortize the cost of conventional hearing aids over 5 to 10 years (and I regularly get 10 years with my aids), I think you will find these Lyrics are VERY expensive—and remember that is for “plain Jane†aids, not fancy digital conventional aids.”
It’s true that hearing devices Lyric or otherwise are expensive. One has to make a choice, always. But for ease of use, reliability, and results, I’ve never experienced anything close to the Lyric. They are purchased on an annual subscription and so you can make a new purchase decision every year if something new comes on the market.
You write: “Sixth, if you wanted to go swimming, you could take them out with the gizmo provided—but then you are deaf until you can go to your audiologist and get them inserted properly again.”
Showering and swimming are possible both without removing the Lyric. In fact, when showering I find that excess ear wax is projected into the outer canal and can easily be swabbed away, and the Lyric devices have never failed me because they were wet.
You wrote: “Seventh, any hearing aid that has as its prime selling point, that it is totally invisible is barking up the wrong tree. The main selling point should be that it helps you hear ever so much better. Being invisible isn’t really a positive thing. Actually, it is better that the hearing aid IS visible. That way people know you are hard of hearing and can make allowances for you. When you wear invisible hearing aids, people just assume you have perfect hearing and treat you like a boor if you don’t move when they say “excuse me†from behind you and you don’t hear them.”
This is just wrong. The Lyric is not wonderful because they are invisible; they are wonderful because they work.
I have had Lyrics for four years and I’m a court reporter who has to take verbatim record. I love them and would not be able to do my job without them.
That is just a wonderful response
I agree with everything you wrote and I have had Lyric for about six
months and don’t know what I would do without them. P.S I am a diver and take them out when I go diving and
put them in myself when the dive is ended
Bruce, Thank you for posting your a diver thats just what I was searching for how hard to remove and replace them? Have you ever dove with them?
Curious how you were able to put them back in yourself. I have been a Lyric wearer for 4 years and we own a pool. Haven’t been able to truly “swim” because of the water issue and didn’t want to have to keep going back into the office to have them reinserted. I would LOVE to be able to put them back myself on occasion.
You can buy molded ear plugs that do not go into the canal. Just put them in and you’re good to dive. How deep – I don’t know. I have also removed and reinserted them … the “dot” on the cup should be at the top. You know how they should feel … just insert them. If you goof, pull them out. The likelihood of your pushing them in too far is nil. When you’ve been wearing them for a year or so, your ear canal has a little Lyric “imprint” that makes it fit into place.
I’ve been wearing Lyrics for about 4 years. I am a classical singer and they are the ONLY device that returns a natural sound. I routinely take them out and reinsert them when I swim. Recently, I learned to scuba dive and take them out and reinsert them when I dive. After you’ve been wearing them for 6 months or more, it becomes very easy to do so. In addition, my audi gives me an extra pair to take with me when I travel so I will always have a backup pair in case one goes out.
really? You put them back in yourself? I am contemplating getting them but the price is just a little high. Any luck getting a discount somewhere?
It take some practice but I also take them out and put them back in. It took me about a year to be brave enough to do it though.
Hi, I am about to try them. How do you put them back in after swimming? I have a pool and will be going underwater.
Thanks
Hi Bob:
That’s the problem. They are made to be taken out and put back by your audiologist/hearing aid dispenser, not by yourself. I think they have ear plugs that you can put in on top of them to seal your ear canals, but I’m not sure about this.
Cordially,
Neil
Are Lyrics safe if on a blood thinner? I’m on Coumadin for a heart valve.
Hi Jan:
Why would you think that wearing hearing aids–whether Lyrics or any other make or model–would not be safe just because you are taking a blood thinner?
Personally, I don’t see any reason that taking blood thinners would preclude you wearing Lyric or any other hearing aids.
Cordially,
Neil
i go to a private highschool and i am the only deaf person (which means i am bullied). i have hoped and prayed practactly my whole life for an invisible hearing aid. does the lyric hearing aid work? if so, im all for it.
I am trying these for the first time this week. I was born hearing impaired and have worn in canal hearing aids (digital) for the last 20-years. The price is steep. My in-ear were ~$3k for the pair 4 years ago, and the 1-year subscription for Lyric was $3,600. So far, the biggest issue for me is that they are analog, and I am so used to my digital hearing aids filtering out excess noise, especially in the higher pitch ranges, that life got very noisy, very quickly. They feel a bit odd in my ear, but the ability to adjust volume, turn them to sleep mode, or turn them completely off is nice. I would recommend seeing an audiologist again, as the in-canals are very small now, even in the last 4-years, and are effectively invisible. And if people are bullying you, it is likely because you are AWESOME and they are jealous! 🙂
I have worn Phonak Audeo (behind the ear model) and now wear Phonak Lyric AND I LOVE THEM!!! Absolutely, no comparison !!! Lyrics have adapted to my activities whereas with the Audeos the reverse was true. First of all 1) there is 100% conpliance with Lyrics b/c i cannot take out i have 24/7 hearing (I NEVER TURN OFF OR EVEN USE SLEEP MODE – b/c i am a smoker, i would prefer to hear smoke alarms. And home security alarms for obvious reasons.) I agree with above writers’ detailed review wholeheartedly! Lyrics all the way!!!!
They last 3 or 4 months??? I have been using the Lyric for several years and have yet to have the battery last more than 5 or 6 weeks.
Turn them into sleep mode at night.
Mine last 3-4
Months
I just wanted to add a note to Allenkent’s comments. I’ve had Lyrics for 8 years now. The biggest benefit for me is that they are closest to natural hearing you can get. You don’t have to think about them as they are always a part of you… and the sound is so natural.
I change mine every two months or so even when they are still working fine. They don’t have to fail before you replace them. Doing this I’ve rarely ever had one fail prematurely.
They are the best you can get if you want something that restores your hearing in the most effective and convenient way.
Acctually, i have the other new phonaks and they’re actually really amazing spund quality just as good as the lyric,.. Ive had the lyric as well,.. you need to have them properly programmed to your prescription and they’ll be just as good!!
I don’t wear lyrics because I’m vain and want invisible aids. I wear them because of my lifestyle….I ski, bike and ride horses all of which require helmets. The scratchy sounds of over/behind the ear just don’t work for me.
Hi Chrys:
I understand. What style of hearing aids you wear is your choice and you want them to fit your lifestyle.
Just remember there are many other brands of hearing aids that fit in the ear/in the ear canal apart from the Lyrics.
Cordially,
Neil
I’m a semiprofessional musician, and my audiologist is recommending these BECAUSE they are analog. She says the sound quality will be better. Also, most people who qualify for these aids will not go deaf if they don’t have them. Yes, they will notice a loss, but I believe the max HL you can have and still qualify is around 60 db.
Also, our insurance pays 90% of the cost of hearing aids, and we can pay the other 10% out of HSA. So yeah, the cost may be greater for these over time than regular aids. The Oticons would have cost $800 out of pocket, and the Lyrics cost $320 out of pocket per year. $320/year really isn’t that bad even if we have to pay it every year. I mean our monthly rent is about ten times that!
Lyric costs $3200/year per pair without insurance.
Lyric is typically only available for people with HL less than 60 db.
Hi Allen:
You write, “Doesn’t sound like your feelings are at all mixed; you are clearly against this new device and/or you think your hearing loss is too great to benefit from it.”
I’m not “clearly” against it, hence the “mixed feelings”. Its just that I don’t think the benefits are all that great compared to other hearing aids. Definitely not the price. I notice you carefully didn’t tell us the annual price of the Lyrics so readers could compare prices with conventional aids.
You’re right, the Lyric is not for me, nor for many hard of hearing people. It says right on their website, “Lyric is not appropriate for all patients.”
You write: “You can easily remove the failed device. I’ve had one Lyric fail and discovered that the second one can compensate adequately until I can get the first failed one replaced.”
I still say it is “stupid” not to be able to be able to change/insert your own hearing aids when you want to. And depending on your hearing loss and situation, it is problematic whether one hearing aid can “compensate adequately” when the other fails.
You write: “The Lyric is not wonderful because they are invisible; they are wonderful because they work.”
If the Lyric worked so wonderfully, I would expect that would be a prime selling point, but its not. The prime selling point (and I’m quoting from the Lyric website) is “Lyric® is the first and only extended wear hearing device that is 100% invisible.” See, they think that invisibility is its best point.
The Lyric is obviously better for people with milder hearing losses, not for those of us with the severe/profound hearing losses and less than perfect discrimination.
Neil
You seem to be an advocate of being able to insert and remove your own hearing aids and being able to change the batteries. However, my Mother is 87 and suffers from arthritis in her hands/finger joints and also has carpel tunnel. Dealing with her small cell phone is difficult for her dealing with her hearing aids is impossible so she ends up not wearing them at all.
I’d like to know if it’s true that all digital hearing aids switch back to analog at the end process.
Also, what is the actual cost of the lyric. My Mother’s hearing aids cost $3000 apiece.
Hi Bonny:
yes, it’s good idea to be able to insert and remove your own hearing aids. However if you have no motility problems and can’t do that, then by all means get a hearing aid like the Lyric where you don’t have to do that.
Yes, it’s true. Digital hearing aids accept an analog signal coming in from the microphone, convert it to a digital signal, process the sound digitally and then convert it back to analog for the receiver which outputs an analog sound signal so your eardrum can pick it up and transmit it to your middle ear and then to your inner ear.
Cordially,
Neil
Neil, I have had the bte hearing aids fall off in public. It was very embarrassing. My right hand is paralyzed and I can’t change batteries and other normal. I am very happy that the Lyric IS invisible. I don’t want everyone to know that I’m hearing impaired. Regular itc aids are itchy and uncomfortable. I think Lyric deserves high Mark’s for discretion, comfort and performance. Nothing else has worked as well for me. Lyric, imho, are the greatest.
Hi Anne:
You have a good reason to wear the Lyrics and I’m glad you are happy with them.
However, invisibility is not a good reason for selecting a hearing aid. Actually, most hearing aids are almost invisible–even BTE aids. People know I’m hard of hearing and I’ve had some say, “Aren’t you wearing your hearing aids today–I can’t see them” all the while peering at my ears to see them–and I’m bald so I can’t hide them under hair. That’s how much modern BTE aids show.
Cordially,
Neil
I Love my lyrics . I do have a cold though, and there is increased pressure in the ear canals.
I hear better than with BTE, and I can use a stethoscope
I am a Lyrics customer and this is my first year wearing this devise. I absolutely love wearing this hearing aid. The cost 3,500 annually. I can get a new set every 30 days if I wish which are replaced at the office. I can pull mine out and clean my nears as I do produce a fair amount of wax. I have had no issues putting my aids back in a home if you align the angle of the hearing canal they slide right back into place. If I sleep on one side ,as sometimes happens, I may need to pull on one slightly to pull it closer to the front . I kept one pair for a 120 days just to see if they would last as advertised and they performed well the whole time. The reason I’m really like them is the quality of life I have since the start of use and I dont have another thing to have to keep up with. As a contractor and very active in and out of the office, this devise has revolutionized my life. My hearing lose according to 2 different test is 50%. I have worn them long enough to tell you this; most of the devises are very consistent in quality. Twice I have had a set that where a bit different and I gave that feed back to the audiologist. In summer I change them once a month, however in cooler weather I can keep them in longer. I can wear over the ear hearing protection when around equipment and saws out at the job site. Since I personally do not need and extra things to keep up with and I am not prohibited with my lifestyle these hearing devises are a great option for me personally. As for comfort, the first set will take about a half a day to get used to having someone inside you ear. Buy the second day my wife and whole family are very glad that I can hear again as the radio in my truck and TV in the house are at normal ranges. I recommend these hearing aids for vanity reasons and for convenience of lifestyle. I realize we are all uniquely made so my ear canal and others are really different. I had a mold made of my ear and to different audiologist told me my ear canal is well suited in design for inner ear devises. Once you get used to wearing these babies, you are going to love them. Thank you for allowing me to share this experience with you. Please for you and your families sake go get aids if you need them. It will change your life.
The prime selling point for me was the one mentioned first: extended wear. I use a DEXCOM Continuous Glucose Monitor, so it’s important to me to be able to hear my DEXCOM alarm in bed overnight. Having constant 24/7 hearing is better to train the brain to turn off tinnitus, getting better sleep. Lyric is one kind you don’t forget to put on, don’t lose, don’t pull off with your mask, and can wear when you nap.
I notice that both Dr. Neil and Allenkent did not indicate what the yearly selling price is; both have eventually purchased the product. Why not? If both of you have your positive points with the Lyric Hearing Aid come right out and tell us what is important to us and that is the Lyric versus the conventional hearing aid costs as well as the effectiveness of both. I purchsed the Songbird for my wife and she got only one and a half month worth of use in spite of the fact that she followed all of the instructions for its care. I was told to send it back seemingly for analysis as to why it failed so soon. To date I have not heard back from Songbird. The cost of the Songbird was $69.00 plus shipping cost for “400 hours or at least 3 months worth of use.” Aside of the enherent time problem, my wife was satisfied with the Songbird. With the Lyric, I cannnot even compare prices. Also, Allenkent never answered the inquiry that it would have to be re-inserted by a professional. Allenkent said that he is able to take his Lyric out without any problem. So what! What about re-inserting it, he didn’t say that he could effectively put in a new one. Please clear these problems up for me so that I can make an informed choice. Charles
I’m in my 2nd year wearing the Lyric. I initially was sold on the idea that unlike my older Nuear, I didn’t have to take it off before showing or swimming, and I didn’t have to take it off before going to bed. And best of all, no batteries to replace! I thought those pesky things made the cost of the Lyric worth it. I sign a1yr. Contract which includes a new replacement when needed throughout the year. Usually each one lasts 2-3mos. The cost was $1800/yr. I’ve had some months of an uncomfortable initial placement and had to return to the Dr. to adjust the fit. A few months ago, my hearing aid went out after only a month. When the Dr. removed it, she found blood in my ear canal. After having to wear my old Nuear for a month, while my ear was healing. I’ve now worn my new replacement Lyric for almost 2mos. and it went out today. My Dr. can’t see me until next Tues. I CANNOT take it out by myself! I had my Daughter come over to take it out so I can use my old Nuear till Tuesday. Surprise… Bleeding again!!
No more aids “in the ear ” for me!!!
Hope my experience helps others.
Hi Charles:
The reason I never listed the annual price of the Lyric is because it seems to be a deep dark secret. I don’t have a clue what the price is. If anyone knows, by all means clue us in.
In my experience, when manufacturers are so close-lipped about the price, it is because the price is higher than the competition, so they pick another feature to tout.
I’ve never worn tne Lyric. It is not powerful enough for my severe hearing loss. Besides I don’t want anything stuck in my ear canal for 3 months at a time.
I was just reporting on this hearing aid for the benefit of my readers, and trying to debunk all the hype about it in the process.
Neil
it runs from 695 to 1290 per aide
I live in NYC and have to pay 1290 per ear. Where can I get lyric for 695 or can I bargain my own hearing place down? Is 695 a poorer quality or is it the same quality?
I was told 1800 an aid. I like your price better. I live in WI.
Is that $1800.00 an ear plus the subscription, or is the subscription included in the cost?
I don’t know where these people are getting them as low as 800-1200 per side, but I was told 1800 per side the first year and 1750 after that. I was also told that washing my hair was ok, but not to submerge them when if I swim. I am on the free trial period and have experienced significant itching in the inner ear. There is much about them I like, but the price and the inability to re-insert them is an issue for me.
I was paying $1500 per ear to my Lyric provider in Walnut Creek, California until I decided it was way too much. Now I just reuse the old ones.
I’ve removed and re-inserted my Lyrics several times; no problem.
Hi Robert:
I’m curious about a couple of things. First how do you remove and reinsert your Lyrics? I thought an audiologist had to do that using special tools.
Second, how do you reuse your old Lyrics? Do you change the battery yourself? And how do you do that?
Cordially,
Neil
We are given a tool to remove it. We’re not supposed to reinset but it’s not that difficult. I find that I do a better job of getting it in far enough that I don’t ahve that weird muffled sound that happens when there’s a big gap between the device and the eardrum when I do it myself.
I had lyrics for one year. I was able to take them out and put them back in myself. It was not hard. Maybe due to the shape of my ear.
They worked really well, but in my opinion, the outer case would benefit from being shaped more like the Eargo I have just seen online today.
The lyric resting against the thin skin in my ear just made it sore and i had to take them out at night.
I turned their power off then too. Getting them wet was a mistake, because the wetness would linger till i removed and dried them and let my ears dry, but the aids dried quickly with a towel or tissue.
Lyric was my first hearing aid and it was a good experience, except for the expense. My ear canals are shallow so they were visible. At that time they were bright colors so that made it more visible.
My hearing has deteriorated now so i am not as good a candidate for lyric any more. I got Reston hearing aids from Costco. They are a gtrat value. I have had them for 4 years.
If I were still a good candidate for lyrics I would ask for a backup set, so I could be covered and not as dependent on the audio office.
It seems to cost from $3000 to $3600 a year for a pair
My wife is in the hospital with lyric hearing aids. She needs an MRI, but that requires that the lyrics be removed. The hospital does not consider that a standard medical procedure and has no one familiar with removing lyrics. They allowed me to try, and though it looks easy, my daughter wife and I were unable to remove either one. I am at my wits end. Will call her lyric audiologist to Morro to see if they can help.
Who makes Lyrics?
Rick
Global Hearing Services
If you don’t know what the Lyric costs, its because you can’t sell them. We do. The patients who can wear them, LOVE them. I was also skeptical of the devices, but seeing is believing. Hey not everybody can afford a BMW, but that doesn’t make them less of a great car. For those that cannot, there are many other alternatives.
You can speak against the vanity of it, but truth is, the cosmetics get people who would not wear otherwise to wear appropriate devices.
A BMW is an optional luxury. Hearing well is not! It’s not immoral to make a profit, but it is immoral to price-gouge people in need – see the pharmaceutical industry.
By the way, it is the customer who buys them, so we SHOULD have a right to know the price going in. What are you trying to hide here? Why should I waste my time coming to you, listening to the sales pitch, and than at the end finding out that it’s out of my league? my time is just as important to me as your time is to you!
I just purchased the Lyric for $3,200 per year on a one-month trial basis. After two days I have just about decided to return it. Why?
1. It does not work well compared to my current aids.
For example, if I am talking to my wife in the kitchen and at the same time turn the water on for a drink, the device automatically enhances the sound of the water coming out and completely (>90%) blocks the sound of my wife’s voice or anything else. This is an example of the error in design and it applies to any similar situation. If I am in a meeting, the and am near a computer or other device that has a fan, the Lyric will enhance the sound of the fan and block out all other sounds. This is not good – right?
2. Althought literature and CD included with the Lyric claims you can shower with no mention of problems, why is a small ear cap included with instrucitons by the doctor (seller) to use it to keep water from causing damage? Actually, the cap collects water which makes it worse and also easily falls off. So, you can nether shower or swim. I would say that this just about eliminates the market and sooner or later, someone will get smart and pull the product (so much for honesty in marketing – not a surprise).
3. Think! When your seller-doctor has sales of 100 Lyrics, he/she will be seeing 100 x 4 (probably more for those who shower or swim) = at least 400 people a year in addition to his/her regular paying customers. Guess who gets left out?
BACK TO THE STORE GOES MY LYRIC. IN TIME SOMEONE WILL GET IT RIGHT BUT NOT THIS TIME.
I also never received an ear cover to shower or swim from my audiologist
I shower , no problem. Don’t use a -tip in ear, that pulled my first lyric.
I like not having to replace the battery, and not thinking about it
I have no ear cap. Audiologist said I could shower with it in and even have my head underwater for short periods of time, though I would need to put a wax plug in for dedicated swimming and could not wear it scuba diving or skydiving (neither of which I’ve ever done).
Hi,
I only recently heard about Lyric. I was really excited because my Father’s hearing is so poor he is missing out on a lot. He had hearing aids before but the squeaking/squawking bothered him and others. He has macular degeneration so if he takes it off and puts it down – chances are that he won’t find it again. (This has happened.) Although he doesn’t mind wearing a visible aid, one that is left in place would solve the issues of him trying to adjust the unit, and he’d be much less likely to lose one. I don’t know if his particular hearing loss would benefit from Lyrica, but I’d sure take him to an audiologist if I knew Lyrica were available in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. And, as for that bit about it being invisible? I wouldn’t be so quick to jump to the conclusion invisibility is the aid’s best feature – it may offer excellent hearing supplementation. The fact is that our culture is highly focused on youth and beauty. I’m sure studies show how many people won’t use a hearing aid because they are embarrassed by their hearing loss, and more embarrassed to wear an aid. If people are more willing to try this product because it is invisible that’s great. Undoubtedly their lives and those of their family and friends will benefit from the improved communication!
It’s a niche product for those who want it. Very narrow patient population, I’m sure. I read the price is $2900-$3600/year for the subscription (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/15/health/15well.html).
Personally, I’ll take my new Avio3 that sound great, are very discreet (but not invisible) and don’t require going back to the Dr a million times.
I have gotten the Lyric for my 87 year old grandmother, who is almost deaf, even with a “top of the line” hearing aid.
We tried Lyric for a few reasons, one being that you can’t see them. This is important to a lot of people who can’t hear. I don’t know why, but it is a top complaint I hear. Why would you need someone to know that you are hard of hearing if your hearing aid works properly? Seems to me that is the purpose of the hearing aid … to give you a “normal” hearing life???
We have bought and tried 4 different brands in the last 5 years. The least of these was around $4,000.00. She complains non-stop about them. They fall out, she can’t hear, they aren’t working. I get a call at least once a week with her sobbing and saying she has mis-placed her hearing aid.
Lyric has changed her life. She had to have them turned down, that’s how well they work. After watching the video and practicing for a few minutes she is able to turn them down and off if she chooses. I NEVER thought they would work as well as they do. It’s a 30 day free trial, what would you have to lose? I can’t imagine that a narrow population would want these. I can’t say enough good.
My parents both have the lyric. The travel 130 miles to get them–definitely inconvenient, but worth it. There is always a space where they don’t have hearing aids while waiting for an appointment to replace them. Otherwise the sound and convenience are well worth the trip.
These comments are all helpful. I am considering trying the Lyric. I am newly diagnosed with mild to severe loss within the range of Lyric, per my ENT. Visibility is a key issue; society is youth oriented and those of us who work, don’t need to appear older than we are, and like it or not, in older adults, hearing problems are associated with being ‘aging.’ The explanation of all aids “digital-to-analog” processing clears up a key question I had.
Today I read about the Lyric for the first time on the website of InSound Medical.
I swim regularly so that particular issue is of great importance to me. If I remember the website correctly, it specifically stated that you SHOULD NOT swim or shower if you are wearing the Lyric; that the Lyric should NOT be put under water. But if that is the case, and you cannot put it back in yourself but have to return to the audiologist to have it reinserted, what do you do to remain socially acceptable? Is there a new level of social interaction called “Socially acceptable, hearing-aid induced, body odor”?
Seriously, there seems to be an important inconsistency here.
I’m confused about the comments about the mysterious price of Lyric. I started wearing them in August and after the 45 day trial period I paid $3200/year for the pair. I’ve had 2 sets of regular hearing aids for the about 6 years and they cost me about $10,000.Add the cost of loss of one each during the warranty period of one year ($850 with a Siemans and $350 with a Widex). Also add the cost of insurance after the first year (about $200 on my homeowners insurance policy). Another expense and annoyance is the cost of batteries. I was never satisfied with the regular hearing aids. Although I have had Lyric for only a few months, I find it a vast improvement over regular hearing aids.
I have worn hearing aids for several years. The problems I have had with hearing aids occur because I take them out (because of high levels of physical activity or because their presence becomes annoying) and then I misplace or damage them. Although I am not terribly anxious generally, I have a so much anxiety and distress with regard to misplacing my aids that since the most recent loss a year ago, I’ve preferred saying “Huh” to keeping up with them. The Lyric aid technology seems a reasonable solution to these concerns.
The $3000 first year charge my New Braunfels TX audiologist for the pair is less than the cost of the pair of aides I would buy otherwise — sure, it is much more expensive over 5-10 years, but I prefer a smaller withdrawal from my retirement savings account, now that it’s generating some income again!
When I first read about the Lyric hearing aids in the N.Y. times.I thought that this could be the answer to my prayers.I have owned several different hearing aids and they all have their own problems.I live 6mo. in Miami Fl, and 6 mo . in Buffalo N.Y. One of the major problems with Lyrics is that they do not have providers for them nationally yet.I was directed to Palm Beach ENT (60 miles) for the initial installation.Cost $3200. for 1 year service. When they were installed I thought they were great.I could hear better and more naturally than any of my previous instruments.I realized that I would probably have to travel back to Florida once during the summer to have them replaced which I was willing to do.The first problem came less than 2 months after I purchased them.I noticed that my hearing wes getting worse.Avisit to my Dr.informed me that there was a buildup of wax in my hear which was probably the causal of my problems.I scheduled a trip to Florida and had it replaced.I was informed that thy were experiencing some problems with wax buildup and were working on a solution.To make a long story short I have since had to return 2 more times and I took them out myself and waiting for a factory rep to get back to me with apossible solution.Investigate before getting them
Thanks Dr. Bauman for posting your thoughts on the Lyric. I think any discussion on this topic is positive, regardless of your opinion.
I’ve used the Lyrics for 16 months and love them. You can check out my blog with my story at http://lyrichearing.blogspot.com. No, I don’t get paid, I’m just a big fan. I’ve worn several other regular hearing aids and they made a huge difference in my life.
I know they aren’t for everyone though. Some suffer sensitive canals, or they are too small, or they swim all the time or they get too much wax. If they work for you… great! If not, hopefully they’ll keep working on new versions what will make them available to others.
After wearing analog, then digital aids for the last 20+ years, I tried Lyric aids a year ago. It has been an up and down experience, but I love the natural sound quality and the clarity on the phone and in one-to-one conversations. So I decided to renew my contract for a second year. Recently my audiologist readjusted the settings once again, and I am now hearing better in larger groups. So if you are trying Lyrics, don’t give up right away if you aren’t hearing clearly or the aids are amplifying the background noises – have them adjusted. And probably more than once.
Wax build-up has been a problem, but my audiologist has always been willing to either suction it out or replace the aid if it’s gotten to be too much.
One thing we discovered over the course of the year is in summer I needed to have them out for a few weeks to let the ears breathe. This happened just as we were going on vacation to the lake, so I was delighted to be able to swim during my Lyric “holiday”. I have my old aids which I used, and, while they weren’t great, they got me through this period. They are also there as backup if one of the batteries goes dead, although this has never happened to me.
I agree it would be nice to be able to take them out and put them back in when the wax builds up and my ears start itching, but over time my ears have adjusted to them and usually I don’t even know they are there.
That very popular TV Doctor – DR.OZ – recommended the Lyric on one of his shows. I want to try them, but they are not available in Seattle. rls
I have beltone, and very successfully. I remember telling someone i have known for years that i was wearing an aid, and they didn’t believe i had one until i took it out. I have moderate hearing loss (who really wants to hear children anyway) but i have to say, it changed my life
I have hearing loss in left ear due to Meniwere’s disease- years ago I had Endolymphatic Shunt placed and that was a long recovery with finally ending up with High Dose prednisone treatment that worked. No more Menirer’s attacks but I have severe hearing loss in the ear that had surgery and have tennitus in that ear that is not really bothersome. I have tried several different digital hearing aids that just are nerve raking because the sound. Also I think because of my age 69 I have some hearing loss (not a lot) in my right ear.
Would the Lyrica work for me in the ear that had surgery is my question?
JoAnn: the “long recovery” period probably allowed the Meniere’s disease to run its course. What is “nerve raking because the sound?” Have you followed up with your audiologist to have them adjusted? To determine if you are a candidate for the Lyric, visit an office that dispenses the product and have them check the geometry of your ear canal, and review your medical history (can’t wear them if you take a blood thinner). There should not be any cost for them to determine if you are a candidate. If you are not, then keep working with the digital units you have now. People who benefit the most from their hearing instruments are the ones who wear them all the time.
(Note: the link to http://lyrichearing.blogspot.com./ in the post #18 above doesn’t work.)
I have been wearing a Lyric for almost 2 months now and am very pleased with it. I have only one hearing aid because my other ear is completely deaf. I love the natural sound and it makes music sound great, unlike the digital hearing I owned before. A single one only costs me $1700 per year.
It’s great to not have to take it out when showering. My previous digital hearing aid required an expensive repair once a few years ago when I forgot to take it out when I took a shower. The company’s website says not to swim, but poster #2 above says it is ok, so I might give it a try.
As to amplifying noises along with speech, I have found that my brain seems to be working on that one. The first day I wore it noises were driving me crazy and I had to turn the volume way down. But with time my brain seems to be learning to filter noises to the extent that I hardly even notice some of them. My previous digital hearing aid would filter all noises, unfortunately even the ones I would like to hear, like rushing rivers and crickets.
It is expensive but I think a lot of people would be happy with the Lyric. Also, consider that other types can sometimes be expensive if, for instance, you damage them in the shower or lose them. (Batteries are too small an expense to consider.)
Thanks everyone for some very useful info…I too saw the “Lyric” on “The Doctors”, I’m 68 and have severe hearing loss in right ear and moderate to high in my left ear.(lifelong medical causes, compounded by bad work noise protection) I can not afford high cost hearing aids, so I purchase my BTE aids online, the most I have paid is AUD $19.95. per ear plus postage to Australia…Because they are so cheep I have a couple of sets placed around and in vehicles etc, this because the little b..gers hang around with my glasses who take great delite in hiding from me. I usually only use the left ear aid, because I find the high volume required for the right ear just gobbles up batteries to quickly…What I have found that most times after wearing my el-cheepo aid, my ear will bubble and pop and most times I can remove the hearing aid a hear quite well for varying periods. On my last visit to the doc. I tried to explain this but all he wanted to do was, sell me some high priced digital aids. Can I ask please, why haven’t these digital aids come down in price as more are made and sold, surely any initial R&D would have been recovered by now, till then I will stick to my el-cheepo’s, even if it is a pot luck lottery on the quality and life of replacement batteries again purchased online.
I’m thrilled to have found this page, Dr. B.; you’re performing a public service one way or another. My very cautious Long Island audiologist just recommended I try these Lyrics, though I have small canals. The main reason I’m on the hunt for a new set is that I really don’t like my Widex Sensa Divas’ sound quality, compared to the analog Siemenses I had before. I don’t seem to be processing ambient sounds as well – and my teens sure let me know when I’m not on the ball. There’s also the fact that post-auricular (gotta love that word!) aids are not comfortable – I wear glasses, and the combination is wretched on the external ear, even with thin-rimmed specs. Not to mention the ear molds (not the kind with spores), which rub if they’re not in just right. Insult to injury, when the batteries die, the Widexes make an excruciatingly loud BEEP BEEP BEEP right down the canal into my brain – arrrgh!
Sorry, that was a lot of complaining! Truth be told, being hearing impaired is often a blessing in NYC – Jackhammer ahead? Screeching subway cars? Loud crowd? Turn the aid off! (I hope the Lyric has that much flexibility – I haven’t spotted how you turn it on and off. A remote?)
The brochure I have says you can wear it in the shower. I think my audiologist said you could swim, but not go in deep. Sure I’d wear earplugs, to be safe, if they don’t bump into each other. (Would they?)
As for the vanity factor, I’m not at all surprised they’re marketing the Lyrics that way, and I don’t blame them. Do you remember what a boost hearing aid research and sales got from the mere fact that President Reagan admitted to wearing some? That may have been the best thing he ever did. (Okay, I’m a Democrat, but an independent one.)
(P.S. A shout-out from NYC to New Braunfels, home of the world’s best barbecue among other things.)
Margaret: The Lyric is controlled with a little magnetic probe they provide which fits into a holder on a keychain. You (carefully) poke it into your ear until it is sensed at which time you hear a beep and it goes into “standby” mode, which means it amplifies at a low level that is equivalent to having no hearing aid at all. Another poke and it goes back to your normal setting.
It also has two other combination poke sequences which I won’t go into describing but only say they are confusing at first but once you’ve practiced a few times they’re quite easy. One sequence is for adjusting the volume through a series of 6 levels. The other sequence turns the hearing aid completely off so it becomes an earplug.
They give you two probes, one to keep with you in pocket or purse, or as I do, hang from my belt loop. The other one you can keep by your bedside in case you want to turn it on or off – or standby (also for a spare in case you lose the first one.
The probe also has a tool for removing the hearing aid. It’s important to always have it at hand because you never know when the battery is going to die and since it becomes an earplug without power, you will want to remove it promptly. My first battery is still going so I can’t tell you yet how easy it is to remove.
I can say, 2 weeks after my first post, I still like it a lot. Having had a digital hearing aid for several years previously, I now am of the opinion that digitals are over hyped. The Lyric, by being so close to your eardrum and using the natural shape of the ear, makes sound sound natural and you don’t need any digital filters, your brain does what it is best at and optimizes the sound for you.
I have worn a number of hearing aids over the years including top of the line digital. I share the feeling with the poster above who has a tough time putting up with BTEs and glasses on the same ear shell!
I have also done testing of hearing aids for several manufacturers plus I have an electronics manufacturing background. Having said that, I find Lyric prices to be obscene, and I don’t care HOW good they are. There is no way that the R&D plus manufacturing cost (about $90) justifies the price tag. They are taking advantage of the hearing impaired population.
Sorry, I will pass. Let me know when they hit $195 and you simply buy new pairs, not engage in the “subscription” hookum.
This blog was very interesting. I have mod -> severe loss in the L and mild -> mod in the R. I do not wear aids due to a 2 week trial of BTE with molds aids last summer. I had to give them up because of a misunderstanding on my part as to what my med insurance would/would not cover. They do cover aids to a point. Also I developed a very bad infection in the L outer canal that required two trips and an antibiotic to my GP and then I had to go to an ENT for a more powerful antibiotic for another 2 visits.
I do have small canals. I also don’t give a rat’s whisker about ‘invisibility’. Actually I want them to be seen initially to prove to those bone heads that I have to work/play with that I do/did have have a noticeable hearing loss. Everybody claims I don’t pay attention. I do mean everybody. (Maybe I am young looking for my age? (snicker-snicker). Problem is is that no one noticed I was wearing aids during my 2 week trial.
I have been looking around at other possibilities when one of the bone heads put a newspaper ad on my desk anonymously for the Lyric. After looking at the ad for 3 minutes, I checked out the web site. Left with more questions than answers. After poking around the Internet for about 90 minutes, I ran across this blog and it answered most/all of my questions from both those for and those against.
My decision for several reasons (cost, water in ear, possible infections, the claims by the manufacturer that sound like a scam, hard time finding a price, etc)would be not to go with this and to keep looking.
My 90 year old mother finally agreed to get a hearing aid and the Lyric seemed perfect since she didn’t want it to show. We never made it past the initial fitting. The pain of them trying to insert it into her ear canal was excruiting and she is almost afraid to try again. Is this common? Can they numb the ear canal to get it in? does the holder stay in there and only the aid come out when changing it with a new one? I have paid for a year’s subscription but I am almost ready to ask for a refund.
Wow, Great BLOG! I just turned 50, and I am officially admitting that I have CHS. (Cant hear s…). I looked at Lyrics, but the cost and the the swimming issue is a HUGE deal. I am a competitive waterskier and in the water sometimes daily. Hearing aids are somewhat problematic for me, as I have califlower ears from 28 years of wrestling and coaching. Sigh… I am leaning towards Resound Dot2. They seem likethey may be a good solution, and they will fit with my glasses on.
Janice (30):
My doctor did not charge me until after the Lyric was in my ear. I recall a brief moment of pain but maybe not as bad as your mother’s. They come in different sizes so maybe they tried one too large. They remove the entire aid when replacing it (or you remove it and the doc inserts the new one). You are supposed to be able to get a full refund within 30 days of insertion, but if she still hasn’t had it inserted the trial period shouldn’t have even started yet. I recommend a consultation with the doc to decide if she wants to give it another try, possibly with a smaller diameter, and if not, you should of course get a full refund. (I did have a $200 non=refundable payment to cover the doctor that measured my ear canal for the device.)
I’m an audiologist in Maryland who initially started fitting Lyric because I thought some of my patient’s would really like the cosmetic advantage it offers. Over time, I learned the biggest advantages reported by patients were the natural sound quality and convenience of always hearing (even when you get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night). While it’s true that it is definitely not for everyone, many people absolutely love it.
I take pride in using the latest technology to program and verify my digital hearing aid fits (including real ear, speech-mapping, real-world simulation, etc.). Lyric doesn’t let me use much of that technology. It’s an analog device that I can’t verify with real-ear measurements. Yuk! But it works really well. The first couple times my patients told me that this little analog device I just popped in their ear instantly sounded much better than the top-of-the-line digital hearing aid I’d been tweaking for them, I was shocked and humbled. It’s not for everyone, it’s not even for most people, but you can’t argue with the results.
(And as far as Songbird is concerned . . . They both use a built in power source and end up in the trash can when the power source wears out. That’s about where the similarities ends though.)
Dr. Perry, I have suffered from Tinnitus for quite a few years. My question for you is this: Does the Lyric make the ringing seem louder because of the amplification of sound, or is the Lyric not appropriate for people with Tinnitus ? Would conventional hearing aids be more appropriate ? I have mild to moderate hearing loss and have never tried any type of aid.
I just started using the lyric (moderate hearing loss, and tinnitus as well) so far it has been great.. the ringing in my ear is no longer noticeable and I can hear quite well. I’m on the trial period for another week then I will have to decide if the cost is justified. 3200 per year I am told . probably not for everyone, but I am leaning toward them.
Per the Mayo Clinic, “Tinnitus involves the annoying sensation of hearing sound when no external sound is present.” Since there is no external sound to amplify the answer to your question is no, the Lyric (nor any other hearing aid) will make the ringing louder.
I have been using Inside CIC hearing aids from Simens for almost a month.. My current profession requires me to attend lots of meetings… When I started wearing CIC .. I feel uncomfortable.. my hands move to my ears to cover those.. I feel like someone is watching my ears… etc etc.. basically I’m looking lots of concentration..
I was looking around in websites.. for invisible and finally I ended by seeing Lyric and this blog… I’m not sure if I need to go for it… Will I end up getting infected ears after wearing …
Can somone provide the exact price details..
Thank you!..
Obvioulsy, if you use a Lyric and you develop some kind of an ear infection, then the device would have to be removed. Everyone is bound to develop an ear infection at some stage or the other. My question on the Lyric is: If this sort of thing happens, say two weeks after it being fitted, and it therefore has to be removed, surely it should be possible to remove the device, treat the infection and then put in the same device? If the device is removed, does it die out or is it possible to put it back in?
One thing I have not seen is a comment from someone who has tried Lyric who suffers from Meniere’s Syndrome. I have it in both ears and have had an endolymphatic sac operation in my left ear. My quality of hearing changes and is a problem with my current hearing aid. I would like to hear from someone suffering from my condition who has tried the Lyric. I probably will get them for the trial period at least when my local Audiologist has them available (next month.
The Lyric is an analog hearing aid. It is marketed to an audience more concerned with looks than with hearing better. I am a hearing instrument dispenser and I wear hearing aids. I tried the lyric out of curiosity and I found that I did not notice the feeling of it much in my ear but I also did not feel that my hearing was even close to as good as it was with the digital open ear hearing aids I wear now which are just as comfortable as the lyric. It makes sense though. Why invest much in the technology if people are just going to throw it out after 4 months. The lyric did not sound natural at all and the rep told me I’d be a “perfect candidate” to wear it. I calculated how much the Lyric would cost my customers and the lyric is outrageous in terms of price. Who would willingly spend $3000 a year, that’s right, PER YEAR on a pair of hearing aids they can not remove themselves or adjust when they can spend $3-4000 for a great digital and adjustable pair of hearing aids that will last them 5-7 years??? Who are these people with all this money to throw around?
Henry, if you have Meniere’s, the lyric is probably not the best choice (or even a good choice) for you because you can not have a choice in how you hear. It’s set it and forget it. If you have a bad hearing day, tough, says the Lyric. You can have lots of options with a nice set of digital hearing aids. I’d recommend getting a good pair that gives you a number of options and try and get a remote control that helps you maximize your options. Today’s hearing aids are even bluetooth compatible and dial you directly into your cell phone, computer, iPod or TV. The lyric can not offer these kinds of features for the money they charge. If you don’t want your hearing aid to show, you can get a pair of remote controlled power Completely-in-the-canal or Receiver-in-the-Canal hearing aids and Set up one program for good hearing days and set up a louder program for poor hearing days and if you have a remote with volume control, you can fine tune each program to work for you on any given day, unlike with the Lyric. The lyric is a very expensive gimmick, in my experienced opinion.
Sabrina: The Lyric comes with a remote adjustment wand (actually it’s simply a magnet) that will adjust the device through 6 levels of amplification. It also can toggle the device between On, Off (in effect an earplug), and a setting that equals your hearing without the device.
Benjamin, The volume setting with the wand is hardly what I’d call giving the customer “control” over how they hear. The adjustments were not helpful, in my experience. The louder setting sounded like echoes and distortion. With a digital open fit hearing aid, I can amplify higher frequencies appropriately for my loss rather than turning everything up or everything down. If this product were $20, I’d say it’s worth it for the features. But it’s not. It’s a rip off for the benefit the customer receives. Again, $3000/year? Or $3000 every 5-7 years for a pair of hearing aids that the patient can insert and remove him/herself? It’s a no-brainer.
Someone asked about reusing a removed Lyric device. I had a brain MRI, and the doctor removed the Lyrics before the procedure and reinserted new ones after the MRI. He indicated they did not reuse Lyric devices.
Nick: There are two ways to purchase Lyric. Most people pay for an annual subscription per device. This amount varies between offices, but most people charge $1600-$1800 per ear. You also have the option of purchasing each device outright, but it ends up being even more expensive that way over the course of a year. The biggest problem I see with purchasing each device, is that you never know how long it’s going to last. I would hate to have a patient pay a $300 for a device that dies 5 weeks later (prematurely). With the annual subscription, you don’t have to worry about how many devices you burn through – within reason.
With regards to reinserting: The FDA approval for Lyric stipulates that the devices may not be reinserted.
I just had both ears fitted with Lyrics. My hearing loss is severe above 1K frequencies. I spent $ 2400 each on traditional in the ear devices that frankly made me uneasy being partially visible and always worried about them falling out. At 50 years old visibilty is everything to me. Mine will cost me $1695 a year. The Lyrics work, I can hear again invisibly. I am happy and thats what matters.
I’m nearing the end of my trial period with Lyric. The doctor has been very diligent in trying different sizes until one fit properly. I also heard that the company that makes them is small and makes them by hand. If that company is bought by a larger manufacturer the price will likely come down. I’m willing to pay the price now for the improved quality of my life. My friends and family notice the difference and I find the quality of sound much better than the traditional model I wore. I can hear in crowds much better. I can shower as frequently as I like, though I do take care to keep a lot of water from my ears. The biggest advantage to this system is the free trial period. If it doesn’t work for you, no sweat. But if it does, you’ll have to make the decision on whether the price is worth it. I’m glad I found it as it has greatly improved my hearing. I would warn people to find a reputable audiologist. I can’t say enough good about the detailed hearing test and the care she has taken with my ears. Good luck.
I think that most people actually forget what applications the Lyric has for people with dementia, in nursing homes, and those with manual dexterity problems. For people who live alone and do not have anyone to help them put batteries in, adjust volume control or even insert the ear moulds or open fit tips, or for people who can’t even remember to put their aids in. Lyric isn’t for all people with hearing loss but it does have advantages for a particular population of hearing impaired users.
My lyric works well except in a crowded restaurant. Someone suggested putting it on standby.My doctor did not know what that was.Any coments from users?
I too am a hearing aid dispenser – and looked very seriously at adding the Lyric to our practice when it first debuted. I thought there would probably be a certain number of users who would benefit from an extended wear instrument. I am happy to hear about the success stories. However, if you were to look up a blog on any certain hearing aid, I’m sure you would find the same mixed experiences. What everyone reading this needs to remember is that every hearing loss is unique and exclusive to the individual – even a loss that looks the same on paper will have different sound experiences for each person. A hearing aid is fit to an individual based on the frequencies involved, the severity of loss the idividual’s ear structure (shape of the canal)as well as maximum sound tolerances – there is NO one hearing aid that is the best for every hearing loss. And buying a hearing aid based strictly on another users “rave reviews” or “horror stories” is about effective as buying a pair of shoes based on someone else’s assessment of how they fit. You have to experience the results yourself. And all hearing aids including the Lyric require an adjustment period by the user and adjustments made to the instrument based on the experiences of the user. However, with a conventional hearing aid these adjusted settings (once satisfied) aren’t thrown away every couple months. I assume there is a program that saves the user settings but there is no guarantee that the next unit will perform exactly the same as the previous one, so further adjustments may be required each time the unit is replaced. Again, just food for thought – bottom line is if you’re trying out the different options, give every option a FAIR trial with a knowledgeable experienced dispenser.
Like the dispenser above, I cannot fathom anyone we see at our practice plopping down $3,200 – $3,600 EVERY YEAR. Do the math, that’s $16,000 – $18,000 for 5 years – whereas $3,000 – $6,000 for conventional aids could last you 5 + years.
I have had lyric for about 3 weeks. It works well except where there are background noises. Air conditioners, car traffic, restaurant noises, grocery store sounds drown out the person talking to me. Any recommendations?
I’m in the 3rd week of a lyric trial. I never wore an external device. Quality of sound is fairly good. My biggest complaint is the intermittent plugged sensation of the ears. Paradoxically, despite the plugged sensation, my hearing acuity is preserved. Also get occasional internal ear itching which can be maddening. I have a history of excessive ear wax build-up and am curious to see how long it will be before that becomes problematic. I hope the audiologist has the ability to remove the cerumen without my needing to run to an ENT to do it. The cost factor is a concern. I might just pay for one and amplify my better ear and see how it goes and save some $$$.
Here’s an update to my previous posts above.
My first Lyric battery just died yesterday, 2 days short of 4 months! I’m glad I got it and can’t wait to go to the audiologist today and get a replacement. It is way better than my old digital one. I’m a satisfied customer! (See my previous posts for other details.)
One thing I learned yesterday is that I was able to detect that the battery was about to go about 6 hours before it completely died. Sounds began to sound slightly but noticeably muffled and gradually got weaker over the hours. But I was still able to hear well enough to have conversations. (As noted before, my other ear is deaf, so I was worried that it would go out instantly and get me stuck in the middle of a conversation.)
I would recommend anyone who gets one insist that the audiologist allow you to practice using the removal tool at the time it is inserted into your ear. It took me several minutes to figure out how it worked. It would have helped to have practiced beforehand, even outside of the ear.
To Joe (#45): I can’t believe your doctor didn’t know what Standby is. Isn’t he trained with the Lyric? It means the setting where the Lyric still functions except it only produces the volume that is equal to how you hear without it in your ear. Contrast that with the Off setting where it is completely off and is the equivalent of an earplug. You can make the adjustments with the little keychain tool that you should have received with the Lyric. Read the manual, it is explained fully there. You can also adjust the Lyric to 6 different amplification settings, although switching to (and from) Standby is much quicker.
Saul (#47) The competition from crowd noise can’t be fully fixed. Some digital hearing aids claim to help with this but the digital I previously had didn’t make it much better than My Lyric. I do think your mind improves things as you use the Lyric over time though. Having two working ears helps a lot too, which isn’t an option with me because one of my ears is totally deaf. If you have both ears working I would guess that you will see significant improvement with time. Your brain adjusts with practice.
In sum, at this time I intend to use the Lyric as long as I can afford it. I’ve recently retired so my budget will be getting more stingy as the years go by and my savings run out. I’m hoping the Lyric prices will come down as many electronic devices do these days (although hearing aids seem to buck the trend). Still the cost for my one ear is $1700 per year, which is a lot but considering that I just sent my dentist a check for nearly that much, I can’t complain. It comes out to less than $150 per month which is about the difference between owning a new SUV and owning a second hand economy car. I’d rather spend my money on the convenience of carefree hearing than fancy wheels.
My Mother lives in an Alzheimer’s facility. In 1 year and 3 months they have lost 4 hearing aids and broken 2 or 3. There are limits to the loss and repair warranties. Buying new hearing aids every year or so is very expensive. They also don’t seem to be able to deal with cleaning the aids and replacing batteries. The Lyric seems like a good possibility. Is it? Is there another suggestion?
The Lyric is absolutely amazing. I’m a person who is VERY hesitant on purchasing things, as I usually spend months researching. However, one day I realized I should just take the plunge and do it! Low and behold it’s been a year and I have had NO complaints whatsoever. There was an initial discomfort in one of my ears, but that went away within a day or two. Now I can hear better and not have a 50lb device on my ear. It’s so sleek and their customer service is impeccable. The battery life has been surprisingly great as they lasted exactly how long my doctor said (give or take 3-4 days).
I purchased one for my mother who only needed it in one ear and she nearly cried due to how effective it was. It’s been 4 months for her and she has had zero complains too!
I got the Lyric in Oct. ’09. I never wore hearing aids before, so I have a poor basis for comparison. Here is what I’ve experienced:
1) When they work, they do amplify-everything.I don’t know about comparing sound quality for the reason stated above. But it’s definately not natural hearing. But at least I can hear.
2)Do not, I repeat, do not, get them wet or damp. They short out. Period. I take showers without washing my hair and wash my hair in the sink. Whoever says you can swim with them is BSing you.
3) You can and do wear them 24/7 which is great because you don’t loose them like glasses or keys or any of the other things litte things people misplace. It’s one less thing to do to “assemble yourself” in the morning.
4) I’ve never had a Lyric last longer than about 5 weeks. My audiologist says this is not the most common scenerio, but some people are that way. I don’t know why. Wax build-up? Unconcious poking at them at night? , Sweat gets in them when I work out? I don’t know and neither does my audiolgist
5) Speaking of poking at them. Don’t! The irony of the situation is that you do forget you have them in (after a 2 week or so adjustment period)and you will reach in your ear to scratch. Also I believe your body wants to naturally expell a foriegn object like a splinter in your finger, so it starts to work out and your instint is to push it back in. Don’t! It messes it up. It’s a delicate device.
6) Finally, I think they’re on to something big here, but it’s not quite right yet. Right now I don’t think I’ll renew my subscription. One reason is my monthly 3 hour trip to the audiologist for replacements. Right now I only have one Lyric in because I have a pretty nasty abrasion in the other ear from..who knows what? One of them shifting around?
So if you’re on a tight budget, wait a while
I have tried out most brands of hearing aids over the past 14 years, in the canal, behind the ear etc. None of them worked well for me until I tried and then purchased a pair of in the ear by Phonak. After four years I purchased a pair of behind the ear Phonak micro Savia which are terrific hearing aids although I found dealers were reluctant to sell them to me???? I have had them two years. I tried Lyric several weeks ago and found I heard just as well with them but they hurt my ear until I took them out with the removal tool after six days. I believe the foam wrap was too large and I plan to get a refit.
I’m very satisfied with the Lyric Hearing Aids. I’m in my twenties and I’m quite athletic so having an over-the-ear bounce-everywhere gets-wet-and-dies hearing aid is out of the question for me.
I need something that’s water resistant, doesn’t bounce around, is hidden, and can offer superb sound…Lyric.
I have severe hearing loss. I wear my Lyrics at their maximum setting and I’m now hearing things I’ve never heard before. Truth be told, the Lyrics are the best hearing I’ve ever experienced. No doubt about it. It is BY FAR not just an invisibile gadget.
A hearing aid that is siting only 4mm away from the eardrum has clear advantages. Especially, in the high frequency range. I didn’t know my keys made some much noise! You can’t reproduce certain sounds when the speaker is too far away from the drum, so even if the Lyric stuck out all the way and wasn’t hidden, being so close to the ear drum is still a HUGE improvement in hearing technology.
Lyrics aren’t for everyone, but check out their site and see if they’re for you.
About the price, someone once told me it’s like paying $8 a day to have near-perfect hearing. Are you kidding? That’s way better than buying a stupid $8 sandwich or seeing an $8 movie.
I’m not switching to anything else. Forget it.
Oh and by the way, water proof lyrics are on the way (included in your current subscription) 😉
I have moderate to severe hearing loss in both ears. Have never worn a hearing device before the Lyric. Yes, I am vain and do not want any device hanging on or sticking out of my ear. I am 6 days into my 30 day trial period and already I mostly forget they are there. I am hearing very well and the sound is very natural. Background noise is not a problem in any way. I am successfully learning how to adjust the Lyrics to whatever situation I am in. I just put the little magnet wand at the opening of my ear canal and wait for the appropriate number of beeps and I am set- a matter of seconds. Yes, they are a bit expensive, but I am definitely a believer! Love them!!!
I have attempted to wear the Lyric aids for 9 months but I have finally decided they just won’t work for me until they are moisture repellant. I tried everything to keep moisture from entering my ears but it has been an ongoing problem. I also asked for a refund of the last 3 months remaining on my contract since the aids did not work for me but I was denied. I loved them as long as they were functioning but actually I found them to be high-maintenance.
Here is the real deal. DIgital and can be removed, and its invisible Otolens. No contract and remove and insert when you want.
http://mnsun.com/articles/2010/03/31/news_by_readers/doc4bad1792e107e499563714.txt
Does or did anyone have trouble with the sound of there own voice? I can’t tell how loud I’m speaking and feel like I have a cold.
I am intrigued and interested in the Lyric aids, but I am afraid that paying about $9.30 per DAY for them is just too rich for me. I could even stand an initial $3400 annual cost for the first year only, but then dropped down to $700-800 per year for continuing subscribers. Having to pay $3400 per year, every year, is just way too much of an expense compared to regular digital hearing aids.
I’ve worn hearing aids for over 15 years now, and have upgraded three times. So, four different aids at around $4000 each time equals $16K over those years. By contrast, if I had had Lyrics, 15 years * $3400 per year = $51,000. Quite a big difference.
Guess I’ll just have to wait until the price on these things falls a bit out of the stratosphere.
Are the Lyrics only available in the US? I recently read that the manufacturer was purchased by a European company. Does anyone know if they are available outside of the US? This may become crucial if you travel a lot and they fail while abroad
One big factor that makes the Lyric expensive is they are all hand-built. Even the battery, which has dozens of patents, is made by hand. My audiologist told me that the company has been bought by a much bigger company and there is hope that mass-production will be phased in and the price will come down eventually.
I have worn hearing aids for over 50 years. I am 56 years old and have seen every type imaginable from the box and wire to CIC. I have marked myself as “digitally impaired” because 35 of those years analog was all there was. Now with analog basically out… digital is the only thing available. I have not found a comfortable pair since my Starkey analog purchased in 1994 and they lasted until 2002. Since then I have gone through at least 5 pairs of digital. I was excited when my doctor mentioned the Lyric and only because of the analog system, I’d wear a headphone helmet if it let me hear better… but the air quickly went out of the balloon when he mentioned the price. 3,750.00 per year. It puzzles me when we have technology to build a device/phone the size smaller than a pack of cigs that does everything except bear children and costing +/-99.00 or free if you if you sign a 2 year contract and yet something as imporant as a hearing device costing this much…is this the health care field once again getting rich and contolling our lives.
My 5th day with the Lyrics. I’m a recovery room nurse. My voice still sounds as if I’m in a tunnel. My ears feel “plugged” even though I hear amplified sounds. Through out the day pressure and pain come and go. I don’t think I’ll keep them after this weeks check up visit.
Maybe the audiologist hasn’t fitted you correctly. You need to go back and have her make changes. I’ve worn Lyrics for many years and I turn them off at night and can’t hear my husband snoring, such peace. I don’t have to plug them into to charge them and clean them. They don’t fall out of my ear, so I can’t loose them. They are awesome.
First week with the Lyrics is complete. My hearing has improved immensely, hearing higher frequency sounds for the first time in my life (50 years old). The biggest issue I am struggling with is the plugged sensation and pressure at times during the day. Not sure that anything can be done for this as I really want to keep them. This could be a deal breaker for me if it (pressure) doesn’t improve.
I wish these hearing aids weren’t so expensive.
I have not noticed any comments on here about Lyrics new competitor – Audiosync Isync. It is the same size as Lyric (invisible to others) – but you can take it in and out at night and replace the battery and let your ear “breathe.” When I examined the two side-by-side with my Audiologist the Isync was actually smaller. I live in Naples, FL – Lyric contract is $3600 a year, this Isync is $3500 each with a 3 year warranty from Audiosync and lifelong warranty from my Audiologist. I am not sure it is yet available everywhere – but my Audiologist has both as of this week and I really see the benefits of the isync. What an amazing device and much better price in the long run.
I forgot to say that the Isync is a custom product – I had a earmold taken to fit my ear. The Lyric is not a custom fit – it is surrounded in foam to fit the ear canal. I am fortunate that this is in my area.
Lyric has been bought by Phonak but is still Lyric. The comments on the Isync are true according to my neighbor…. if you can find an Audiologist qualified to fit it. Who has it in Naples? I would travel from Sarasota.
My Audiologist in Naples works at a clinic called Decibels – her name is April. I know she is not always there because she also works at the hospital -but I’m sure you could as to be seen by her. 239.593.5327
about to enter into trial period. Your comments very helpful. i have had two sets of digital hearing aids and am negative about both. the repeated criticism from your readers is that as much extraneous noise is received and amplified by Lyric inserted in the ear channel as the kind I have which is discouraging–also pressure and swim/shower reservations concern me–breathing–unnatural device not removed at night–not quite as glowing as i had imagined–and cost–another example of prob of cost of health care in America. Do Europeans have anything to offer Americans? have they bought Lyrics?? Ann
I may be wrong..but I believe Audiosync is basically the same hearing aid as Lyric. They are sister companies…kind of like The Gap and Old Navy. I believe Audiosync is the private label. We are looking into becoming a provider for the Lyric and wanted to get an idea of how people are responding to it. There are no many providers in the Southeast. The rep that visited our office claimed that they are “picky” about who they “let” become a provider. This kind of turned me off, but we have had patients ask and would like to offer the Lyric.
I stand corrected. The WOW is the sister of Lyric. The Audiosync is offered by Starkey and is NOT like the Lyric.
For those who think the Lyric is uncomfortable during the first week, I hope you can stick with it a little longer before you decide. I am now 2 months into my second one after the first one lasted exactly 4 months. Even after 4 months of wear, the second one made my ear sore for 3 or 4 days, but it got completely better and now I can’t feel it at all. After many years of being constantly aware of my previous digital hearing aid, taking it out at night and for showers, and replacing batteries every 3 weeks, I would never consider going back unless I run out of money. You might say I’m addicted to it.
After reading all of the above, decided I would like to try them. I have contacted my Hearing Aid Specialist, Paul J. Dietsch, and asked if he thinks I would be a good candidate to experiment.
If there is no difference between Lyrics and Wow, what is the point? Neither product has extensive providers in the Southeast. Within this State, Lyric has providers in Savanna, GA and outside of Charlotte, NC – four hour trip, one way, to either facility.
I am approaching two specialists in this community to see what their interest would be in these products. Given the resort area, we have a large retirement community that would be interested in products such as the Lyric/Wow, the Otolens and Insync. Hope some of these local specialists would get on board!!! At this point, I’d like to try all four products.
To clear things up:
AudioSync and Starkey are related companies (same parent company) and have both released a very deep fitting CIC (called Otolens at Starkey and iSync at AudioSync).
Sonova (parent company of Phonak and Unitron) now owns Lyric, as well as Advanced Bionics (cochlear implants).
I’ve just read all the comments since my last comments left back in Jan.
I still stick bye and use my el-cheapo BTE aids that average around AUD$19.00 each, they are even cheaper at times as the GB pound exchange rate flucuates. I have not done the exact maths but as I am nearly 69 now, doing in my head calcs, it seems I would have to have just one of these dearer hi tech aids last till I reach 109 just to break even.
In regards to merger/takeovers of companies, by my experiences these events to only mean if the Right Hand does’nt get you, the Left Hand will, seems the hearing aid industry is headed down the Optical and Glasses retailers path.
There is no need to shout if you want to call me a stirrer. “I Can Hear You”
I would just like to offer my experience, as they say your mileage may vary. :). I have had binaural Meniere’s disease since I was 14 years old. I am now 43. I have tried every hearing aid both Analog (back in the day) and digital my last aids was a Phonak top of the line. I was told I was not a good candidate for the Lyric’s because of my hearing loss and the Menieres. But I wanted to try them anyway, yes for cosmetic purposes, but also out of curiosity. I can honestly say they have been life changing. the naturalness of the sound and 24/7 nature if unbelievable. From a work perspective, in meetings, conference rooms, classrooms etc, you are “normal” as opposed to know knowing where the sound is coming from half the time. It is not very good in heavy background environments, restaurants etc. but for me, they have leveled the playing field professionally like nothing else. I would just say for those that are curious its worth the free trial to give it a shot. For me, as I said before, they have been life changing..
Dave. Like you I have binaural Meniers and have tried many aids without success. Have you got a hearing peak in the mid frequencies with severe loss at both high and low. My Lyric supplier refused to try them for me as he said they would not help.
I too was told I wasn’t probably a good candidate due to the severity of my hearing loss. I tried the Lyric anyway and they work great, better than my old BTEs. Theses are not meak hearing aids by any means. I don’t ever need them at max volume. Sound better than digital in my experience.
I have worn Lyric’s for almost a year. The only time I remember that I am wearing them is when the batteries die (approx every 3 months). I never adjust, standby, or switch them off – they just work. Pre-Lyric, I would not admit I had a hearing problem. Now, I lhave no problem letting people know that I do, and that I have imbedded hearinc aids – no stigma whatsoever. Pluses – I love classical music and now hear it the way I used to when younger and hearing was good. Minuses – still have difficulty with speech, if the person or persons talking are more than a few feet away or behind me. I can hear but the words are not clear. (Still using subtitles on TV). Also background noise seriously interferes by inserting itself between each word when someone is speaking. I will try the new Starkey or Audiosync devices but would never but ever wear a hearing aid that is not invisible – vanity is a tough emotion. By the way, for other Lyric wearers – when showering just put a finger in each ear as you was your hair – resolved all my water damage issues.
I had Lyric for a one-year subscription. It’s an interesting device but not ready for prime time. In addition to constant water damage caused by showering, I got a roaring infection; you can’t imagine the size of the scab that came out of my ear canal.
Sound quality is very good, much better than my previous aids.
My main concern is the audiologist, to whom you are completely bound. If Lyric fails the day before Xmas, you will not get a new one until after New Years. Northern Valley ENT is/was the only dispenser in my area. I resented spending $3500/yr. for numerous one-hour sojourns in their teeming waiting rooms. Also, I didn’t really care for one of the audiologists — personality thing. If they remain the only game in town, then Lyric is out for me.
I tried out the Lyric for a year and following are my experiences:
I have a severe hearing loss. Probably at the brink of where the Lyric should be fitted. My audiologist worked tirelessly to adjust these for my use and after a couple of months we achieved a measure of success. During this time my “trial” period was extended until we both agreed that we were happy. But there are some caveats. I was told I have a perfect canal for this type of device and I never had the least bit of discomfort.
As for the adjustments, my audiologist told me that I’m not a “gain hog”, so I guess that mean I wasn’t asking for or expecting “super hearing”. I also didn’t tend to fiddle with the adjustments.
I would caution those who have their device adjusted in the usual idyllic environment of the audiologist’s office to not over adjust trying to achieve perfect hearing, particularly after having the Lyrics replaced. Give yourself an opportunity (maybe a day) to readjust to having the new devices installed.
I am a professional that often travels out of the area. Almost without fail, my Lyrics both would fail (within a week of each other) about every five weeks. My fear always was that failure would occur at the least appropriate time and/or location where I couldn’t get a replacement or my audiologist just wasn’t available (vacation, seminar, etc.).
Showering required that I use a form of ear plug to prevent water damage. You cannot shower without taking precautions. I had a pool that I really couldn’t use (I’d actually like to swim laps).
Subscription costs are extraordinary. $3,200/yr is extreme at the least. I could not justify this. My last pair of aids cost a bit over $4K and lasted 7 years.
All in all, the clarity and understanding from this device was terrific and if the subscription was more reasonable I would return to using them.
To the person who said there is a waterproof version coming out, have you heard any news about that? I really like to swim, but I won’t risk infection or having the hearing aid die after a day at the pool. Thanks.
I have no eardrums in both ears – eaten away by an infection when I was younger. I have digital hearing aids but lately they beep too much especially in the warmer months when the ears get too much moisture. having no ear ear drums and the collection of ear moisture – would the Lyric be am option for me?
My conclusion:
If you are a millionaire, the Lyric is worth a trial
run.
$3000 plus per year is an exhorbitant price.
I tried the Lyrics for the trial period. Their volume is adjusted with and external magnet, provided with the service. I work in at a government site, and when I tried to use the phones in the computer rooms, the magnet in the phone “adjusted” the Lyric! I was trying to call tech support,and the Lyric kept beeping and adjusting and/or turning off and back on. I tried holding the phone further away, but then I couldn’t hear the talker. I finally had to go back to our office and use that phone, which luckily had weaker magets and didn’t adversely interact with the Lyric. The computer room phones may have stronger electromagnets in the receivers to overcome the computer room noise. The audiologist could offer no suggestions other than what I’d already tried.
The other problem I encountered – the audiologist quoted me a price of $1300, which is what I set aside in my HCEA in case I liked them. When I went back at the end of the trial period, the contract had a $3200.00 price listed. Reading the blog, it seems that’s about the going price. Sounds like either poor communication skills or bait and switch marketing techniques. Wonder what the profit margin is for the audiologists that make the sales.
Let me see: $3200.per year = $9600 over 3 years.
Top of the line aids from any manufacturer
$6000.00 add cost of batteries and extended loss/damage and repiar warranty for three years $1000
roughly. You have just saved yourself $2600.
I am an audiologist who worked for a dispenser of Songbird. Yes they worked for some patients, but the vast majority did notlike them.
Hearing aids are not for everyone but I believe that they are more cost effective than the Lyric. You can get a pair of hearing aids with a three year warranty that will do just what the Lyric will do for a little more than your $3200.00 investment. Also you have a 45 day trial period (in New York) for your heairng aid. Starkey manufactures a hearing aid just as deep as the Lyric but it can be removed.
Do yourselves a favor and get a custom instrument and save yourself some money
I’ve worn hearing aids for 15 years and am less than a week into my trial period with Lyric. Every day I wake up and hope nothing goes wrong with them as they are the closest to good hearing I’ve encountered, and I’ve tried three different companies. With previous aid, I was constantly fiddling with buttons and remotes trying to adjust to different environments and even different voices in a conversation with as few as two people.
At night, I turn them off with a small magnetic device and sleep soundly as they shut out noise. In the morning, a beep with my magnet and they revert to the mode they were in when I turned them off. I can shower and wash my hair, haven’t tried to swim yet. I had a day or two of feeling as if I had a bean in my ear but that went away.
The best thing is that I immediately noticed the improvement in clarity and sound amplification. I hope to fine tune things so I can hear better in a crowded environment (it’s better but not as clear as I’d like). I do think it will need a bit of tweaking but I have a good audiologist who is motivated.
Yes they are expensive but I’ve decided life is short, I have a hearing handicap that I can resolve to a great degree. I will take the money from my IRA to finance this investment, skip a vacation, whatever I need to do to make the stress of straining to hear go away. It is such a relief not to be constantly poking at my ears, losing remotes, trying to remember where they are after removing them and leaving the house without them and having to return home to put them in. I had RK some years ago and loved the convenience of my sight being returned to me. This is a similar feeling.
To get hearing aids to fit you the best, consumer report says, all depend on a skilled, knowlegable audiologist, and suggest, to go to an ENT and use the audiologist that works in that office.
Any comments?
Also, could someone tell me which company makes hearing aids as invisiable as Lyris but not 24/7?
I’m currently in my trial period. The Lyric hearing aid seems pretty intrusive, in that it sits in one’s ear constantly, and is only removed once every 5-10 weeks. Has anyone had their hearing tested after wearing the Lyric for a year or more to see if it had deteriorated noticably? That wouldn’t necessarily prove the Lyric caused the additional loss of sensitivity, as we all seem to gradually lose hearing, but I’m concerned it might somehow accelerate the rate of loss due to some unforseen damage it might be causing (improper ventilation, infection, reshaping the ear canal, overamplification …) Maybe I worry too much, but I wonder what testing is required along those lines!
Tina (#88),
There is another product called Otolens by Starkey Laboratories, Inc.. Their website is http://www.starkeypro.com/public/products/hearing_instruments/otolens.jsp
Since South Carolina does not have providers for Lyric, Wow or Otolens I cannot vouch for any of the products, as of yet. I am considering traveling to Charlotte, NC or Savanna, GA to get fitted and do a 30 day trial period for the Lyric.
Tina (#88),
The reason CR suggests an ENT with an audiologist is that some people who buy hearing aids can’t really benefit from them. Some of the chains that advertise “free hearing test,” for example, use the test as a loss leader and may tell people they need hearing aids when they may just need impacted wax removed. Or the chain may perform 5-minute, inadequate screenings in a noisy mall store. A small number of people have hearing loss that can’t be helped with hearing aids.
You don’t *have* to see an MD first, but it’s a good idea. At the least, you should be examined by a top-quality audiologist (who has a doctor of audiology degree–this is a much higher level of training and certification than a “hearing aid specialist,” who may be more of a salesperson than a doctor). The audiologist should look in your ears as an ENT would, remove any earwax, and perform a 15+ minute hearing test with several parts to the test in a quiet booth, before buying hearing aids. He or she should be willing to as much time as needed to work with you in adjusting your aid so you get your money’s worth, as this is often necessary. The bargain chain places don’t always do this.
Another way to go with almost invisible hearing aids, especially if you have hair that covers your ears, is what’s called an “Open Fit” or “Open Ear” “Behind The Ear” hearing aid. See these pictures for example:
http://lloydhearingaid.com/shopping/hearingaids/openfit.asp
The colored body (which may be flesh- or hair-colored instead of bright yellow!) is small and goes behind the top of the ear and can’t be seen there if hair covers the top of the ear. A small speaker is inserted in the ear. A small clear tube runs between the body and the speaker over the front of the ears. These too can be covered with hair. If hair doesn’t cover your ears, the small clear tube is visible to someone looking closely at your ear but is not generally noticeable.
**************************
To all:
What a great discussion! Thank you Dr. Neil for hosting it and thank you to all for offering your experiences here. I am currently trying out a behind-the-ear open-fit model (the Agil Pro), which I like, and after a couple of weeks, will try the Lyric. I can see that there are pluses and minuses to all choices, of course, but your discussion will help me sort out my own reactions and make an informed decision on which aid works best for me.
To Jane (#82) who asked if Briton (#54) had heard anything more about the waterproof Lyrics that might be coming out…
I don’t have any firm news, but Briton might have been referring to this December 2009 article on MSNBC which said Lyric was testing a new design on 60 swimmers beginning in January 2010:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34612505
If the test was a “roaring” 😉 success you might see them later this year or next year, I would guess. If the test suggests it’s back to the drawing board, either because they’re not really waterproof or aren’t as comfortable or don’t work as well as the current design, then, who knows when?
Update. I signed on to the Lyric today after a month trial period. There was no pressure from the audiologist and I’m really happy with them. Nothing is perfect but this is a huge step forward. I shower and wash my hair using a shower hose and I was told I could swim if I swam like a porpoise, that is, didn’t submerge my head for more than a second. I plan to get some children’s earplugs as they are shallower than adult size and probably wear a swimmer’s cap or else keep my head above water. David, that’s good news about waterproofing the Lyric. We’ll get them as they come on the market.
I can hear much, much better in a group situation and it’s much less stressful in social situations. I’ve had very little discomfort, excess ear wax is not a problem. I like turning them off at night which acts like ear plugs, so sleep more soundly.
I would guess people who have never had a conventional hearing aid might not be as impressed as those of us who have experience over the years with regular aids. For me, it’s a huge improvement.
Lyric sounds like a good alternative for the elder population, in assisted living or nursing home situations. Staff means well but is often too busy to attend to small details of inserting and removing aids, and changing batteries when needed; in the worst cases, the hearing aid is simply lost.
I myself have been using a hearing aid for almost 30 years. Starting with analog in the ear models, I progressed to a digital CIC (invisibility is most important to me). The CIC works well enough but needs a new battery every 4-5 days (which is a pain in the neck). For these reasons, I would try Lyric next time I need to replace my hearing aid, if it becomes more reasonably priced and they solve the water proofing problem. Does anyone know if turning the Lyric off at night increases the life of the battery?
In response to using Lyric with people who live in assisted living…… I am an audiologist and have a mom who uses Lyric. (As a point of information, another facility fit my mom and I paid the full subscription price since we were not fitting Lyric at the time.) My mom has dementia and lives in an assisted living facility. When she wore hearing aids, she frequently took them out and left them wherever they landed. The staff tried, but were not really on top of if she was wearing her hearing aids or if the batteries were good, etc. She lost 3 hearing aids over a 1.5 year period and we spent hours looking for her hearing aids on other days.
Since she has the Lyric, she consistently hears well, which I believe helps her to stay in contact with her environment and reduce the symptoms of dementia. The subscription has worked well for her since she does build up wax around the outside of the device and it needs changing about every 8 weeks. We travel over an hour to have the device changed. I think the device is well worth the energy and the cost since she is hearing well 24/7 and we are not looking for lost hearing aids. She had no adjustment problems and does not complain about the devices at all. Hope this is helpful.
I wear lyric hearing aids and they just blew me away. When I was reading this, everything you said in my mind I was going wrong, wrong, wrong. However I can see where you are coming from. When I first trailed lyric for the 30 days, I was kind of hesitant just like you seem to be. Your ears need to breathe what if they go out in the middle of a meeting, school etc. However you can’t just assume those things will happen. Personally, I really wanted lyric because I am an incoming freshman in high school and it gets kind of annoying having to explain to people constantly what “those things in my ears” are for. Then when I started the trial, it Saadi much better not having to explain all the time. At first when you get them in it may sound a little weird. I was originally wearing a classic over the ear analog hearing aid. From going to an analog to a digital(believe it or not it is digital!) it sounds weird for the first week or 2. Then you get used to them, just like anything else. I have had lyric for 5 months now and I am completely astounded on what I can hear now! Before, with the original analog hearing aids, I couldn’t even hear the birds when walking to school. But now with lyric, I can hear them all the time! However it gets kind of annoying when your trying to sleep or do homework. But that’s not the point! A few things I saw in this article and that other people think that are incorrect are, 1. What if they go out in the middle of a meeting or something? Well, I have learned from my audiologist that lyric, if allowed, would last up to 6 months easily! The only reason they put 4 months is because of safety regulations. They want to check up on your ear and make sure everything is good to go! The main reason that lyric hearing aids go out is actually because of water damage! Which lead to my next common misconception. 2. Lyrics is waterproof. Lyric actually IS NOT waterproof!!! They may say that you can take showers with them however if you don’t protect your ears then water gets in and ruins the device. I learned that in a couple unfortunate experiences. A couple ways I keep mine dry is to 1. Have earplugs or some other method to keep your ears dry. Personally I tried earplugs but they didn’t work out to well and were VERY expensive. So now all I do is hold 2 washcloths over my ears to keep the water out. It’s WAY more effective and cost efficient. 2. Dry your ears. At first I used a hair dryer. But then my audiologist gave me something WAY more effective. It’s called “macks ear dryer”. Macks ear dryer looks like a weird looking cellphone almost and has a little nozzle that you put right on the outside of your ear. It let’s out a soothing warm breeze in your ear to evaporate and dry out the water in your ear. It has a self timer of 80 seconds and shuts off when the 80 seconds are up. It is very simple to use and very cheap. Around $20. They are not sold in stores anymore but they used to be sold at Target. But you can but them online. I would say more about the amazing lyric but I have to go to bed now lol. I hope this inspires you to at least try the FREE 30 day trial lyric offers. Thank you!
I just finished a visit with a friend that is a first time hearing aid user. He just finished a one-year contract using the Lyric for $3,300. Now that his contract is up, he has no hearing aid to wear. He is shopping for cheaper alternative. He also said that he suffered through two infections over the course of the year.
I confess to being SHOCKED. Do they really cost that much? Or, was my friend ripped off?
Thanks
Has anyone tried the product Audibel (Invisibel)?
First question: Why no comments on in-the-ear devices from other companies? From
http://www.invisiblehearingaid.com it would appear that other companies have digital, removable, yet ‘invisible’ aids.
Second question: are these companies comparable in
their digital technology? My local hearing center is
pushing Starkey Series 9, at the top level, as by far the best; and it which does not seem to be discounted anywhere. I teach music at the Old Town School here in Chicago so need
the best quality — but I can’t afford the $6000 plus for two behind-the-ear. (And, of course, would love to have an invisible aid vs ….”he’s the music teacher who has hearing problems”!
Great site, thanks!
Skip
Here’s another update (I’ve posted previously several times above).
I am now going on my third Lyric and still love it (just one ear, the other is totally deaf). On the topic of music I would note that the Lyric makes music sound much much more realistic and enjoyable than the digital one I used before. (I was once at a guitar concert in the back row of a large theater and the digital hearing aid I had then sounded so bad that I took it out and cupped my ear with my hand instead, which sounded much better even though not as loud as I would have liked.)
On the topic of water, I told my audiologist about this discussion where some people reported that they swam in their Lyrics and others said they couldn’t even shower without ruining them. He explained that it depends on how well it fits in the ear canal, and that if the seal wasn’t perfect some water could get through the first seal, and only the outer part before the seal is waterproof. That seems to explain the different experiences. (I shower regularly with mine, but haven’t tried swimming yet.) Also I’m wondering why people are worried about it, since the replacements are free during the year subscription, there is really no risk to try getting it wet to see if it is an issue.
By the way I searched Amazon com and found that they sell the Macks ear dryer mentioned by Scott (#95). Their price is currently $34.
Obviously battery life will be different for different people who use different volume settings and some who turn theirs off or to “standby” overnight. I personally wouldn’t turn mine off to become ‘earplugs’ since I wouldn’t want to miss an emergency phone call or smoke alarm. But the ‘standby’ setting is fine because it still gives you the same level of hearing you would have without the hearing aid. (I myself am comfortable with just leaving it at normal volume at night.)
In any case, I have kept mine in until the battery went completely dead. The first one died just 1 day short of 3 months and the second one within a week of 3 months. My hearing is sufficient that I can get by without the aid, so I just pulled them out myself and went to the audiologist for a replacement the next day. I wouldn’t want to risk it going out in the middle of an important discussion, but that wasn’t a problem because in both cases I could detect it beginning to die about 24 hours before it finally quit. Of course I’d recommend getting it replaced before burnout if you were going on a vacation shortly before you expected it to die.
My only small complaint, is the time delay when you want to change the volume. You have to wait 5 seconds after the beep for the settings to start changing. I wish they would change that to about 2 seconds (or less). Although I do frequently use the standby setting, which you can do instantly, to lower the volume in a loud situation like heavy traffic, I often prefer to go to the minimum volume instead so I can still easily hear conversations after or durning the noise. But the 5 second delay is bothersome. I wish they would have the delay time software-programmable.
In conclusion, I really love the Lyric and will continue to get them even if the price doesn’t go down, although really I hope it eventually does.
I have been a hearing instrument dispenser for 29 years. I have seen many changes in the industry over that time. The biggest changes have come with the advent of digital technology. People have always had vanity issues with hearing aids. My thoughts have always been that it is more important how a hearing aid works than how it looks. The biggest issue with all hearing aids is how well they work in background noise when it comes to understanding speech. There is no Analog hearing aid that I know of that can do a good job in noise. Separation of the speech signal from the ratio of noise is paramount in being able to understand conversation in noise. When I hear comments on here that people used to wear digital hearing aids from National Manufacturers such as Oticon or Phonak or Siemens and did not hear well, that is a surprise to me. Any hearing aid will only be as good as the person fitting it is. I could take for example, a Unitron Latitude 16 and potentially program it to sound millions of different ways. This is a top of the line technology. When top technology does not sound right, the programmer is in error. That being said, I have always considered myself in the forefront of new technology. However, I find it disconcerting that so many people have had ear pain and ear infections during and after the use of this instrument called the Lyric. My position is to not bring on more harm potentially. Medical liability insurance is an issue. I have never been an advocate of a throw away instrument. I have never been an advocate of throwing away money. The cost factor with the Lyric for me is not being professionally responsible. 3400.00 a year for two analog hearing aids is beyond steep. As earlier mentioned, The Unitron Latitude 16 can be purchased for around 3900.00 for the pair with a 3 yr. warranty. This set of hearing instruments could be used 7 to 10 years when properly serviced. So if you are buying Lyrics at 3400.00 a year times 7, that would be around 25,000 dollars over that time span as opposed to 3900.00 for The Unitron digital in any style. I will never tell people how to spend their money. I only need to remind myself how to spend mine. Best of Luck finding help with your hearing loss. Jim
I am 37 years old and I am going on three months with my Lyric. My husband had been on me for at least five years to get hearing aids and I always refused because I didn’t want people to see them. My hearing had gotten worse to the point that my husband could hear my TV in the bedroom over his TV downstairs so I decided to call. I did feel discomfort for the first three days and it was REALLY hard to sleep because any pressure on my ears hurt. That being said I perservered through it and after that I noticed the pain not nearly as bad. I do not feel them at all now. I take showers with no problem. The fact that I can go through my daily routine (and HEAR) without a worry is awesome.
I would like to comment on the background noise. Yes the world is very loud! And even louder for those of us who have never really heard it (meaning all the “little” noises). My brain went crazy those first few days. I would put my aids on”sleep mode” which takes you back to your normal hearing and just relax. The first night with them I went out with my husbands and every three seconds was asking him “what’s that sound?” He got a kick out of it. The background noise IS going to seem overwhelming at first because your brain’s not use to those noises. With the Lyric it forces your brain to deal with them and get use to them because you can’t remove them. The noises eventually drown out and you hear like everyone else as your brain will filter them.
As for the price, My father-in-law, dad and sister all have the hearing aids that fit in your ear but they hardly EVER use them because they are so moisture sensitive they can’t exercise or even go into a bathroom where there is steem because they will ruin them. Not to mention they have said it feels like they have their fingers in their ears. My sister’s aids have lasted for nine years ( only suppose to last for five) because she doesn’t use them that much. Same for my dad and Father-in-law. My husband and I debated on the price of both and yes it does make sense to buy the ones that are $5,800 and last 5 years but if your not wearing them or only on occasions isn’t that like throwing money away and you still can’t hear? To be able to hear 24/7 and have a doctor’s visit every 1-4 months worth it? It is in my book. By the way mine are $3,200 a year but I use them EVERYDAY!
I agree with the earlier postings that they aren,t for everyone but I think you won,t know until you try. People are complaining about how only the otolargologist can put them in but it’s only every 1-4 months depending on the person. Don’t you get your hair cut or done every month? And that takes longer than getting them replaced. Good luck to all!
Do you know where can we find theses Lyrics in Europe? in France? I am 35 and have always refused to wear hearing aids. Personally, Lyrics sounds fantastic to me : the possibility to hear well without the disgracious hearing aids. I would like to jump in a Lyrics shop if there was one nearby.
Fr those of you in the Southeast looking for a nearby audiologist, Dr. Jennifer Esse on Daniel Island in Charleston, South Carolina now carries Lyric. Her phone number is (843) 971-4199. My husband has had his Lyrics for a week or so and he is very pleased so far after struggling for years with digital hearing aids.
I have worn the Lyric since last January. They worked great for 4 1/2 months (yes, I did shower and swim with them) but since that time have had to have the right one replaced about a half dozen times because of failure. This would not be a problem if the audiologist wasn’t 1 1/2 hours away. I have tried to contact a Lyric rep with no luck. They are great when they are working but really frustrating when they keep going out. Don’t know if I will renew my subscription.
my wife and i both use lyrics…. she would never have used a hearing aide if it wasnt invisible…. i used a convential hearing aide for a while… didnt like it and eventually stopped using it. its true i sometimes want to yank out the lyric and re-insert it later myself but the fact i cant means i continue to use my hearing aide rather than throwing it in a drawer. i love the fact that it is a built in ear plug… that point is as much a factor of my enjoyment as increasing my hearing…. if a movie is too loud i set it too sleep mode… if a concert is too loud i turn it off and it acts as a plug… when i relax to read a book i turn it off… when i go to the gun range i turn it off and use hearing portectors…that is GREAT advantage
I’m about to try Lyric for the first time. I’ve worn digital hearing aids for 5 years.
I guess the only reason they wouldn’t make sense for me is if they are hyper sensitive to moiture.
I take hot yoga classes, where there is alot of sweating going on, and like to sit in the hot tub. Will sweat and moisture(steam room at the gym?)cause them to fail?
I see a few issues brought up since my last post (99) so I thought I’d post again.
James (100) says “There is no Analog hearing aid that I know of that can do a good job in noise.” The detail he misses is that the Lyric is buried deep in the ear so that the full advantage of the ear’s natural acoustical shape is in effect, as opposed to hearing aids with external microphones. This makes a big difference and this natural shape, combined with the brain’s inherent ability to filter noise (with practice) makes them as effect in this respect as digital hearing aids. (This requires binaural hearing for best effect, so in my case I don’t get this advantage since one of my ears is totally deaf. But the digital hearing aid I had before the Lyric was no better.)
Mata (102): You can contact Lyric through their website to find out if there is anywhere in Europe to get them. http://www.lyrichearing.com/
Andrea (106): The Lyric is supposed to work fine as long as it isn’t submerged. Besides, other than inconvenience, what difference does it make if it does fail in high moisture since you get unlimited free replacements for a year?
Finally, I reread my post (99) and noticed a dumb mistake (can’t edit these posts). I should have said my Lyrics lasted 4 months, not 3.
Since 1980 I had beens struggling 25 of my 91 years with hearing aids for a moderate to severe hearing loss, and tried all the reasonable options-in, out, behind the ear, in the canal. I dealt with an excellent audiologist, and had about concluded that I was stuck with all the clap-trap that went with it and the mediocre performance. Then I was fitted with a Lyric (“this will be expensive!”) and the rockets went off!
I have had my Lyrics a year now, and, except for price, nothing could be better. Release and freedom at last, and greatly improved hearing quality and volume.
Now about water problems; -none, use padded hearing protectors in the shower when washing your hair; no more under-water swimming without a tight fitting shower cap; I have had no ear wax problems; except for first few days of uncomfortable feeling. I have a special interest in being able to hear noises in the night – so they have been in and working full time, all the time. I seldom even adjust them. They last 3 to 4 months each. Of primary importance is finding a highly experienced Doctor of Audiology such as those at East Valley Hearing Center. Mesa, AZ Price? – terrible! Value-outstanding!!
Here’s a little detail I just remembered comparing the Lyric with digital hearing aids. I live near a river and it is nice sometimes to go to the riverside and listen to the water running over the river rocks. Back when I had a digital hearing aid I would hear the river for a second or two … then SILENCE. The digital decides the sound of the river is “noise” and completely filters it out. So much for science.
i was excited about the wife and my new lyrics,,, not now… over the past month we have been fit and re-fit, experienced several failures and whistling feed back…. then the audiologist said that my wife needed to leave the right one out because it had bruised her ear,,, it was a lie it had irratated her ear canal and it scabbed over… so he put a new one in the left ear leaving the right ear empty…. after 3 days she couldnt sleep or chew… i finally made her pull it out and when she did she screamed and cried i though she was being a big baby until i saw the blood… the hearing aide was covered in it and she bled out her ear canal… we were never told that one of the side effects could be a severe reaction to the device… we go back to the audiologist today… if you choose lyric… get it from an audiologist close to you because you will be there ofte.
My experience with the Lyric was promising but ultimately proved frustrating. Like other users, I found the Lyrics really amped up background noise and didn’t do much for voices. I did not find their sound natural, and in fact experienced an odd and disquieting projection of my own voice. They were also tight and very uncomfortable. Couldn’t sleep. I wound up with a severe ear infection. My take: The Lyric is overrated and needs much more refinement and critical review. Just my take.
What an outrageously expensive device! The LYRIC has been a frustrating, temporary, and bank-breaking solution to my hearing problem. All of these issues mentioned by you in the blog (wax, water damage, infection, lifestyle-changing etc) are big problems with this device! Oh, and did I mention the price?? My first audiologist once told me that the average hearign aid lasts 6 years before one usually replaces it. LYRIC times 6 years would have cost me $21,000.00!! In my search to find a comfortable and clear sounding device that fits like LYRIC, I have finally found the answer. The Exsilent Q. This device is from a European company but just now available here(I live in SW Florida, Bonita Springs).
I am so happy with the Exsilent Q and my new audiologist. I can remove the device whenever I want so I can now swim, shower without worrying, and let my ear breathe for a change!! What a relief, and at a quarter of the price of LYRIC. I urge all of you reading to check out this new Exsilent Q.
I really, really get annoyed seeing hearing instrument specialists and audiologists who are NOT hearing impaired posting negatively about ANY hearing device. I understand that there are potential safety issues when it comes to the less-noticeable hearing aids, but I take offense to posters who say “digital is always better” when they haven’t a clue. If you aren’t hearing impaired, how the H+++ do you know? Many hearing impaired people have problems with speech discrimination, but many do not…and like Benjamin posted, the digital aids start squashing out sounds that some of us want to hear, such as rivers running or music…so analogue aids are preferable for some of us. I am so grateful to all the hearing impaired posters who have given me valuable feedback about the Lyric…good and bad. I just get pissy when I see posts that are exclusively negative made by people who have no clue what it’s like to live with hearing loss–I don’t care HOW many degrees you have. Thanks to all for this great blog, and I will post my experience with Lyric when I’m able to nail down a provider/audiologist. 🙂
Lyrics did not work for me. I really wanted them to, for the convenience and for their invisibility to others. But I also had comfort issues and felt my hearing was a little worse with them than with no aids. For me, voices were a little better with Lyric, but everything else sounded muffled and unnatural, and yes, background noises were annoying. In two different trials this past summer, I had them in for over five weeks and just never adjusted to them. I also demo-ed two digital BTE RITE aids, the Oticon Agil Pro and the ReSound Alera 61, and liked both of those much better. I chose the Aleras. I’m happy for everybody here who loves their Lyrics, but for those who don’t, try something else. There are lots of choices out there, and you may find your priorities change when you give different technologies a try.
I saw the Lyric hearing aid on the Dr. Oz Show. I have never had a hearing aid. I knew I was hard of hearing but didn’t know how much. I kept asking people to repeat or I would just smile and say ok. I am a very busy person so when I saw this on Dr. Oz I decided to try it. I was absolutely blown away with the lyric aid. I went thinking that I would get a hearing test and then would have to come back for a hearing aid. I was there less than an hour and I had the test and they fitted the aid in the ears. OH MY GOSH…. I didn’t know what I was missing. She asked me “what I thought” after she had inserted them and I said “it sounds like you are shouting” she said she was using her normal voice. She then walked across the room with her back to me and said “what did you have for breakfast” I heard her perfectly. I also noticed I could hear the traffic outside. She turned on the video for me to watch about lyric and I heard it perfectly. I did not feel the left aid at all and a small bit of discomfort when the right aid was inserted (that canal was a little smaller). I was hearing so well that I cried. I just couldn’t believe it. I have had them in for only 4 days. I haven’t noticed any
sounds that would keep me awake at night. Infact I did have ringing in my ears but since the aids have been put in I haven’t had any ringing at all. I am hearing the birds sing, leaves rustle, gravel crunch under my feet, all sorts of things. At this time I am thrilled with them. Yesterday my ear itched a little but it went a way. I don’t realize they are there unless I just think about it. The cost was $1800 per ear. They have a payment plan which helped. I like them because I don’t have to do anything they are there. I haven’t had to adjust them. I don’t turn them off at night. I am a nurse and I work in a nursing home and I have seen lots of hearing aids. I hear their hearing aids squealing and they loose them. My twin sister bought hearing aids a year ago and used them about 3 months and she complained the batteries went dead to fast and that they got broken 2 times and were expensive to fix. I had to drive 88 miles to get them. For me it was well worth it. I have contact lenses because I hate keeping up with glasses. I think I am going to love these lyric hearing aids because I don’t have to keep up with them. I am so amazed at the improvement in my hearing. It is just wonderful. That my mother turned on a faucet and she was talking and I had to ask her to turn the faucet it off because the sound of running water was competing with her voice. I can her great on a cell phone or regular phone. I can even understand people when there are more than one talking. I am very pleased and the price is worth the hearing. I will see if I am still as pleased when the 30 days are up. Also they told me I had a 60% hearing loss mostly low and mid tones. I just didn’t know what I was missing now I don’t want to give them up.
Sharyn Golleher
Hazen, Arkansas
Just wanted to clarify. Like the faucet on when mother was talking. I did need the faucet off to understand her. The first day everything was very loud and I felt people were shouting at me. The second day was better. The third even better. The doctor I went to did tell me about ear infections and the possiblities of bleeding or bruising. So I am aware that that can happen. Like I said the left ear is comfortable, I think the right ear canal being smaller is taking a little more adjustment, but it isn’t uncomfortable. My ear just feels tired if that makes sense. I have read all the post and I think I would like to investigate the Otolens and the Insync that was mentioned above. Especially if they are cheaper. So far as I said I am happy with the Lyric but if I can find something cheaper that works as well I would try it. The price is high but it has meant so much to me to be hearing that I am willing to spend it. So while I am in my 30 day trial I am going to check everything else out that I can. Thanks to all of you for your input.
Sharyn
I have moderate to severe hearing loss since I was a child. I paid 2400 dollars for a set of Beltone Hearing aids back in 1992. They’re analog with the background filter turned off (remember that gimmick?) and believe it or not, I still wear them (note: the ‘right’ hearing aid was devoured by a dog so now I only have the ‘left’ one).
Granted that I did have them both repaired over the years for the price of 250 buck per but consider the fact that I have had them for 18 years is a testament that if you take care of your hearing aids, keep them clean, place them out of danger when you’re not wearing them, etc etc etc, then you can save a lot of money compare to Lyric type ‘subscriptions’.
I honestly don’t care whether people know that I’m deaf or not. Why would I bother talking to someone who would think less of me for something I can’t control about myself? Socially acceptability? Really?
I know I need new hearing aids as my hearing has no doubt worsened over the years but I don’t think paying a subscription for a tenth of my yearly earnings and have the inconvenience of going to an audiologist to replace them every ‘1 to 4’ months when the norm has worked so well for me.
Granted, Lyrics ‘might’ be better for hearing purposes but the lifestyle change that’s intentionally tagged to it doesn’t suit me at all.
Can’t replace the battery yourself? Disposable? Huh? Personally my own hearing aids are like carefully guarded pets to me. I damn near cried when I lost my right one.
If you are new to hearing loss, go ahead and give it a shot. If you’re an old timer (I’m only 37, but considering childhood ear infection, that’s 33 years experience) like myself, stick with what you know best, especially if you want to save money.
Casey Stout
Casey (above)…I appreciate what you’re saying. I’m only 41 myself, and I’ve had hearing loss for about fifteen years. I can relate to everything you’re saying in your post. BUT…when you go to replace your analogue aid I wonder if you won’t have problems transitioning to the ‘latest’ technology. I can’t stand digital as compared to analog and when I lost my right aid ten months ago I damn DID cry when my hearing aid guy told me Phonak had moved to SoundRecovery–a super-processed digital program, and even when he programmed it OUT I couldn’t handle how bizarre and distorted and fuzzy everything sounded. I only moved to Lyrics because of the fact that they’re analog. And of course because I’m female and active and relatively young, their ‘invisibility’ was an additional pull. I had always worn CIC’s with no problems…and even though you could see them I just never cared. Never hurt my dating life…hehehe…anyway. I’m in day 8 of my Lyric trial and liking it so far. A bit of pain in the beginning but nothing horrible if you’re motivated. The occlusion effect remains the most troublesome aspect of my trial, and I only have it in the left ear so I will go back for tweaking, hopefully. For me the Lyrics were a natural choice, given the nearly-absent market for analog aids. My flat audiogram (and my brain) just can’t cope with the digital aids, and I’ll happily forego other expenses to hear the way I’d like to hear. Or as close to it as possible…
Looking for my first set of aids. Most running 2-4k per set and so far in trials the BTE sound hasn’t been that great. Saw the Lyric ads and then the price. Hmm sportscar or Lyric, sportscar or Lyric? Decided that no one will see my BTEs when I’m cruisin’ with the top down.
#48 said ears feel plugged. Go back to your audiologist and see if hearing aid needs to go deeper in the ear canal. I kept feeling at times that my right ear felt plugged even though I could hear. My audiologist inserted them deeper and it solved the problem. I have 9 more days before my trial period is up. I will probably keep them for a year. I hear well, do have problems at times with back ground noises but it seems to be getting better.
Since I had the adjustment I don’t even know I have them in my ears. I was lucky, no pain or itching.
I never turn them off so will let you know how long the batteries last. Sure wish they were cheaper, or that I was close to where I could try the Oltens. Maybe in a year something else will be available.
I’m a digital hearing aid user but more importantly I know a scam when I see one. Though some respondents to this blog who praise the Lyric are undoubtedly genuine, many are shills.
I will state boldly that anyone who has moderate to severe hearing loss would NOT be a candidate for the Lyric. Only a small percentage of those of us who need hearing aids, to hear speech for example, would find the Lyric suitable.
Look at the TV ads. Do they remind you of the diet and sex aid ads/scams infesting the cable channels? If not they should.
Does it make sense that you can put a device deeply into your ear and leave it there for four months?
Who among you can afford to pay over three thousand bucks a year every year for the Lyric?
To those of you who complained that your digital aids were unsatisfactory, why? Because they were Behind The Ear types? I, for one, use BTE’s AND wear glasses: no problem. Because they didn’t restore your hearing to normal? Hearing technology, like eyesight technology and other medical replacement tech, cannot match mother nature’s methods. They only attempt to ameliorate the condition which creates the need for such technology.
Audiologists are in business to test hearing and sell and adjust hearing devices. Their opinions on the Lyric are NOT objective because they benefit financially from dispensing it. This is, as I hope your realize, is a CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
A person who, supposedly, uses and recommends the Lyric is an example of “anecdotal” evidence. Such evidence is neither scientific nor valid. Much advertising is based on the anecdotes of supposed happy customers. Do you believe them or do you “take it with a grain of salt?”
The Lyric advertising, some of which infects this blog, should be taken with a mountain of salt.
I too wear digital hearing aids, and I would like to contradict the previous post by Edward McShane. This is for the following reasons:
i) Phonak (Sonova) – possibly the number one hearing aid manufacturer, in terms of quality and innovation have bought the Lyric. If they have bought it, then this is the ultimate accolade. I have worn Phonak aids for nearly 15 years. I have seen improvements every 5 years that has changed the quality of my life. I suspect Phonak will look at the aid and add improvements. Perhaps the fitting range in time will be extended to those with a more severe loss. A digital processor may be introduced.
ii) The attack on the marketing and advertising literature associated with Lyric, can frankly, be attributed to any hearing aid promotion of the large manufacturers. They all claim a revolution. They all claim that the hearing aids will deliver grounbreaking features. They all feature glossy brochures and beautiful people, and extravagant life styles. Plus ca change.
iii) As a hearing aid wearer who has worn both BTE and ITC (In the canal) styles, there is a lot to be said for wearing an ITC aid. I may not know the subject of hearing acoustics and the engineering science; But I do know that my directional hearing is significantly improved by wearing an ITC hearing. An audiologist has explained that this is because the pinna is not covered by a mould, and the ear’s natural acoustics is exploited. With the lyric, this would be even more the case, as it is buried in the canal. Also, I would totally agree and endorse the claim that background noise would be easier to deal with, hence, one would not need a digital hearing aid to do the processing to remove the background noise. Also, because of the microphone placement, one is not hearing noise to the rear quite so much. Of course, digital hearing aids feature directional microphones, which are able to do a sine wave subtraction of noise, but with the lyric this would not be required.
iv) With respect to the general scepticism, I would say, go and trial them. Forget the doubters. It is only by a significant uptake of people wearing hearing devices will the overall situation improve. There needs to be a revolution in volumes sold. This will lead to more money in the industry, which will increase the research budgets, and end to end times for new releases. 20 years ago, my experience was that every 5 years a new technology or feature came along in the hearing aid world. 15 years ago it was directionality (pioneered by Phonak). Then came the first digital aids (Widex). Now every 2 to 3 years, something groundbreaking comes along. Recently Phonak have come up with their Ambra/ Audeo Spice Aids which feature binaural processing which improves the signal to noise ratio.
Whatever you adopt, good luck.
Does these Lyrics hearing help with ringing in the ears
Hay… I LIKE the behind the ear…INSISTED on it …
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I wedge my glasses between the Widex Inteo(s) & my head… This keeps my glasses from slipping down my nose…Where’s the smiley face … ?
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Comfy 100% of the time…Batteries 39 cents each every week or so… Big deal…It’s the initial cost that is biiig$$ for Widex…and… the beep beep when the batteries go low… big deal…
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You peeps who are concerned about “looks.” … Get over it .
3 Yrs+ … very satisfied… Volume control works fine… Doc adjusted a couple years ago & fine since then…
Geez… Doc ordered the Widex… Got the proper “length” of the little tube… I walk out same day… no fittings… Back in a month or so for adjustments… and… Yes… I tried an “in the ear” when in Saudi Arabia…yuk … All those twists and turns getting the dam thing in and out…
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No contest … Behind the Ear by a mile…
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Keeping my glasses from slipping was an accidental bonus…
I wear Starkey Destiny 1200 aids (two). I looked for, and found, what I believe is a fair price for the two aids, which included a two year warrantee – $4400.00. My health insurance plan paid $2000.00 toward the purchase of the two aids. At the end of the two year warrantee period I will be faced with warrantee renewal for approx. $300.00 for the two aids per year.
So let’s do the math:
Cost of the aids after insurance $2400.00
Cost of warrantee renewal for 3 years $1000.00
Total cost of the aids for five years $3400.00
Lyric aids subscription per year $3200.00 X five years = $16000.00.
Duh.. personally, I am staying with my Starkey aids..
My trial period was up 3 days ago. I purchased the lyric aids. One for each ear. The doctor adjusted them thursday and by the time I got home I had so much pain that I went to a doctor friend who gave me something. After a day and a half it was were I could stand it. I tried to take the aid out and couldn’t. It felt like I was trying to pull my brains out through my ear. I tried 3 times and it was extremely painful. I called my audiologist and she said for me to come in tomorrow if it isn’t better. I am taking pain med every 4 hours. If this had happened before I bought them I probably would not have gotten them. I had very little to no pain/discomfort, until now. I feel like they just need to be backed out a little but I can’t do it.
The tool doesn’t work well for me. I liked them fine until now…. hopefully with another adjusted my problem will be solved. This time I will sit in my doctors office for a while to be sure I don’t need more adjustment so I don’t have to drive that 2 and half hour drive (one way) again for another adjustment.
Both my grandparents have looked at the Lyric aids, one ultimately couldn’t be fitted but the other has had great success with the device. To find out what to expect from a Lyric hearing device go to their website where you can find a provider in your area and if your lucky and live in the San Francisco Bay Area you might be able to participate in a clinical study for their new product.
I’ve had my Lyric removed twice now because of growing discomfort, almost a pinching sensation. I’ve had it reinserted and it’s fine for a while, but then the pinching returns. I’ve been thinking that maybe water from my showers gets in there. It’s strange and troublesome. It’s hurting again and I’m thinking about going to the audiologist with it in my ear so that maybe he can see the problem.
Is it possible it shifts and hits upon a nerve?
Is anyone else having this issue?
I really want this device to work.
It’s typically hassle free and I can hear!!
Dear Lyric haters and lovers,
Would that the Lyric was available 30 years ago when I got fired from my professional Symphony job for hearing loss.
I just started wearing the new Lyric and it is almost perfect so far. I have had at least four other sets of aids since beginning in 1978. I can tell you that price has very little to do with effectiveness of the product. The screaming ads about the wonderful features digital aids offer is just crap. The much more important element is the audiologist. He/she can make or break the event. I have had both good and bad. Unfortunately we don’t usually find out what ours is until it’s too late.
I have been trying for years to replace my dependable Widexs ($4,000) with no luck until Kaiser started carrying the Lyric. The great thing about hearing aid vendors is that they give you thirty days trial. You could spend your life trying out hearing aids without buying any. So there is no reason not to try all of them and get a feel for them. My audiologist at Kaiser said from the beginning that I was not a good candidate for the Lyric. I felt from the beginning that they would work for me and I’m very glad I decided to try them.
I may end up not buying them but it won’t be because they don’t work the best I have ever had.
Alison, I’ve been wearing Lyric for a year now (renewing my subscription this month) and I had a similar problem with my left ear (and yes, it was a nerve). I have a great audiologist and we tried shifting the location a couple of times and found that (in my case), a little further out of the canal did the trick . . . I’ve had no problems in the last few months and forget I even have them in.
Hope this helps.
Lyric has just come to Canada and I am scheduled for an audiologist visit in two weeks. Having never used hearing aids before (my wife tells me it definitely is time), I don’t really know what criteria to use in evaluating them. My problems revolve around speech and seem to vary with the frequency (women versus men, eg.). As well, in a crowded room, I have difficulty tuning out adjacent conversations so I can concentrate on one. Sounds from behind also appear to be a problem. Any advice would be appreciated.
In Post 123 above, December 5, 2010, Marshall asked: if Lyrics “help with ringing in the ears?”
In my experience, no difference on ringing in the ears with Lyrics–not better, not worse–and this is generally true for other hearing aids as well. There are other hearing aids developed to improve hearing AND mask tinnitus using a small white noise generator. Some people find them helpful, some don’t. There are many different causes of tinnitus, some unknown, and many different symptom patterns, so everyone’s mileage may vary, and the only way to find out what effect an aid has for you on ringing in the ears is to try it out.
I am 50, have mild to moderate hearing loss, and work in an environment where, unfortunately, a lot of people correlate hearing loss with senility so it was important for me to go in for an invisible hearing aid. I recently had Lyric inserted in only one ear as the other ear could not accept even the smallest one. I have never used external hearing aids before so am not able to compare. I am sharing my experience here for the benefit of people who are interested in this aid.
I have a mixed opinion about the aid.
First- the cost. It is expensive and costs more than the cost of my Honda civic over 7 years. But I am still prepared to spend that if it helps.
Secondly, it is invisible and hearing improves for sure. To give an example, the clarity for listening to TV improved to ~80% as compared to 50% before. Now the volume needed is significantly less, so that helps with others in the room.
But there are other issues as well. It increases a lot of other sounds significantly. In a grocery store the sound of the carts, people, etc drives you crazy. While watching TV, if something else is making a sound like a fan then that gets increased as well and you need to switch the fan off. I have to switch the lyric off in the shower as it increases the sound significantly.
At work, it improved my hearing significantly but also increases other noises sometimes to the extent you want to switch it off. In the gym it was a similar scenario.
But if you switch it off, even in standby mode, your hearing is definitely more diminished than before. If it is switched off completely, it is like a big ear plug.
Whilst driving on the highway, the wind noise increases significantly to the extent you have to place it in standby mode.
I did a hearing test on line myself at the univ of south wales website, and found that on lower frequencies and very high frequencies, it did poorly than my other ear (my hearing is practically the same in both ears). In the standby mode, there was significant reduced hearing across all the frequencies so it is not like your previous hearing.
I hope to get my audiologist to try and tweak it further and see if it helps during the trial period.
I had to remove it 2 weeks after as i developed pain in my right ear and it felt so good when it was removed. But i do plan to get it reinserted and try it for the rest of the trial period as if i can get it to work for me, i still feel it would be great! By the way, i plan to try the Starkey Otolens if this does not work. It seems a better alternative, as it can be removed and reinserted by yourself.
Love this thread! I’ll be 52 next month. Have had aids since I was thirty (had hard measles at 4) and have had four pair over the past twenty years. I’m an analog girl. Highly adaptable in life but not in hearing aids. I’m excited by so many aspects of Lyric. I have long ago learned to live with disappointment in hearing technology simply because nothing can replace a healthy hearing ear. That’s what we all must acknowledge.
I am being fitted on Monday. I will let you know, truly.
Insofar as those audiologists who shrug and wonder what the big deal is in wearing visible aids (I was a nursing mom with aids). If they start anywhere at all they need to start by having compassion and empathy. While millions of us Baby Boomers are now paying the debt of rock n roll played at mind blowing decibels, there is still a stigma attached to hearing loss. Most people don’t know that I wear them. I’m more open to it now, but I don’t want it defining me, and it sometimes does.
Live, learn, and hear as well as we can.
I’ll be in touch. Special thanks to the updates from Benjamin. Outstanding feedback. I truly appreciate everyone’s honesty both positive and negative.
I’m back and was fitted today with my lyrics today. I gotta say that aside from the discomfort, and there is an ache in both ears now, I love the sound of these! I will stop back after my first few days, but if I’m able to tolerate wearing them, I’m on the right track with these aids. Booyah! It would be awesome to have the freedom these promise. Will let you know!
Bonnie
Seems I’m the only one keeping this thread up, but knowing how integral the reports were for me, I will continue to update. Day 4 had me back to the audi’s to try and adjust the left ear as it was causing me great pain. We ended up pulling it. There was an abrasion. Have to wait 1-2 weeks to try again. Trial period on pause for now. Hearing this well is worth this!!! Right ear still good. 🙂 I will make this work!
I’ve read the entire blog and although I would love to try them, until they resolve the water issue, I can’t try them. I have 2 4 year olds, and living in FL, we are in the pool almost every day. And I guess i’m vain, but I’ve been holding off getting hearing aids for years now because I don’t want anything that is even a little bit visible. I will keep checking, and when they release the waterproof version, I will go out and finally try a set. I commend the people that don’t care that they are visible, but I hate to say, I’m just not one of them.
This is my first experience in using hearing aids. After reading an ad in our local paper on “Lyric”, and a free hearing exam, plus a 30 day trial I was examined and fitted on Jan. 18th., (10 days ago) The first couple of days I noticed a discomfort in sleeping on my right side,(slight ache in right ear) however, it seems to be fine now. I shower and shampoo my hair on a daily basis, as if I’m going to have a problem, let’s find out now. The cost will be $3500.00 per year, which includes all changes,wax removals, (if needed) and any upgrades of product. My final examination will be Feb.22nd. My hearing has definietly improved. (I’m 80 yrs. old)
Back for another update: this week I had flow yoga and heard every instruction, that is amazing!!!!! Tonight, with my left aid out, I had zumba class with extremely loud music, my lyric was able to allow me to hear the music but also the instructor. Honestly. I came home and my hubby and I tried to think of anything that could change his life like these have changed mine. We settled on a head of thick hair since he’s mostly bald, but we both know that these are literally life changing. I’m praying we’ll get the kinks out of the left ear and I will be successful. The money is steep, but the cost is worth it.
@Erik, there are many who swim and do water sports with the Lyrics… The thirty day trial is FREE you have nothing to lose, try them and put them through the paces to see if they pass muster in your life. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
After losing my bte hearing aid for the second time, I decided to try the lyric. the battery seems to last about 6 weeks and excessive ear wax causes the hearing aid to be replaced after about a month. BUT I hear much better. I only have one because I am deaf in the other ear. Sometime there is itching. I solved the swimming problem by using a plastic ear cover and an Aquawear head band and I don’t put my head underwater.
Just a quick update for anyone interested. I’m about a month into my 4th Lyric and the only difference is that after both the first two lasted within a few days of 4 months, I found that the third one lost power at just a week over 3 months. This kind of caught me by surprise, but I guess it teaches me not to expect uniformity.
One other non-uniformity I have found is that when the battery dies what you observe is not always quite the same as before. Sometimes sounds were noticeably different for several hours before the battery died, and sometimes it seemed to go out in the space of an hour or two. Once it went out while I was asleep so I can’t say what it was like that time.
I would note that after having a hard time with removing the first one I have gotten so that connecting the hook device and gently pulling it out has now become second nature and I am able to do it in a few seconds. Once again, I HIGHLY recommend you insist that your audiologist lets you practice a couple of times in the office, with a loose one just to get the hang of engaging the hook device. Practicing “blind” on your own ear after the battery dies can be torturous. But if you have practiced engaging the hook and know to gently and patiently rock it out of your ear, it is as easy as pie.
If you have two lyrics it isn’t a huge problem when a battery dies in one ear since it isn’t likely to happen in the other ear at the same time. But if, like me, your other ear is totally deaf, you will want to be confident that you can quickly and easily get the Lyric out since it is a pretty effective ear plug with a dead battery.
Update: today I have both aids in. I had to take off three weeks for the left ear because of an abrasion. The discomfort has been a major factor in acclimating. I had a funny crackling sound in my right ear, which was very comfortable and I hardly knew it was in there. Audi removed it and upon reinsertion of new device, hit a sore spot so I took off a week and used my digitals.
I had the left ear reinserted on Tuesday (today is Friday). There’s discomfort, however, it is not as bad as last time. I’m giving them my best shot. Right ear inserted today and is quite comfy.
Hearing quality remains above and beyond amazing. If I can acclimate these to my tiny ear canals I will definitely buy a year’s subscription. The fact that they are invisible is surprisingly liberating after so many years of canal aids. I like my hair behind my ears.
Sleep can be difficult but I use my traveling neck support pillow. You know the ones that you wrap around your neck. I lay it flat and It completely supports my head an neck, and my ear fits perfectly in the hole where my neck would without causing any pressure.
I’ll be back with another update. Praying I can get past this discomfort.
Lyric sounds wonderful, I’ve been reading up on this hearing device. I’ve been wearing analog hearing aids since I was 6, been almost 30 years. Not sure if Lyric is strong enough for my hearing loss, but will check with my audiologist on my next visit. Thanks for all the insight, and congrats to all the happy users!!!
Lyric is wonderful! I am a vain 55 year old man and I was to proud to get a behind the year and would not even LOOK at any aid. I saw a ad for lyric , went into center near my home and was lucky enough to get the 30 day free trial. In a word AMAZING! I was fitted with the Large-Medium size model and experienced no discomfort just amazing crystal clear hearing.I had to return in about a week as I was just flat out hearing to well, I had gain lowered and sound set at low/medium. I just signed my 1 year contract. Heres what I don’t have ..No whistling, no pain,no worries while in shower.Best of all for me no one knows.
Only thing you have to do is learn to sleep on your back or if you like to sleep on your side try not to squash your ear into pillows. Not a issue if put into sleep mode or turned off, I just like to leave mine on.Now 45 days into the lyrics and I would not trade for any other type aid. I HONESTLY could not be happier. I hear better than I can ever remember.
Nick
I’m on my third day of a 30 day trial period for Lyric aid in my left ear. I had my right aid removed because of pain which resulted in a bruise and severe plugged feeling as if you are climbing during an airplane flight and keep swallowing hoping to open your ear passages except they never open. Has anyone experienced this plugged sensation and found that it resolves itself? The pain is bad enough but I don’t know how much longer I can tolerate this stuffiness in my ear.
In Response to 121
I had more than a “moderate” loss of hearing, I own a transportation Company that caters to Entertainers and I had bought phones with volume control amplifiers,had a SECOND speaker wired into my car so I could hear with blue tooth enabled.
I tried miracle ears and the amps that look like headsets with no help.
And I will show anyone MY PERSONAL CANCELLED CHECK to prove I have no Lyric tie ins.
Instead of being 100% NEGATIVE, I say try them first after all it is free for 30 days.
Just for information I asked about other aids Even at 6000.00 for a pair that may last up to 5 years I said hey let me look into them. I was not offered a 30 day trial and my audiologist sells and services all the majors. I can do math also so I was at least willing to look at anything except a BTE.
In todays world 3200.00 is a LOT of money on this we agree but I cannot put a price on being able to hear without my clients knowing.
I also was told I could do anything with aids in except scuba dive and or skydive.
I have a moderate hearing loss for midrange frequencies and decided to try Lyric: It is an amazing instrument; nice quality. (I do not want to repeat all the info already included above)
However, I decided to return them only after one day since I hated the discomfort of having them in my ear canal. One may forget that they were there, but I could not concentrate, I could not sleep, I could not perform well at all with them there….
I much prefer to take the hearing aid off when I do not need them. Please consider this factor.
Thanks to all who have posted their experiences. I have a screening appointment in a couple weeks to see whether Lyrics would work for me. This thread is terrific in helping me consider the pros and cons of getting them. After reading all of the posts, I’m planning to go ahead with the free trial. If I’m dissatisfied, I’ll be out no money and no worse off.
I’m confused about a couple things, though, and I’d love to hear from Lyric users:
1. There is a wide degree of opinions on showering with Lyrics inserted. I’d like to know I could shower normally and wash my hair. Do users have to take special precautions to shower with Lyrics?
2. I really hate that I need to take my digits CIC aids out when I go running. When alone, this creates a bit of a safety issue because I can’t hear traffic, bicyclists approaching from behind, etc. When I run with others, it makes it hard to carry on conversation. I’d like to hear about the experience of any user who wears these for distance running or any other athletic activities that generate a lot of sweat.
Thanks!
One corresondent observed that “one cannot use lyric if one uses a blood-thinner.” I take Warfarin every day to thin the blood and reduce the risk of an atrial fibulation stroke. Does anyone know the extent of the risk involved here? What does thin blood have to do particularly with Lyric? Thanks
Hi Leonard:
I would like to know about the blood-thinner/Lyric business too. Personally, I can’t think of a reason why that makes any difference when wearing a hearing aid like the Lyric.
I’ve never heard that taking blood thinners is contraindicated for wearing the Lyric. If anyone knows, please speak up.
Regards
Neil
I’ve called several Lyric audis and they’ve all asked the same blood thinner question.
I suspect it’s the risk, if somehow bleeding should begin for whatever reason, the months long permanance could conceal a buildup of blood without your immediate knowledge for attention. There may have been one or two bleeding incidents in the past, so the company and its agents are proactive and protective for legal reasons.
You can be sure plenty of people have and will start Warfarin months and years after installing Lyrics. What about them? More brand recalls? And what about daily aspirin, it’s a blood thinner too. If the risk is to any degree substantial, Lyric couldn’t have gotten acceptance this far along in years and be expanding into Europe.
I am now on my second round Lyrics, and I have an appointment later today because one of them seems to be malfunctioning.
I have mixed feelings about Lyrics. I feel that the sound quality is excellent. It seems very natural, and once I adjust to the feeling of something in my ear I really don’t notice anything “artificial” about them. The ability to wear them overnight is very important to me–I have a toddler and cannot hear him when he wakes up without my aids in (although I could use a baby monitor if I had to).
What I don’t like is the discomfort during the adjustment period. My ears are very sensitive and I experienced quite a bit of pain even on the second insertion. Although the pain is not severe, it is constantly there for a few days, and I find it debilitating if I don’t take pain pills as often as allowed (not something I like to do). I have not yet made it the full three months with a device because there does not seem to be a size that fits my ears perfectly, and they eventually shift and stop functioning once moisture gets inside the seal.
I think it’s unfair to claim that these devices aren’t worth the hype. It’s a very interesting technology with some unique advantages that are important to some hearing aid users (like 24/7 hearing, no hearing aid batteries for a child or pet to swallow, etc.). The technology is definitely not perfect though, and the cost is rather prohibitive. I hope that alternatives to the standard hearing aid will continue to be explored.
I was never asked about blood thinners. My family doctor was given a copy of all my hearing tests and when asked told me he could see no reason why I should not get them. I do take baby aspirin every day. I shower with zero issues.To be clear I shower exactly like In did before lyrics and have had no issues.I also cannot see any issue with running, I ride a bike I jog I work out all without issue. I was told I could everything but scuba dive and sky dive.Honestly the only time I know they are in is when I sleep if I lay FLAT on my ear (either one) I get a slight ringing and I know that the aid is in. I have found a work around , you can sleep on back with aids on,I Have a horseshoe type pillow that is perfect. If I don’t have either of those I just either turn one aid off and lay on that side or I crunch up a small flannel blanket and place under my head so it don’t block ear complete work great.
I think when you go in ,if you have good size ear canals you will have zero issues if they have to go to the smallest size you may have some discomfort. I have never had to take any type of pain pill, and I am very thankful for that. I think a lot has to do with person placing in your ear, mine did a lot of measuring before installing and did it so fast I ws amazed.
Looking into this device for my dad. Does anyone know if insurance cover any portion of this? My dad isn’t totally deaf but I know he has trouble hearing. He’s very stubborn but I know he would wear one if he didn’t have to fool with the device all the time.
I have been wearing hearing aids for about 18 mos. now (I’m 60); and loved the Lyric over-the-ear (still do). I was asked by my audiologist to test the latest version of the in-the-canal devices. I had two main problems, and actually had to take them out myself (not recommended, and it is difficult) the very first day in the middle of the night. Problem 1: they work wonderful when turned on; but if you turn them off, the pressure in the ears is akin to pinching your nose and blowing to clear your ears (which doesn’t and just plugs them up); you have an immediate sensation of underwater-ears when you turn them off. Problem 2): first night of sleep I felt the most excruciating, severe pain in my brain while asleep. I awoke feeling paralyzed and had to use all my concentration to turn over onto my back. The paid went away as soon as I realized I was awake, which of course would lead one to think I was having some sort of nightmare. This was about 6 weeks ago. I had never experienced this pain before or since taking them out and returning them the next day. The pain was not to be believed, accompanied with a sense of electricity from one side of the head to the other. It made me wonder if they are using extremely strong magnets (rare earth materials) for these (hence the high cost). No one will ever convince me I did not experience this pain, even as it went away upon awakening. It didn’t leave immediately (took seconds), but seconds are how long to the brain? They’re definitely not for everyone. I will say they were extremely clear and the pick-up efficiency was incredible. Also, they functioned exactly as the instructions indicate for on/off/adjusting sound level. Didn’t malfunction once. Just scared the dickens out of me.
I would like to know where can I get these Lyrica hearing devises.
hpikk@hotmail.com
Regarding the various hearing aid prices; I am just 59 and found I have enough hearing loss to get hearing aids. I first went to a chain, strip mall place and they said I would have pay anywhere from $4500 on up for a Starkey brand; next I went to an MD office and their audiologist recommended Phonak at $3800 for the pair. Last place I went was Costco and not only was that audiologist the best of the three, she mentioned that I might head out elsewhere and consider the Lyric (she did not know a lot about them, however). The Kirkland hearing aids were $2000 for the pair; based on what I am “hearing” about the Lyric and the overall low cost of the Costco brand and the competency of the audiologist, it looks like that is the direction I will go.
The only US insurance that covers hearing aids is the Veteran’s Administration. If you are a registered Vet they will pay.
I tried not one but two months to get the Lyric to work properly… on both occasions after a couple of weeks one or both of them did not work properly.
I have worn hearing aids for some time and care for them well as I did these, but they simply do not work properly and it is my opinion any discerning user will not be satisfied with the performance… and there is the hassle of not knowing when they will quit and the repeat visits ts to sdjust them.
I’ve been using the Lyric for going on a year. My audiologist gives me spares to insert myself if one of them dies for some reason. It’s not that hard to do if you can remember right from left and curved from flat. The sound quality is wonderful. Digital smigital! I couldn’t program my actual ears either. These give me what I got with no hearing aids, except amplified so I can hear it. And I can just forget about them, even in the shower. Worth the price.
People in earlier postings complained of enhanced fan noise or running water noise blocking other sounds. I have experienced a similar problem. Running water or my wife filling the dishwasher with cutlery or dishes clanking will momentarily mute out the television audio which is as far as 40 feet away.
Here’s my theory and please comment if you have an opinion on my idea. When my hearing loss was analyzed it was determined that I had lost more of high pitched noise (ie clanking dishes) than lower pitched noise (ie human voice) so in my hearing aid “prescription”, high pitch was to be enhanced by the Lyric and low pitch was not or less so. So I’m thinking that if I ask that the high pitch enhancement be lessened I won’t lose all other sounds and so will be able to hear both. I don’t know if Lyric or an audiologist can make that adjustment, however I have stopped using Lyrics but might return to them if an audiologist would agree that this idea might work.
WOW, that’s all I can say – I’m 54 years old and have worn all types of hearing aids for over 30 years from large clunky behind the ear to in the canal to cic – I was asked to “trial” this set a month ago and won’t give them back! From day one, the fit is great as I can’t feel them in my ears. Besides the natural sound quality, I love hearing all the time. The convenience of never having to worry about taking them in an out as I am a nurse is over. I am able to use a stethoscope without feedback. All phones are great with no feedback. Hmm, even hugging no more feedback. Yes they are expensive, but I am worth it!! So, suffice to say, I’ve paid for my set today and will never look back!!
btw, I have moderate to severe hearing loss and these aids work great! Also, my right ear was causing discomfort, I went back in three days and it was readjusted out a little farther. Now fast forward a month and I honestly don’t feel them at all!
I have avoided getting hearing aids because I swim and boat a lot and don’t want the hassle of taking them in and out, not to mention the danger of damaging or misplacing them. I got excited about the Lyric because several friends, as well as the audiologist/provider, insisted they absolutely did not need to be removed to shower or swim. Now I am reading many comments from wearers who say that is bunk and that water contact is out of the question. What is the bottom line here? Has the Lyric been improved to tolerate water, or is all the promotion exceeding realistic use? Is there any other device out there that does not need to be removed to shower or swim?
Hi Nancy:
There are two regular BTE hearing aids that are billed as waterproof.
The original one was the Rion “Dolphin”. I’ve written about it before. You can read about it at http://hearinglosshelp.com/weblog/water-proof-dolphin-hearing-aids-for-swimming.php.
The new kid on the block is Siemens brand new Aquarius. You can read about it on Siemens website at http://hearing.siemens.com/en/04-products/27-aquaris/aquaris.jsp
Since the Dolphin is analog and has been around for 15 years or so now it is old technology. In contrast, the Aquarius is brand new and so will contain the latest technology as well as being waterproof.
But there are two other options for you and both of these are made to be used underwater–not just to be resistant to “splashing”.
Neil
I am just doing lots of reading about the Lyric. My hearing loss is moderate and I have tinnitis. Does this hearing aide work for tinnitis also?
Nancy: I asked my audiologist about the swim issue when I read all the conflicting opinions in this discussion and he explained that it all depends on how well it fits into different individuals’ ears. I suggest you try it and see if it works for your particular fit. If it doesn’t, you can return it within the trial period and you will either have a hearing aid you love and can swim with or only be out the original fitting fee.
Well, I suppose, the other alternative is to buy it for a year anyhow and just get it replaced every time it fails when you swim. They claim they will replace it as often as it fails so that implies there’s no limit.
Lynn: I have tinnitus too and the Lyric has no effect on the tinnitus, however, since it amplifies all other sounds, real sounds, it makes the real sounds become louder and easy to hear.
Sadly, as far as I’ve been able to find out, nobody has found a cure for tinnitus except for a few special cases where it is caused by illness or medications.
how do you know when the battery needs to be replaced? I’m two months into wearing the Lyric. I love it and have had no problems with it after a fitting change. So, does the battery just go dead or does it start to fade to give you a hint that you need a change?
I have mod hearing loss in only one ear and also preety loud tinnitus in one ear. My ear Doc is telling me that I should try the Lyric to improve my hearing which in turn might improve my tinnitus. Anybody had any success improving their tinnitus with these devices? Thanks for your feedback!
There is a new aid out offered by AccuQuest Hearing Center’s and it fits down in the ear canal like lyric except it can be removed daily. Anyone know about this and aprox. cost?
Lyric: the sound is great; very normal tones; I have only one. The video CD that came with it said you can swim with them. I can’t even carefully shower with them even with a snug fit. My audiologist has been very accommodating in replacing them when they fail. Trouble is mine have been failing about once a week! It works super for a 3 to 7 days then starts whistling and I have to take it out. One time I saw water actually ooze out around the speaker after removing the hearing aid. Another time the outer seal just detached when I gently removed the hearing aid. When the Lyric is working the sound is superior to two other expensive BTE types I tried prior to these. Sound tests that I have carefully conducted myself, along with the information already stated, leads me to believe that not all of Lyric hearing aids that I have worn are of the same quality.
I got Lyric’s yesterday. I am thrilled. As a birdwatcher, I have been lost out in the woods without high frequency hearing. I went birding this morning, and it was like visiting a whole new world. I love my new Lyrics. While I can still feel they are there, I find them very comfortable. I was careful showering. In the video, and other instructions I received, I was told I CANNOT SWIM with them. I think that is Ron’s problem. Water ruins them quickly. I do understand that one needs a fairly large, fairly straight and fairly wax-free ear canal to become a Lyric wearer. Fortunately, I fit all three categories.
I just got fitted today. I only needed one for my right ear. Left hear is pretty good. I am so amazed at how much everyday sounds that I have been missing all my life. I really wanted to avoid traditional hearing aids. I have been interested in Lyric for almost 3 years, but there were no providers in my area, I would have had to travel 6-7 hours to get to one, so I waited for someone to come in closer to home. I went on the site and did a locator search and low and behold there is a provider just 10 minutes from where I work. I called their office and they were able to get me in today. What I am hearing is AMAZING!!! I had forgotton those sounds existed. I have pretty small ears and my audiologist was skeptical if the woud fit. She put in the smallest size. It is somewhat uncomfortable, but I hope I can get used to it. I want this to work! I am thrilled and excited by what I have experienced so far. The posts above regarding infections and bleeding have me concerned, but will have to wait and see. I will keep you posted.
@Donna (171): I have found that I can usually tell when my Lyric is about to fail. Oddly the indications aren’t always the same. Sometimes I have heard a background noise or a bit of distortion of the sound or a weakening of the amplification. In all those cases it has usually started to be detectable 5 to 10 hours before the battery completely died.
The last two times the battery died were while I was asleep so I don’t know what indications there were.
If, like me, you are deaf in the other ear, it is a good idea to keep an old hearing handy for the time it takes you to get to the audiologist to get a replacement. Otherwise, you can always find a cheap amplifier at Amazon or even an app if you have an iPhone that will suffice temporarily.
If you have Lyrics in both ears odds are good that they won’t both go out at once.
In any case, be sure your audiologist shows you how to extract it. A Lyric with a dead battery is a very expensive ear plug and you want to be sure you know how to get it out. I’d recommend you ask your audiologist to let you practice with a real one to get the hang of it. I didn’t and the first time I took mine out it was awful – and the second time it was easy as pie.
Addition to above post: The thing you need to practice is hooking the little loops with the extraction tool. You can learn this without having it in your ear, just practice it while holding it in front of you.
I’m almost two days into my Lyrics. Right ear is perfect but left aches and I have a headache all the time. Will this pass?? How can you tell if a bruise. Torn between leaving I’m a few more days and pulling out for a few days and sleep is difficult. Any suggestions??? Thanks.
This forum has been a tremendous help in getting real information.
I realise that this is probably not the best place to ask specific questions but I am at a bit of a loss.
I am in England where Lyric has just begun being marketed. My audiologist has only fitted 2 before me and really knows nothing about them. In fact he had to consult the manual to find out how to switch it on. Almost all questions I have are met with a blank response.
I have one fitted in my right ear only. I suffered a lot of pain during the measuring and fitting. I have continued to experience pain – including headaches, jaw ache – in the week since fitting and my ear is still sore to the touch with intermittant pain. I am determined to see through the pain and it is easing.
However I am left with a feeling that my ear is ‘blocked’. It feels like there is water in my ear that I cant get rid of (there is not as I have avoided water). This gets worse when I am outside and there is any kind of wind – I assume this changes the outside air pressure – when I experience sharp pain. So: is this normal and something I have to live with or should the lyric not create this sensation?
FYI I am paying $375 for the month’s trial which will be deducted from the annual subscription of $2,750. This is for one ear.
Steve (179): I hope you are feeling better by now. If not, I’d suggest taking it out for at least a week or two to let your ear heal up. Then have your audiologist check to be sure it is the correct size before reinstalling it. Mine hurt a little the first time and once in a later installation. But in my case it felt fine after a few days and now I can’t even tell it is in there.
Wayne (180): I wonder if your audiologist got any training at all! Maybe he didn’t measure your ear correctly. It surely sounds expensive there. I’d check with the Lyric website to find a contact phone number or email address and confirm that your audiologist is trained and authorized. It can sometimes be painful but it should feel ok after about a week. If not, you may need a different size, or it may just not be the solution for you.
Note: I’m just a customer and these are my opinions, I am not an expert.
This is the best darn thing since I dont’ know what!!! I needed something that I could wear that did not look like a hearing aid and would provide me what I needed at meetings. You can turn it off, on, 6 level ranges, whatever. I forget it is even in my ear. I have no problem with getting it changed every few months and have been wearing it for 2.5 years. I would love to be able to put a new one in when needed; but it alerts me when a new one is needed. I give my ear at least a weeks rest between changing aides…they are pricey and I love it.
Hi,
I have been wearing CIC hearing aids since 2001-2002, and recently both of them just crapped out on me. My hearing has depleted quite a bit over that time and I’m not sure if cic’s would still suffice for my hearing loss.
I am in my low 20ies and very active, I like sports like wakeboarding, swimming, hockey, among others, so my aids need to be tough. I have noticed that this blog is quite old by now, so how is the technology evolving? Are the newer lyrics able to take on water, or not yet?
I do need to purchase new aids soon, so a response would be well appreciated..
i’ve had my lyrics for 3 months now. i’m a golf pro and it’s a hot and humid summer. i’m finding that ear wax is a problem. my dr said there would be no wax behind the device (it would build up on the outside of it) but that wasn’t true. i love the sound quality (way better than digital, which always sounded manufactured to me) but am tired of going back every 3 weeks for a new device. anyone else out there work outside and have this issue?
So, I’ve been looking into my options for my loss. I’ve been told the 6k set of starkey are my best option. I sure as hell don’t want to spend that kind of cash on a set of hearing aids. I’ve turned to the internet and found lyric. I’ve also found century and diy and so forth. I’m an IT guy and know that I can find a resonable set for a reasonable price and came across my hearing world. Anyone had any experience with them? I’m very interested in the program yourself stuff since i’m technically inclined. If anyone knows of other manufacturers that will allow to do my own thing i’d be glad to take a look. However, i need some advice on my hearing world. Website is http://www.my-hearingworld.com so please let me know your thoughts as soon as possible
rangers lead the way
I just got Lyric hearing aids and was told I could wear them with iPod headphones. These headphones contain small magnetic devices which turn my lyrics on and off and the volume up and down in each ear separately. All the headphones I own seem to have magnets. Has anyone else had this problem? What is the solution? It’s too bizarre to have each ear flipping through all the lyric settings
This is a very good blog, as it is helpful to see the application of the Lyric. In summary it is a niche product that works well for certain folks.
Everything out there comes with its inherent problems, but good to see that manufacturers are trying to meet the needs of the heraing impaired community.
Something I learned recently, was that most of all hearing instruments use WDRC (Wide Dynamic Range Compression) in their technology for use in DSP (Digital signal Processing)hearing aids. This concept was originally developed by Steinberg and Gardner,et al, in 1937 as an approach to dealing with abnormal loudness growth typical with hearing loss. It was in 1987 that a commercial product was released by ReSound with WDRC. And since then has pretty much been the standard for use in teaching in universities, dispensing practices, manufactures to be sure, and the whole professional arena. It wasn’t until 2001 a new approach has emerged with ADRO (Adaptive Dynamic Range Optimization) which doesn’t use compression at all leaving the user with a more natural sound experience and improved speech intelligibility than with WDRC.
In two different surveys comparing the benefits of ADRO vs, WDRC the victor has always been ADRO. A visual statement that can demonstrate the superiority of ADRO is this: Think of a person using ADRO vs. WDRC will always get one word better inteligibility per one to two sentences per conversation in any listening situation. For a better picture there are 11 complex sentences written since the beginning of this post (now 12). With WDRC you would have missed at least 8 words completely, therefore having to spend extra time thinking about those words to fill in the blank. After a while this could become “work” to just listen. But with ADRO you would’ve gotten all of those missed words.
In a world where cosmetics are a concern something invisible would be a great marketing reach, but in reality, people want to always understand better in varied listening environments, and specifically in noise.
ADRO is the BEST DSP technology because it was originally designed for use with cohlear implants, by Dr. Peter Blaimey, et al, and has a proven track record, but just hasn’t been widely accepted by the mainstream who would have to convert everything over to accommodate the improvement.( this includes thinking) And frankly as long as proponents of WDRC are concerned the road to offer something better and new requires more work than they want to put out to meet the needs of a patient. Let’s face it, it IS easier to go with what you’ve always known, than to do something that mocves you out of your comfort zone.
Now if the manufacturers of Lyric could get ADRO technology into their product that would be something to cheer about.
There is a company that offers ADRO at a low cost ($899 -$1299 )per hearing aid through Sam’s Club. Sam’s now has about 80 hearing aid centers currently (and growing) across the USA that dispense these fine products. Also I found out you do not need to be a Sam’s member to be tested or buy an ADRO product,(note: some companies like COSTCO require you to be a member to purchase a WDRC hearing aid)
Check out ADRO…you’ll be glad you did.
I just got Lyrics for both ears (month trial basis). When I use my cell phone at my left ear, the lyric does the same thing as when the head phones are used as Elizabeth mentioned above… it periodically runs through all the Lyric on/off settings, beeping each time. It doesn’t seem to do it when I use the cell phone at my right ear… VERY ODD. Anyone else have this experience (and/or suggestions)?
Regarding Elizabeth’s and Laurie’s interference problem. Firstly, be aware a small tip magnet at the end of your adjustment tool is purposely used to control on/off/volume, etc. Somehow, a magnetic field, which is normal from headphones, is interfering (too strong). I can think of two possibilies: 1. Some Lyrics may be too sensetive (defective?) to external fields from headphones.
2. Maybe the Lyrics are not installed deep enough into the canal to avoid headphone fields.
Slowly pull the earphone pad straight away from your ear an inch or two just to test the effect. I use Lyrics with a Sony Walkman and its headphones on tight and it all works perfectly…never a problem.
So problem should be correctable.
Would be nice for you two to post again here to advise how it turns out for you.
I have used my iPhone earbuds occasionally and haven’t had any problems like Elizabeth and Laurie just posted. But I’m not a regular iPhone music listener so I may not be the best judge.
Speaking of music, my battery just died so I dug out my old digital hearing aid to get me over the weekend until I can go in for a replacement Lyric. I was really annoyed at how bad music sounded with the digital hearing aid. Also other sounds like water running and doors closing were annoying. I have really gotten spoiled with my Lyric over the year and a half I’ve been wearing it! I’ve decided to skip the digital one and just put up with rather faint sounds until I can get my next Lyric, hopefully on Monday if I can get an appointment that soon.
I have no connection with the Lyric firm other than as a retired happy user of their hearing aids and have a 35 year backround in aerospace electronics. I want to comment about Lyric’s price and in particular, “expert” Steve’s posting #28 blast. Quote: “I find Lyric prices to be obscene”; “no way the R&D plus manufacturing cost (about $90) justifies the price”. (Do tell us what the R&D should be Steve); “taking advantage of the hearing impaired population”.
Guessing manufacturing cost without at least some internal examination of a miniature complex product like the Lyric is bogus. Also, it’s just a fraction of the expense to market Lyrics. The company is located in the high cost San Francisco area.
If you’re thinking of buying Lyrics, keep in mind you would be getting on average, eight(or more)hearing aids in a year for about $400 each with free backup replacement and any product improvements along the way. Sure, cost adds up big time as years pass. It’s for you to decide, are the unique and proprietary Lyric features affordably worth it. In my view, I’m getting very fair value and not getting raped pricewise (e.g. cost $90; sell $1600 ea.) by the company as some posters here seem to think or imply.
Regarding Eddie’s comment about our beeping problem from headphones/cellphone, you might be correct that the Lyric is not as deep as necessary to avoid magnetic interference. I know that I have a very small ear canal, especially on the left side… almost didn’t qualify for the Lyric. (I have the smallest size). I can avoid it, just by not holding the phone so close against my left ear, or by using it at my right ear instead. I really like the Lyric in every other way!… just wish and hope someday the cost will be a little less… maybe other similar devices will come out in the future to provide some competition for us in the “boomer generation”. Thanks for your comment.
I’m Ron from post 174, frugal by nature thus purchased only one Lyric hearing aid for a one year subscription of $1,600, that’s $4.38 per day (less than breakfast at a diner). A lot of money, but for me it is likely to be cheaper, as I am absent-minded and would most likely lose BTE types.
My main problem with Lyric seems to be slippage away from the eardrum which causes whistling. So this last time I asked my audiologist to use superglue instead of the lubricant glycerine; she refused and instead used no lubricant. I guess my ear canals are a “funny” shape, HaHa, and hard to get a good fit. Within a day or two it started whistling again (as usual), so with my opposite hand I pull up on my ear and use my clean little finger to gently re-position the Lyric so that the whistling ceases. Sometimes this works for days sometimes for minutes. However, the advantage of superior sound and convenience I am still happier with Lyric than the BTE costing $4,000 each which are guaranteed for 3 years but with a large replacement (or insurance) cost. I usually leave the Lyric at setting 3 or 4 of 6 b/c whistling occurs less and I leave it on while sleeping. I do prefer setting 5 or 6 for the amplification.
Note: re-positing the Lyric, as mentioned above, takes less time than putting on a BTE type. People do look at you strangely as you put your finger in your ear…
For the last couple of weeks I forget I have it as I get into the shower; the Lyric alerts me to this as I hear the water rushing by and then I am careful to avoid water being forced into the ear. I dry the area around it with a cotton swab. I even, without thinking, jumped into a swimming pool and went under about a foot with no negative effect except for my clothing getting all wet.
BTW I did not yet have to pay for additional aids as several come with the yearly subscription.
To make a long story longer but more complete: Being frugal, from time-to-time I wear a many year-old BTE hearing aid in my other ear (when I can find it, the aid not the ear) to balance the hearing. Fortunately the brief time when it also gets wet in the shower (before I toss it out) has not hurt it. Finding the BTE after the shower has sometimes been a problem.
All-in-all the above works for me, and Lyric is my choice!
To Lynn and Benjamin (#168 – 170) For many years I had bothersome tinnitus but have not noticed it, day or night, since wearing the Lyric. But now that I listen carefully I can hear it a little in my “non-Lyric” ear. Hummm, darn …..
I am considering trying the Lyric. I am newly diagnosed with mild to severe loss within the range of Lyric, per my ENT. Visibility is a key issue; society is youth oriented and those of us who work, don’t need to appear older than we are, and like it or not, in older adults, hearing problems are associated with being aging. The thing you need to practice is hooking the little loops with the extraction tool. You can learn this without having it in your ear, just practice it while holding it in front of you.
I have tried the Lyric for several months. First the good news. I have has hearing problems since childhood, and have worn hearing aids for about 20 years. The Lyric are the first hearing aids that really made a difference with my hearing. With the Lyric, I can actually understand what my granddaughter is saying, and can hear well in noisy environments. Now the bad news. I had to tolerate fairly severe pain and discomfort for weeks before I could comfortably wear the Lyric. Despite using water shields wen showering, I have had several failures. The audiologists installed a larger size to stop water from passing the seal. However, this caused additional discomfort. My major problem is that I am a pilot who flies an unpressurized airplane. I have had both hearing aids fail simultaneously while descending from altitude, leaving me functionally deaf. Non-working Lyric hearing aids make great ear plugs. As wonderful as the Lyric are when they are working, they do not appear to be compatible with being a pilot.
Re #193. Don, like 60yr-old twins having a stroke simultaneously…conceivably it’s possible but the odds are enormous. You can be virtually certain the Lyrics did not fail from internal manufacturing or component defects. Somehow both were affected by an external influence other than return to ground level air pressure where they’re at home anyway.
Lyrics are sensitive to magnetic fields and are activated and adjusted by that means but also are disturbed by them. Thus, no MRIs when installed. Look for clues like: not inserted deep enough in the ear and by headphones, mics or other flight gear that might shut them off like the adjustment tool does. Experiment to find the cause.
Re the pain. Unless you have canals deformed (too small, curved, etc.) chances are good it’s poor fitting is the problem. It takes considerable training, skill, experience and Lyric inventory to do a proper job. In my case the audi had three years experience specializing in Lyrics. Result: Zero pain from minute one and unaware they’re in my ears and perfect music response. It can be done if you have normal canals and expert fitting.
I’d like to hear how it turns out for you. Good luck!
Lately I’ve had problems with my ear bleeding a little when my audiologist scoops out earwax when replacing my Lyric (I only have one Lyric, my other ear is totally deaf). This means I have to wait a week without amplification while the ear heals. Next time I think I’ll try one of the squirt-in earwax removal systems at the drugstore to see if I can clear out the wax after I remove the Lyric and before I go in for the new one. Does anyone have any recommendations for one of these earwax removal systems?
I’ve been wearing them for over a month now, but they short out from fluid drowning them near my eardrum/speaker after 1 week. I can’t see showering is doing this. Could it be my body internally is flooding the ear canal in the outer ear? So frustrating, sounds like I’m talking under water. Been taking antihistamines and decongestants daily and nightly. Fluid is also flooding my inner ear too and that’s from another reason cuz water cannot pass the eardrum. When I pull them out after they drown, they are soaking wet. What’s going on?
I saw an ad in our local paper about a 30 day free trial for the Lyric. I had never wore a hearing device prior. I have moderate hearing loss with my right ear being worse. After having the devices in for a few days I experienced improved hearing quality but it was far from perfect and I had a slight discomfort in both ears. I visited the audioligist several more times over the next few week trying to fine tune the settings. After nearly 2 months, I reluctantly returned the devices as I thought they did not make a big enough difference to warrant the $3,300 annual cost. About two weeks later the audiologist called and wanted me to come in for another fitting by a different Lyric rep. I agreed to give them one more chance. This time I experienced zero discomfort and excellent sound quality. Everything was great until 3 months later when the batteries died on the right ear. When I went in to have a new one put in, they decided to replace both. The audiologist replaced the right ear and decided to let the left ear take week off due to wax build up that she could not remove. She placed the right aid in and it initially felt OK but after a few hours it became very uncomfortable. Unfortunately that was on a Friday so I couldn’t get back in to see her until the following Monday. When she removed the right device to see what the problem was, my ear had apparently been bleeding, I’m guessing due to improper placement. So now I have two demos behind the ear devices until my ears heal. Going on two weeks now with the BTE loaner devices and if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that with my active lifestyle, Lyric is the only choice. I’ve already left the house twice headed for meetings and forgot to put the loaners in.
I’ll update this board of my future experiences.
i just got fitted for the lyric yesterday…but somehow i felt like it wasn’t loud enough…like i felt all sounds muffled and lower. I am getting over a cold and i am thinking that might be the problem? i have severe to moderate loss.
I am new to hearing aids since February. The cost of any that were worth getting (good quality) was prohibitive. But as a therapist, I needed to hear my clients. As an educated person, I knew the best thing to do first was see and ENT to find out what was causing hearing loss. Had a licensed audiologist in HIS office do a 1/2 hr test! I got the top of the line digitals since at only 56 inherited moderate hearing loss. I tried ITE first and they were uncomfortable. I felt plugged up. She then gave me Oticon Agile Pro. NO ONE knows I am wearing them unless I tell them. And I DO sometimes wear my hair up! I hear perfectly fine and can distinguish all sounds and from where they originate. An added bonus is that because of the little plastic earpiece, rock concerts don’t hurt my eardrums. Yeah, Smithereens!!!
People…do the SMART thing and get evaluated medically FIRST. One should always do that.
I am a physician with HF hearing loss. I finally decided to get eval and I am trying Lyrics. The first pair felt ok, but the next day, I used a stethoscope and got severe pain in my right ear. I had to remove it (an easy process, BTW).
Given the difference in my hearing with the lyrics, I was willing to give it another try. I am now on day 4 (I have a few days off don’t need the stethoscope for 2 more days). I feel slight pain when I press on my ear canal, but it is better than the first day.
I am hopeful that I will be able to use my stethoscope by Monday.
I am fairly active with karate and don’t know if a BTE piece would survive very long with sparring.
I am also very prone to losing things. I have already lost my Lyric control magnet twice! I was able to find it, but I clearly need a couple spares.
If the pain goes a way, the convenience of it is quite worth it.
tinnitus is mostly gone.
I have noticed more difficulty with extraneous noises.
overall, I would say they are good, though I have no experience other than this.
Anyone else with similar experience (either with stethoscopes or karate)?
Thanks!
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Just paid over 3 grand for a year for Lyric in both ears for my wife. Only a month later one quit and we could not extract it so have an expensive ER visit to get it removed. After we returned home the other one started squealing and she could not stand that, so after 20 minutes of me trying to grasp and remove it for her, back to the ER for another expensive visit to have it removed That is twice in one day. By the way, upon removing the first one an infection was diagnosed and a prescription written for that. My question is: Have I paid over 3 thousand dollars for a year of agggravation and anger??? If it happens on a weekend the customer service and the audiologist are closed, and the book says that when they fail they should be removed within 24 hours, but it does not say why? Will it cause serious consequences? Will the battery leak and cause brain cancer?? She does not seem to mind, but I, the wallet man,am quite upset right now. I will never have one in my ear if I would have to put up with this sort of thing for a year.
I’m delighted I discovered this site, and I’ve just spent an hour reviewing these interesting posts. Thanks to all of you who have shared your experiences with Lyric.
I’m a three-year subscriber, and I’m one of the folks whose Lyrics (both ears) have changed my life. Have they been entirely trouble-free? No, but my audiologist has always been available to work with my problems. The units usually last 4 months or even more, and I can easily remove them with the tool if there are problems. I’ve occasionally been bothered by the “plugged ear” sensation, but I can get used to it. My current pair of Lyrics aren’t giving me any problems at all. Turning them to “sleep mode” at night doesn’t seem to significantly extend battery life.
I’m retired (74 years old), and my hearing problems have largely been caused by a lifetime of shooting (including four years in the Marine Corps) without adequate ear protection. Lyrics have restored 90% of my normal hearing. They’re not for everyone, but, for me, I’ll never try anything else.
For new users, be patient. Some of my friends of digital aids have had problems, largely because they won’t wear them long enough every day to get used to them. This is obviously not a problem with the 24-hour-a-day Lyric.
New users are often troubled by the cacaphony of ambient noise that they can suddenly hear, which can be overwhelming, and can be discouraging. What’s happening is that your brain has forgotten how to sort these noises out, and needs some time to relearn how to discriminate. Took my feeble brain about 60 days to adjust.
Lyrics may not be for everyone, but they sure are the answer for me.
I have worn lyric for 6 months, approximately 1 month of which i was not able to wear it. the battery went dead after being on an airplane, it hurt like hell when it came out, a lot of whistling, and the volume would suddenly get loud and then soft. the last time it came out it hurt like hell and i had swelling in my hear. i said “this is enough.”
The audiologist (Dr. Granville Brady, East Brunswick, NJ) and the manufacturer want nothing to do with it. The audiologist says to contact the manufacturer and the manufacturer says to contact the audiologist. The manufacturer also said they would recommend another supplier. Why would i want to do that.
I am a frustrated consumer that now has to purchase a new hearing aid and “eat” the cost of the lyric. unfortunately that is a lot of money. I am open to suggestions.
dear people of this blog,
two months ago I was at provider and they told me that my ear channel is to small for a lyric. the last couple days I heard rumours that the company make smaller lyric, is this true and when do they ship it to the providers ?
@pauliedoc (202): My trick to not lose the control magnet is to attach it to my pants belt loop with an inexpensive carabiner. No chance of leaving the house without my pants!
@Bernie (203): As I mentioned in an earlier post, do NOT leave your audiologist’s office without practicing and building confidence in removing the Lyric with the special tool. Once you have the hang of it it is extremely easy. But without at least a little practice, it can seem impossible. (The first time I tried -not having practiced- it took me about 20 minutes, the second time I tried -after practicing hooking it with the one I had removed- it took about 15 seconds.) (Once you get it hooked, pull it out slowly and gently with a rocking/pivoting motion.)
@Tim (206): Have you checked the company’s website for current plans? I think you can email them from there too.
Due to service-connected hearing loss, I got fitted for both ears with Bernafon hearing aids (analog)about five years ago. A lot of trouble with them (breaking down; had to send away for repair without a loaner for backup), plus the sounds were terrible–clanky, whiny and tinny. Last year, I got Phonax (digital). Better, but nowhere approaching a normal hearing quality. I love music; played the guitar and sang. Now, I can’t do either one. Arthritic fingers cannot wrap around guitar neck and can’t sing well, if sounds are not processed accurately. Neither brand of hearing aids that I’ve worn so far, has allowed me to discern the fluctuating sounds of music. That’s real depressing for me. Wonder if Lyrica can help.
It has been very helpful reading these comments. My thanks to everyone who posted a comment. I have lost some hearing at the higher frequency ranges as I’ve aged — now 63 years old. I tried hearing aids that had to be worn behind the ear but I’m a very active person and quickly got frustrated with the hassle of the day-to-day issues of wearing them. Even combing my hair (happily I still have a full head)was problematic. The other big issue was appearance. Like many other people, I don’t want to be seen to be hearing impaired. You can call it vanity or youth seeking and I won’t disagree with you. That’s just the way it is. Identical reasons in many ways to why so many people choose contact lenses over glasses.
I first got the Lyrics two months ago and love the fact that they are invisible, that if they work properly I don’t have to mess with them and that they solve my hearing problem. That said, it’s been very frustrating getting them to work properly. The biggest issue I’ve had is that they won’t remain where they were inserted in the ear canal and “creep out” by a mm or so, causing them to not function properly and I lose volume. After repeated return visits, I’ve concluded that the problem is my audiologist. It’s clear to me that she doesn’t have a lot of experience with them and doesn’t know how to insert them properly — or even take them out correctly. She tends to not insert them deeply enough, which makes it easy for them to creep out — at least that’s what I believe. Still, I’m determined to try to work through these issues.
I believe that every new technology has growing pains and requires some trial and error and learning. The ultimate promise of Lyric in terms of appearance, total convenience and restored hearing is too appealing to not try to suffer through.
I just got my Lyrics a few days ago and am very encouraged. I’ve tried the Behind-the-Ear/Open Fitting type of hearing aids and absolutely hated them. Every time I moved, by hair would make the most god-awful noise. I couldn’t stand it. After a week, I returned them. Since I’ve had my Lyrics, I’ve been able to sing without distortion (had to take out with the other type) and have attended a wind orchestra concert. Heard the latter a little too well and was glad to be able to place my Lyrics in stand-by. I am still getting the hang of the volume control, but am able to wear my wireless headphones with my iPhone with no problems at all. I’ve got a little minor discomfort, but no worse than wearing earplugs, so will look forward to getting past that teeny bump in the road soon.
Lyric will be shipping the new, smaller models in April 2012 for those of you who were wondering.
Hi!
I’m 19 years old and I’m wearing hearing aids for 13 years now. I heard about Lyric hearing aid and I have some questions:
1. What’s the price now, three year later?
2. Can I swim with Lyric without removing them, are they completely waterproof, and can I still hear with them even if they’re wet?
Please answer me. I’m sick and tired of my hearing problems.
Hi Dzana:
The Lyric hearing aids are NOT waterproof–so don’t go swimming in them.
See comment #205 for a recent price–$3,000.00 per year for a pair of Lyrics–and when the year is over, you have nothing except to dead (read useless) Lyric hearing aids. If you put the same amount of money into buying say BTE hearing aids, at the end of the year you’d still have functioning hearing aids that might last you another 8 or 10 years.
In the long run, it’s always cheaper to buy your hearing aids than “rent” them.
Regards
Neil
Is it good Idea to use a ear plug, while swimming. That wil not allow water to enter inside the canal please suggest me
Thanks
Hi All,
Glad I found this thread.
I have started my Lyric trial two days. I have one in each of my ears.
The first thing I noticed that I find all sounds are flat. It only took a while to discover that I’m not able to hear the bass or lower frequencies.
Without hearing aid I’m able to hear them.
I also felt pinching/pain in my left year while it is OK in the right ear. I could not sleep properly on the first day night.
I went to see the audiologist the next day evening. She removed the one in my right ear. She said there was redness in the canal because of the lyric. My right ear canal is narrower than the left one.
She said she is going to try after that redness is gone.
She reprogrammed the lyric in the left year so that I can hear the lower frequencies. But It didn’t made any difference. Has anyone faced the similar problem ?
BTW she also talked about the latest Phonak Nano (IIS Invisible in the canal) hearing aid. It is new and I could find any reviews on the web. A pair my cost up to six grand.
I hear high frequencies but have problems with men because of the low tones.
Does anyone else already using the lyric have this problem and do they work for you?
I just learned of the Lyric today at the audiologist’s office. At first I was gung-ho about getting them when I replace my current bte hearing aids. But after reading the previous comments, I feel that the Lyric is only good for people with moderate hearing loss, with normal sized ear canals, and don’t produce a lot of ear wax. I agree that having the device close to the ear drum would provide optimal sound transference, but there are newer instruments that go deeper than traditional cic’s to make contact with bone and can be removed by the owner. The cost of any aid is very expensive and relative to how it benefits you. I think the technology will come down in price as more people go deaf from ever increasing urban noise. Thanks for helping me decide on my next hearing aid.
I’m 64 and have mild to moderate hearing loss and tinnitus which I attribute to having served in an Army Armor unit in the 70’s. The tinnitus was the reason which started my search for a solution to that and the hearing loss. My audiologist suggested Lyric’s and I decided to try them. I have had them in for five days and my overall hearing has improved significantly. I have found that sounds associated with running water and paper are over amplified. I’m also experincing the plugged ear affect which is bothersome but something that I hope will improve with time. The tinnitus has subsided during the day and night which is wonderful. I have a follow-up with my audiologist in two weeks and I will post an update after that. Thanks to all contributors for your experiences. I hope mine will be helpful.
I’m 65 and have had aids for 2 years – moderate hearing loss. I have blulinkII and paid $10,000 for them. Maybe I’m a perfectionist but I’m still not happy and am wondering if Lyric will provide better sound quality and word interpretation because it’s in the ear. I also have trouble decipihering words and dialogue on TV often comes through “mumbled”. I also still have trouble hearing voices and what direction they are coming from. I think I’ve done all the “fine tuning” I can on these. Problem seems to be when you turn up the immediate sound, as in voices, the background sound gets turned up too. It’s just a “no win” situation. My question — will Lyric solve any of this?
I live in Bari, Italy and would like to try Lyric. Is there anywhere nearby where I can try a Lyric hearing aid?
I am a doctor and am not satisfied with my digital hearing aid.
Glad to have found this site. I completed my 30 day trial with Lyric and purchased a year subscription a couple weeks ago. Of course I struggled with the thought of shelling out $3,400 for aids that would only last a year, then will need to turn around and pay again each year there after. However, I do have a flexible-spending account at work, so next year I can, at least, pay for the subscription with pre-tax dollars.
At the end of the day, I’m 39 years old, and have always struggled with having to wear traditional hearing aids. I hate it and have tried to get over it and accept it and be comfortable with it, and for some reason, am still very uncomfortable with traditional aids. I’m very self-conscious about wearing them, have no confidence, and feel depressed about wearing them. So, for me Lyric brings the confidence I was lacking, which in turn, has increased the quality of my life in a variety of ways. At this point in my life, it is well worth the money I’m paying.
One more point to mention is I am an avid swimmer and have not yet tested out the Lyrics in the pool. I will admit that I’m a bit scared to swim in them since they are so expensive. I simply switched my cardio routine to the eliptical, treadmill, and spin classes. However, I am considering having the molds made for the ear-plugs to swim in. I may attempt my swimming regimen after I’ve had these in for a couple months, since I know they will be starting to go bad anyway.
I have been using Lyrics for a few years now. I am 50 and a businessman who had difficulties hearing in large conference rooms. Lyric has changed my life. My wife no longer has to repeat herself and I can hear perfectly. I also have wax build up and need replacements every few months. This is not a problem. Also sleep very soundly because I can put them in standby and hear only the alarm. My dr. told me that a new Lyric 2.0 is coming out in April of 2012 and is smaller and can be fit even closer to the ear drum. This will help with wax build up and also those with hard to fit ear canals. I hope the cost comes down over time, but, hearing every day is well worth it.
I got my lyric yesterday. The cost is ridiculous at 1700.00 per year and I hope I don’t have to go to the ofc more than 3 to 4 x a year. So far it’s borderline painful. When I have any phone device next to my ear I get feedback. I aslo get feedback when I look down. If the discomfort goes away and I can get rid of the feedback it will be ok though at 1700.00 a year…TOO DAMN EXPENSIVE. And all I have is one. I guess I should be glad my right ear is totally deaf and therefore not good with lyric.
I got a flyer in mail today for Lyric and after doing my research this is a ripoff. To pay all of that money every year for a non custom made analog hearing aid is insane. I found the Starkey Soundlens, which is as invisible as the Lyric, is custom made so it will not be painful, it is 16 channels of digital sound, with advanced feedback cancellation and noise reduction. It is much cheaper over the long run. I just ordered it should be fit next week.
I have been wearing the Lyric hearing aids for 2 years now. They changed my life. I shower every day with them and have never had a problem. They are well worth the price for the technology. My Doctor knows how to make the adjustments do that they fit comfortable in my ear and sound great. If your unhappy try another doctor.
After reading just some of this thread I feel the same as the one on the saltless water-softener. People make statements from all sides and not knowing who is crediable and who is doing a commercial for the product. I don’t mind paying for a good product, but after trying a set of “the best” digital aids for a month; they weren’t worth the $5000. I guess the market will be the best judge, so I’ll wait some more to see how this product suceeds or fails over time. It does intice one who has some hearing loss and doesn’t want to carry a rams horn. BTW- if you can’t where it in the water, the ad with people in the water is just some “smoke”; I hate “smoke”.
I’m not sure some people are so hostile about Lyric hearing aids. If you are one of the lucky ones, you will have a great experience. I’ve had hearing loss since I was 19, I am now 47. I’ve used all kinds of hearing aids over the past 28 years or so and I am not vain at all about wearing one. I love my Lyric. I exercise with it on a regular basis, I go to the beach, shower and have experienced no problems in 3 yrs. I visit to my doctor every 10 weeks, because I don’t wait until the battery runs out. It takes ten minutes from the minute I turn off the car to me driving away. Once it has been inserted, I never turn it off. Lyric has basically restored my hearing and lifestyle to almost normal. Sometimes I check to see if it’s there because I can’t feel it. Although I never need to do it, just about any magnet near my ear will adjust the hearing aid. The free trial period is designed to help you know if this hearing aid is for you. The fiL1154F battery. Need a pack for Lucas’ phone.rst two weeks were tough and painful, but one day I suddenly realized I had stopped thinking about it. The toughest part was adjusting to hearing all the time, including when I sleep. I had gotten used to sleeping on my good ear, so I required near total silence to sleep. I now sleep on any side and can hear the rain outside my window.
I have had my Lyrics for approximately 3 months and have an appointment to have them checked and possibly replaced next week. I understand the smaller unit is now available.
I am retired, workout four times a week along with visits to the steam room without problems. Showering is standard once a day. I have adjusted to car noise and sometimes lower the volume on my left ear when on long driving trips. I received a 10% discount and will look into the purchase option when my renewal comes due.
I’m fortunate I can afford Lyric and the rewards associated with their use, great hearing again 24/7. They are nothing but the finest. My wife also loves Lyric because she no longer has to be my hearing advocate. The pluses far outweigh any negatives.
Need to obtain two hearing aids and Lyric is my thought. I am on Plavix and therefore bruise very easily. Can anyone out there comment on this issue.
Update to my July 1st post:
One of my Lyric batteries went dead during the later part of July. I returned to my dealer to have both units replaced. One of the new replacement units started ringing in my left ear several hours after leaving their office. I tried several adjustments to no avail and returned to their office for an analysis and re-fit adjustment several days later. The re-fit adjustment did nothing but add a headache to my ringing problem. The problems required a third visit and my left ear was re-sized and a larger unit installed. I am several days into the new unit, the ringing has stopped and the headaches are not as severe. I will have to make another trip to their office next week to check my fit and canal, may have to temporally remove the Lyric to allow healing, options to be determined during the visit. I do not look forward to my next two unit changes if this is the norm?
Although I love the Lyric functionality, I will definitely consider my equipment options and dealer support in nauseating detail before spending another $3000.00 for next year’s lease.
Is anyone using the Lyric that has exotosis?
Just a short note here. I have had my Lyric aids for about a year and a half now and I love them. When my doctor first fitted them on me I had tears in my eyes when I saw how well they worked. They cost about $3000 a year and it’s the best money I have ever spent. Please don’t listen to the people who bad mouth them but have never tried them. No more HUH, HUH.
I think the authors’ comment about invisibility misses the mark for a lot of people. Many people with hearing loss are young and would really value invisibility as a feature of a top notch hearing aid. I know I would appreciate avoiding the awkwardness of knowing people know I wear aids. I really want the R&D in this area to continue / double down.
Hi John:
If you think invisibility is the first requirement for getting a hearing aid, YOU are missing the mark. The WHOLE point of getting a hearing aid is to help you hear better. If all you want is invisibility, don’t wear any hearing aid! Your hearing loss will then be invisible. It’s that simple.
However, once you have satisfied the primary point of getting a hearing aid, THEN you can look for a style that you like–and if that is an invisible style, go for it–BUT do not do so at the expense of hearing better.
For example, an invisible aid may not have the power you need for your hearing loss, or may not have a t-coil or other features that you really need. Thus, you may have to go for a more visible hearing aid that satisfies the primary point–to help you hear better.
Regards
Neil
On the topic of invisibility, I have to remind my doctor I have the Lyric in one ear every time I get a routine physical or she bumps it with the viewing device (forgot what it’s called). So you can figure if a professional MD doesn’t see it when looking right in your ear, you can pretty much count on nobody else noticing it.
I’ve posted several times above on various points but thought, being that I’m nearing the end of my second year, I may as well add a brief update.
I’m still loving it. (I only have one, the other ear is totally deaf.)
The battery has been dying pretty consistently at about 4 months, plus or minus a week or so. I occasionally had a little wax build up when the Lyric was removed and it sometimes got a little bleedy when he scraped it out. When that happened I had to wait a week or two for it to heal before getting the new Lyric. So I have been using a drug-store ear wax removal kit (liquid soak, water rinse) to clean it out right after I remove it and then one or two more times during the time it takes to get in for the replacement. This works well for me and no more wax and no more bleeding. I think this is a personal sensitivity and doubt if many others would have the issue but thought I’d mention it in case anyone does.
Although I guess some people never change their volume, I have found I am more comfortable if I do. I have a normal setting of 4 but when I’m in a noisy cafe or drive with the window open I generally turn it down to 2. When I’m walking along a noisy street I usually turn it down to 1 or 2, or all the way to ‘standby’ (where it allows sound through equivalent to my normal hearing without amplification).
I used a state of the art digital hearing aid for many years before getting the Lyric and I will never go back – unless my bank account goes dry. The natural sound quality is great and the fact that I can wear it continuously without even being aware of it are good enough reasons for me to spend all that money.
hi-I love the Lyric-using the lyric for 4 yrs now–will not use any thing else–tried every one-and none compares to the new one I just have- used one in each ear for one year–found out using 1 is better for me. Taking a shower i use an ear plug-so it doesn’t get too wet. I have no problems with it. every 4 months I receive a new one.just paid 1,550 which I use as a tax deduction.Try it–good luck..
LOVE IT! Have had my “smaller” size Lyrics for 2 weeks now, but I know they are keepers. Tried them about 6 months ago, before they came out with the smaller version, and I could not tolerate the size. I have had digital aides (thru Avada Hearing) for 4 years and changed them out 3 different times. Why so often you ask? I was searching for an aid that was as close to invisible as possible, along with good sound delivery. Well, I’m pretty picky and I never did find the “normal” sound quality I was looking for, nor did I find the “invisibility” with Avada. Along comes Lyric and I have the invisibility, the convenience of not having to change batteries, the security of haveing 24/7 hearing (I was wearing my digital Avada aides 24/7 which meant I had to change the batteries every 3 days). I have resigned myself to the fact that the sound quality will never be what it was when I didn’t need aides. I don’t think there is a hearing aid that can delivery “perfect.” But, at least I have invisibility now and 24/7 hearing. I would particularly recommend Lyric to first time users. I ended up spending $22,000 on 3 different Avada purchases. I so wish I would have at least tried Lyric in the beginning. Even though I would have been unable to wear them 4 years ago due to their larger size, at least I would have known they were out there and I would have gotten only one set of Avada and kept tracking Lyric manufacturing progress to see if they would maybe be coming out with more suitable sizes. Thank you Lyric for making me feel and look like I do not have a hearing disability.
I have perforated eardrums with a considerable hearing loss associated with them. I am wondering if I could be a candidate for Lyric hearing aids with the perforations. If anyone has any experience with this I would love hearing from you.
I also have perforated ear drums..It would be good to know if anyone out there with the same condition has achieved hearing improvement with this device.
I am in the UK.
I have never tried Lyrics, but was curious about them . My audiologist has told me some nasty stories about people who have tried them. I have Widex digital, and with my special remote, I am very happy and satisfied with them. I would recomend them to anybody.
Much thanks to all who have provided feedback on this thread. I am 42 years old and have had moderate to severe hearing loss my entire life.
I have owned only two sets of hearings aids that I purchased, tried and never wore due to them being uncomfortable or being embarrassing. So I went on and endured not being able to hear. I got a mailer the other day and it advertised the Lyric hearing aid. WOW! what a concept! I went in the next day, had an exam and walked out after 1.5 hours with my Lyrics hearing aids.
At first the hearing aid dispenser didn’t think Id be a candidate bc I have very small ears. We were both surprised when she was able to fit me into the small. All felt good when I left the office…. three hours later I had to go back to the audiologist office due to the severe pain in both ears, but especially t=my right ear (smaller canal).An audiologist, pulled out both the devices. This hurt like h***!!! I wanted to cry. She looked in my ears and they were red, but that was all. She re-incerted the devices and this time didn’t go in as deep in the canal. This cause a “boxed in” feeling but it wasn’t painful anymore. I went home. That evening I went to dinner, the restaurant was crowded and I could hear ANYTHING but the background noise. I couldn’t hear my boyfriend speak to me, except when he told me ” you are definitely not yourself tonight”. So much going on and my ears felt plugged. Sleeping was a bit, as I left the device on. The pressure in the ear was the uncomfortable part. Not the noise.
Today, Im on my second day and I already went back again to the audiologist office. The tech, pushed them in just a tad ( I think with her finger, Ill need to ask). The boxed in feeling is now much less but my right ear in in pain again.
She adjusted the levels, and I haven’t been in a crowded room since to test them out. Lets see how that goes.
This morning, before the adjustment I couldn’t hear when a co-worker whispered in my ear. After the second adjustment, I was able to hear the tech whisper. I like that!!!
Thus far, Im sticking it out at least for the duration of my 30 days free trial. I just surely do hope the pain goes away.
It is definitely and adjustment. I am aware of that. Believe me. Noises are sooooo loud. They can be overwhelming.
Next I will be playing around with the program wand and working on changing the volume and trying out the standby mode. Great thing is that you can try them out for 30 days.
Oh dear — I’m back with an update. I sooo do like the Lyric which I have been wearing for almost 2-1/2 months now. I keep them on 24/7, never putting in sleep or off mode. First battery died after onkly 60 days. Went into audiologist office and she replaced both. Now, after only 11 days, one Lyric started acting up. Would give 2 beeps, on its own and then cycle through the different volumes, back and forth. After about 4 cycles of this in a row, I tried to turn it off. Thought I could recycle it to normalcy by fresh start. Could not turn it off, nor break its cycle. Removed it, only to find a significant amount of fresh blood. Removed other Lyric and that one had fresh blood (lesser amount by far) also. So, this new insert of fresh Lyrics, at death of first battery was not a good one?? I don’t get it. First set gave me no irritation problems. Second set never gave me any pain to indicate a bleeding problem was occurring. Will now leave these out until healing is finished, then return to audiologists office for a “what’s up” visit. Anyone out there have this problem or the “dying” of a battery after only 60 days? I really like this website where we can share our “lives with Lyric.”
I am just now trying the lyric hearing aid. Today at 11pm will be 12hrs in.
First I feel like I have a head cold and hoping that this feeling will go away as time goes on.
I have two sets of digital hearing aid that I like and don’t like so must so that I did not wear them 80% of the time. I can hear much better with the lyric but I think the volume is set to high and i will adjust them later after I get accustomed to them.
I am also concerned with swimming and kayaking with the lyrics in but I think I can use foam plugs to stop any water from entering the ear, has anyone tried that?
Two sounds at the same time blocks out one sound a little but as an other poster stated the brain needs to learn how to register all the new sounds. I will repost in two weeks after my next audiologist visit.
I’m in my third year with a Lyric in one ear – my other ear is fine. There were definitely adjustments – I have a small crooked ear canal and I had to go back often in the beginning until I found one of the autiologists who would trim and tweak the device until it fit better. She put that in her notes and now any of the audiologists can insert it. I recommend, if you are having problems, trying another doctor/audiologist. The new smaller ones are so comfortable, I forget they are there. I shower without problems but was told not to swim underwater. They are working on making them more water resistant all the time. I turn mine off at night. I golf and don’t get wind noise like I did with traditional aids. Yes, the word recognition is still not perfect but as good with this as with any I’ve had. It’s worth the price to me.
Hi I am a tri-athelete age 66 (not bragging– just trying to establish conditioning) with a life long 50% loss in my right ear and about to lose health coverage and go
to medicare. Supposedly our existing provider covers aids– I will find out soon.
I had a tympanoplasty in December which actually made hearing slightly worse and so I am considering aid’s of any sort to use soon-to-disappear health coverage. It sounds to me that Lyric is the MOST expensive long term aid and since my wife also needs some help we are not looking to create an annuity for Sonus or anyone else, but to solve our hearing issues (we plan to travel internationally, etc) a fair amount. I am very put off by the bleeding issues Pat reports which sound like air pressure issues divers experience to me and might be an indication of blocked eustacian or something else I do not want to experience (while for example flying in a pressurized airplane).
Is there someone out there who LOVES another device? This thing sounds like a long-term expensive solution to me. It MIGHT be worth it for one ear, but my wife has issues I think in both (she is a retiring flight attendant and hearing loss is common with crew members). Bottom line: who really LIKES their aid’s? I feel like I might ant to avoid any of this and deal with it like I have so far: using my left ear more. Appreciate your thoughts!
Hi!
I originally got the “small” size, but I had those taken out immediately due to pain issues. Now I’ve gotten the extra small, and I absolutely love it. I’ve had them for about 3 weeks and I’ve started experiencing a lot pain in my right ear (smaller canal), whenever I go through bodily ear cleaning thingies. Like when you yawn really big and the pressure clears out of your ears, or just like that hiccup/burp thing that puts a lot of pressure on your ear (which seems to happen to me a lot). I think that the right one just kind of got pushed in a little to far naturally. I’m going to try to see if it can be adjusted.
Other than that, I really do love the lyrics.
Hi
I had Lyric fitted to both ears about 1 month ago, really amazing difference. i could hear properly in meetings and became much more positive.
A couple of issues though. Do others suffer with ‘ear wax’ crackling sound and and inability to hear when eating?
Replies to Peter (#246) and John (#248). Peter: I originally had hearing aides from Avada Hearing. They are pretty much nationwide and offer lifetime service with the purchase price of the aides. I truly did like them but like the complete “disappearance” (totally in the canal)of the Lyric. My Avada aides cost me $10k but I did get top of the line. Plus, they last a long time, so they tell me, but I didn’t have them long enough to put longevity to the test. I still go back to them when my Lyric battery dies and I have to wait a few days to get in for a change. I also am on Medicare and you have to go to their providers for any hearing aides in order for them to pay. Both Avada and Lyric are not on their list. Be forewarned, the providers they recommend do not carry state-of-the-art aides. So, get your aides before you have to deal with Medicare. John: Yes, I do have trouble hearing when I chew, which is a real bum and I don’t think there is an answer to that. Anyone????
Music quality? I do not wear any hearing aids yet, and have been diagnosed with mid-medium loss. I’m concerned with the cut-off above 6000hz. I have a high-end stereo system and listen mostly to classical music, both live and recorded. The hearing loss I have developed has a noticeable reduction in my enjoyment of music. Are there any hearing aids that extend into the frequencies of the overtones that give music it’s quality.A range of 250-6000hz is more like an old mantle radio than a modern sound system of 30-18,000hz.
Everyone is talking about adjusting the volume on the lyric, how is this done?
Has anyone found an effective way to protect the lyric whilst swimming?
Re: John 251/252
Small magnet supplied with Lyrics held by ear allows adjusting volume in six steps by listing to a series of beeps representing volume.
Use wax style ear plugs you can mould to get water tight fit. Very effective. Ohropax brand available at
Amazon.
My daughter (11) has unilateral hearing loss. I am very excited to have just discovered this product as she is refusing to where her current aid. can anyone tell me of their experiences with children using the Lyric and who deals with it in children?
I have a ~ 60% hearing loss in both my ears. I have worn hearing aids for the last 10 years. I had the Lyric aids for 6 days now. Incredible. No pain, can’t feel them in my ear, hear well for the first time in a long time. No problem with showering. The price is high in my opinion, $3,600 for both ears for 12 months but my wife wants me to keep them. We can actually talk normally now.
My daughter is 12 and is currently on the 30 day trail period. She first got hearing aids at the end of 5th grade, and after moving to a new city & school for 6th grade, she refuses to wear her over the hear aids, or acknowledge that has a hearing problem. 1, being at a new school and scared that the other kids will make fun of her, and 2, she HATES the way the over the ear digital aids shound. I saw Lyric on tv and took her in (kicking and screaming as course, ha!) as her grades are being affected by her hearing loss, now in 7th grade. She said “they will sound the same”, they wont help me”, “I wont wear them”, blah blah blah. She has a genetic low decimal hearing loss, same as my mother & I do, but hers is 10 times worse than mine & my mothers. If her hearing gets worse, she will no longer qualify for Lyric, but I am more than willing to spend the $3600/year on my daughter for as long as she qualifies for Lyric. As a parent you want your child to be sucessful & fit in at the same time. Lyric will allow her to do both. I do wish there was some sort of discount plan for them though. She had no issues with Lyric when they were initally put in and actaully said she really liked them. You can imagine my shock. She says they sound completely different than her over the ear ones. There is no background noise and the sound is clear and natural. However, after 1 week of having Lyric in they began to hurt. She said it felt like leaving ear buds in for too long. We told her to go ahead and remove them for the weekend and will have them put back in on Monday to finish off the trial period before we decide. Her audiologist said that it could take up to 2 weeks for your ears to adjust to having the Lyric in them and that her husband actually wears them. He too had to take them out after 2 weeks of his trial, replaced them a few days later, and never had any further issues. I am hoping this is the case with my daughter. She also loves to over exagerate, as most 12 year old girls do, so I dont know for sure if they really hurt hurt or if they were just uncomfortable while her ears were still adjusting. She had complained a few days before, but then that night she said it had gone away. When she took them out though she was in shock that she couldn’t hear anymore. I think she was actually mad at herself for not waiting a little while longer to see if the discomfort/pain went away like it had a few days earlier. I chose to try Lyric because she could not just take them off when she walked out of the house to go to school, which is what she has been doing, and because the other kids at school will never know she has them in, which will boost her confidence tremendously and hopefully her grades will start to improve now that she can accurately hear what the teacher is saying. Within the first day of wearing Lyric she was amazed at all the new sounds she was hearing that she had never heard before because of her hearing loss. She has had them out for 2 days now and cannot wait to have them put back in tomorrow so that she can actually hear again. Hopefully her ears will adjust and we will happily purchase the yearly subscription. If anyone knows of a discount plan than covers Lyric, please share.
To Frank (#250): I wore a digital hearing aid for several years before I started with Lyric and I can assure that, unless they’ve really improved digitals, the Lyric makes music sound much better. It isn’t as good as natural hearing, but much closer than digital, so if you are going to wear a hearing aid I recommend it over the digital ones. I used to remove my digital hearing aid at concerts because the music sounded so bad. It was better faint than digitally amplified.
I think it is because digitals are programmed to optimize speech and so they actually filter out any frequencies that they consider to be “noise”.
I got these today. The hearing in my left ear is really good, but my right ear feels plugged. I saw Edward from Reno referenced a very similar feeling. Is this normal and does it go away?
I had a sudden hearing loss in one ear leaving me with a steep slope to a severe loss.
I have tried a Spirit Zest with Libby Horn and it was screechy and utterly unnatural. Painful even. The cosmetics are obviously a factor too but way behind my goal of better hearing. I seriously considered a BAHA for my audiological situation. The good news is that the Lyric is nearly indistinguishable from my good hearing in the low to mid frequencies. It “clips out” the higher frequencies however, leaving my good ear to take the strain.These areas in my cochlea are most likely dead or severely damaged. My tinnitus annoyance has reduced by 50%.
The bad news is that it works so well I will have to find the money- horrible price. Horrible price. But I would say it’s worth £5 a day for how much better I feel- even though speech is not that enhanced by overall psychological comfort is so much better… I suppose that isn’t a bad quandary to be in. For those with a mild to moderate loss, I would say this hearing aid is the best thing on the market for you.
Hi There,
I dont agree at all with the title of this article. Lyrics are worth all the hype ! My experience (4 months with Lyrics) is just incredible. My life changed since I wear Lyrics. The first 3 days were difficult because it was painful to support the Lyrics, but as a miracle, the pain disappeared totally after 3 days. It seems that the pain comes again when you replace the Lyrics (I believe that the device needs time to be well cast in the ear), but only for 3 days. Apart from this little problem, I cant think of a better hearing aid. I am just hoping that a new version, completely waterproof will come so that I can swim normally. These are my first hearing aids and I would probably not have wear anything else..
I absolutely love the Lyrica. it is the closest to pure sound. to me the price of $3200 per year is reasonable. every 6 months you receive a new pair. I will admit amplification in a large room can be challenging, but I make it a point to sit closer to the stage or speaker. They come in various sizes, but I am finding since my ear canal is large, that the largest size is not fitting properly. I really don’t want to go back to the behind the ear device. I absolutely love waking up able to hear and shower with the lyrica’s..they receive a 5 star from me.
TOO BAD! this thread seems to have been overrun with lyric retailers and solicited endorsers!
I bought the Lyric hearing aid last week. I must say that I’m delighted with it!
All hearing aids are expensive. Some of the good points about Lyric is that you get a new hearing aid every 3 or 4 months, therefore, you always have the latest in technology besides a brand new aid.
Also, you don’t have to deal with batteries. My friend got a different brand and she has to change the batteries every 3 days, she needs to remove them before going to sleep, showering, etc.
With the Lyric, there are no batteries to deal with, you sleep and shower with them on.
Lyric comes with a small tool that you use to adjust the volume, set it to sleep mode or even turn it off and you can also remove it if you have a problem or an emergency.
The sound quality is excellent. It has really changed my life !
Marie (#237), what city/state are you in that only charges $1550? In Richmond, VA they charge about $3300. Also, how do you claim this as a tax deductible product??
Just finished the 30 day trial with two of the Lyric aids All I can say is BRILLIANT !!! Haven’t heard as well in years. Love them I’ve had no problems at all My family are so pleased that they don’t have to yell anymore, the tv is down low and I can hear it … So pleased I’m not saying “Pardon* all the time and still not hearing saving me a lot of embarrassment. Can’t believe how good it is to hear Thank you Lyric !!!
Hi there .
I have had a hearing problem for more than 20 years. I have tried many different types of hearing aids with not good results. It has got to a point now that i have to find something . I recently tried a middle of the range and up to the most expensive hearing aids available for behind the ear, with still no good results and it is so frustrating . About a month ago i had a lyric installed in my right ear for a trial period and i have found this to be the best hearing aid so far , but still not perfect. After 3 weeks i had a lyric installed in my left ear which is affected worse by the hearing loss . I have been wearing 2 lyrics now for just over a week now , still on trial. I wanted to test my left ear only with the Lyric so i removed the right ear one and i seem to be hearing even better with one lyric in the left ear .For the last 2 days i have been suffering ear ache in this ear so i removed the lyric and blood and fluid was present.Back to the Audiologist tomorrow to find out what the problem is . I am going to persist with the lyric because it definitely gives better hearing for me . I also swim 6 ks a week in the local pool with no problems to the lyric, i use blue tac for ear plugs. I feel this is the way to go for me with the lyric . You get a months trial, so you have nothing to loose. Hope you all find what is best for you and dont give up . Russ
Thanks so much for all the information and comments. My grandfather requires a hearing aid and is currently looking for one. I do not believe the Lyrica is right for him as one shower and they will be bust!
Thanks again for all the information!!
I am scheduled for a hearing test tomorrow. My left ear is every bad and my right ear is so so. wondering if a Lyric product will be useful?
Has anyone had a problem with product failure? I am nearing the end of my first year subscription to Lyric and in that time frame I have had Lyric fail on me 7 times. Couple that with 6 visits back for change out (every 2 months) that’s 13 trips back to the audiologist in 12 months time. I live an hour away so, yes, I am frustrated with product reliability. What if I traveled for my work, had a device fail and would not be able to address it until my return? While I truly love the lack of appearance of wearing a hearing aid. . . reliability is certainly not one of the strong points here. Regrettably, I’ll have to go back to my behind the ear Avada’s. I’m bummed!
Here’s another update from my Lyric experiences.
The big news is that Lyric changed their design about 6 months ago and are now making it smaller with the intention of fitting smaller ears that the old model was too big for. Unfortunately I have found that this new model has only about half the battery life. I have been needing a replacement every 2 months lately, while with the original version it would generally last about 4 months. It’s kind of annoying. I wish Lyric would make BOTH versions for the benefit of people with large enough ear canals to fit the older version.
A quick note to Pat in WI (269) above: In the 3 years I’ve been wearing Lyrics I’ve only had one dud (that lasted just 6 days). However, as I stated above, the new version only lasts 2 months, so I guess that’s the new norm.
Has anyone else re-inserted the lyric themselves. I’ve done it several times now, using a tweezer to grip the device, and just carefully feeling my way to the proper placement. Because one of my favorite thing to do is to travel to snorkeling and diving places around the world, not having control of this would be a deal breaker for me with the Lyric
The Lyric system is constantly being improved and it is not for everyone as the manufacturer states. I have spent thousands of dollars on the most expensive digital aids available and gone through hours of configurations with my ENT. If you are a candidate for the Lyric and you fit the profile for the device, you can have better hearing. Hearing and vision are essential to the “quality of life.”
I have been wearing Lyrics for over three years. I have worn hearing aids for 40 years and I can attest to the amazing world of Lyric sound. I went from being a virtual recluse to a confident person who now enjoys being around people. I hope Lyric continues to improve their product because they are stuck with me for life!
I have been wearing Lyric hearing devices for approximately 4 years and loved them until the new version came out. I don’t know what they have changed but the device in the right ear doesn’t last longer than two weeks. Also the sound clarity is not the same as with the older devices. I am very disappointed that I am now going to have to find another option. As for the shower/swimming discussion I have found that water can get in the ear and short out the device and therefore use custom ear plugs when necessary.
I have been wearing the Lyric for 4 years also. I love the quality of sound, the ability to turn it down, etc. However, in the last 6 months I have had to make at least 3 trips a month to my audiologist for replacements. This week I had new Lyric inserted on Tuesday and had to return on Wednesday when the left one went dead. They used to last 3-4 months. Now they last less than 2 months in 1 ear and less than 1 month in the other. My audiologist suspects that they fail more frequently in the ear that you sleep on, due to moisture buildup. For the high cost of these devices I expect them to perform better. My audiologist is considering dropping them. I am very seriously considering returning to CIC style aids.
I still follow this link, on occasion, although I have foregone my Lyrics for CIC aides, regrettably. See #269 above for background. Appears others are having the same problem with reliability. My audiologist, also, has mentioned he may be dropping the Lyric line for that exact same reason. Doesn’t what his reputation associated with an unreliable product. Sure wish Lyric would read this comments and improve their reliability record. Sure do miss the Lyric aides.
I am on my third year of using the Lyric hearing aid. They are fantastic. The fact that they are analog is a huge benefit regarding battery life. Digital technologies are incorporated in modern design to compensate for distortions resulting from the distance of the device to the ear drum. Battery life is very short. Since Lyric sets within 4mm of the eardrum, the need for digital manipulation is unnecessary. The new, smaller Lyrics are extremely comfortable. There is no “plugged” feeling. And with six volume levels easily adjusted with a small magnet, they can be quickly changed to accommodate a wide variety of settings from television sound in a relatively quiet environment to noisy restaurants. As with any new device (contact lenses, traditional hearing aids), some break-in period is necessary to feel completely comfortable with them. My brain quickly learned to sort through the enhanced volume of all noises, along with becoming unaware of the inserted device. Any claims by manufacturers that they enhance human voice and filter out background noise is bunk. They basically just increase overall volume, with little differentiation of sound. The only problems I have had are when you get the Lyrics wet, although I take no special precautions showing every day. Nor has sweat from athletics been an issue. Jumping in a swimming pool isn’t recommended. I have had a few fizzle out on me within days or weeks, but this is just recently. I suspect it was a bad batch as it had only occurred once prior to that. I am paying $3,400/year for the subscription service. Very pricey. BUT, the sound quality is as close to normal hearing as possible, far better than other devices, particularly digital appliances. AND, I don’t think about hearing issues, aside from periodic adjustments to compensate for noisy environments, such as my grandson’s basketball games. I recommend the Lyrics highly, if you can afford them. By the way, the Lyrics have also nearly eliminated my tinnitus, which previously was almost dehabilitating. Also, there is no feedback from using a telephone, ear buds, or headsets.
My hearing loss is mild but I’m very sensitive to loud noises, busy restaurants, clanging dishes, bus brakes, etc…I primarily want a hearing aid to keep loud noises out. Can anyone comment on Lyric’s ability to moderate noise? Thanks
Hi Craig,
At the beginning, loud noises can be a big problem. I could not stand being in a restaurant or in an Airport hall for the first month with my Lyrics. But now, after one full year, I can go everywhere, without being annoyed. You just need to give time to your brain to adapt.
It is definitely a good choice so far, until a better product comes to the market, like an underwater product or a product that you can insert without needing to see an audiologist every 2 months.
To Craig #278: My advice would be NOT to get Lyric if you have a sensitivity to background noises. Because Lyric is analogue and not digital there is a limitation (so I found out) as to how much adjustment to various types of sound frequencies can be done. I would recommend a digital aid as more fine tuning can be done. I so hope that one day Lyric comes out with a digital aid. I’ll be first in line to get one! Hope this helps. This is my opinion from experience. There are other that may contradict it. You can always try it. There is a 30 day trial period.
I had my first ever hearing aid (a Lyric) inserted in January of this year and it just started going bad a couple days ago. I started having ear pain at the same time and when the audiologist took the Lyric out I had a lot of ear pain, now 8 hrs later my head is even sore. Not sure what is up with that. I will be using ear drops for 7 days and then return to see if we can get another Lyric in again. I have loved it these past 3 months. In the beginning my ear felt plugged for about 24 hrs or so but after that it has been fine. I cried when it was first put in because I could hear so well. It is incredible to realize what you have been missing. Not sure if other aids are this clear. Even with this ear pain I still love the Lyric and hope and pray that this problem is temporary.
I started a Lyric trial in January 2014. I had been in denial about my hearing loss, which was mild to moderately severe. My advice to new users is to have patience. It is April and I am just starting to feel this will be a success. I have struggled with the sound of my own voice (occlusion effect) and feedback problems. I am on my third set of aids (size changes) and can now say I am glad I stuck it out. I became emotional the first time the Lyrics were inserted and turned on. I had not heard like that in years. Eventually, the loud / shrill sounds began to drive me crazy – I couldn’t stand it. Sometimes I went for a few days in “sleep” mode to recover my bearings. Eventually I experimented with different volumes. All the while seeing an audiologist weekly and dealing with other problems like migration and ear wax. For a while I thought I’d never be able to enjoy music again. But with size adjustments and volume experimentation, I have finally found the “sweet spot”. My wife deserves an award for putting up with me. I was depressed & frustrated, but determined to remain optimistic. Because I researched extensively, I believed that the Lyric was going to provide the most natural sound, and I had a strong desire to make it work. What I have described is only half of the story. I hope this helps someone – these forums helped me tremendously.
I have read the comments concerning the lyric hearing aid, and there is a tremendous variation in them. At first, I utilize the type I lyric which worked very well; then when the type II lyric was introduced I found it to be a real inconvenience and not nearly as good as a type I; background noise and clarity to me was nonexistent. In the last year, upon using the type III lyric, I truly believe that lyric has no clue how important customers really are because without customers you don’t have a business. It appears to me, that each lyric was made “cheaper” than the previous one all in the name of profit and not customer satisfaction. In the past I’ve had five or six types of hearing aids both digital and analog, but I find now that I must forgo the lyric until they realize what they’ve done and develop a product that could be even better than the type I lyric.It saddens me to have to return to the old type hearing aids and the daily in and out and weekly batteries.
I just got my Lyric two days ago. I have very small ears and ear canals especially my right ear which is the smaller of the two and is the ear I have more hearing loss in. I have a few questions I hope someone can help me with. Is the ringing in my right ear because it does not fit correctly and will it eventually go away? If it does finally adjust do you have to go thru the adjustment period every time you get your replacements? Also, there is pain and I worry about infection ….has anyone had an infection due to having the device directly in your ear? Thank you
Hi Bridget:
Are you saying your right ear didn’t ring before you got your Lyrics? Typically, the ringing is due to the hearing loss, not to wearing a hearing aid–but if an aid is set too loud, it could cause your ear to ring.
You shouldn’t have to go through an adjustment period with the next set of Lyrics if they are set the same as your current ones.
If the pain doesn’t go away soon, you need to go back to your dispenser and find out what is wrong. Hearing aids shouldn’t hurt when you are wearing them. To begin with, you might have some discomfort as you adjust to something in your ear, but you should soon find that goes away.
Regards
Neil
Thank you Dr.Neil I have had the Lyric in for a week today and I can’t begin to express just how much they have improved my life. I struggled so bad before being able to be apart of any conversation, especially at work, but now I can be. I do feel very blessed. The only set back is I am still having a bit of pain and discomfort. I was told my ear canals being very small maybe the reason and I am wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if it eventually does go away. I really don’t want to give up my Lyric’s I just can’t imagine not being able to hear again. Any advice?
Dr Neil Bauman
I read where Allen Kent said that the Lyric can be worn in the shower and when swimming. If I am not mistaken the Lyric web site says they can be worn in the shower, but NOT when swimming.
I also read that the cost will vary from patient to patient. How long the battery lasts will also vary from patient to patient. So that means they can charge you much more than they should for the Lyric.
I’m with you, I don’t trust any company that skirts the cost issue. They always have something to hide. And that is always the fact that their prices are ridiculously high.
Ralph
I’ve been using the Lyric in one ear for 1 year. Works very well. There are 4 adjustable levels of sound volume. The cost is $1500 per ear. It comes with a bullet-shaped device for sound control with a hooked end to remove the aide. Yes, I have removed it and placement in the ear does have a top/bottom alignment.
I have worn lyrics for over 5 years and have gone through each improvement up to mow on lyric 3these by far are the best hearing aids I have ever used going back 15 years.the first ones molded for the ear drove me crazy because I always knew something was in my ear.because I took them in and out ,I actually lost 3 pairs.so the lyrics solved all my problems,no batteries to change,in the ear 24 hours per day,last sometimes for4 months,you keep getting new updates,and the cost over time work out because no hearing aids last more then 4 years as they keep improving so you,ll end up buying new ones over time.$3500.00 works out to $300.00 a month do around $10 bucks a day,a cheap glass of wine.think of lyrics as in the ear contact lenses vs glasses,what would you chose? On top of all this they are invisible ,so no one actually knows but you that your old,losing your hearing as we all do with age and keep in mind that your hearing won’t ever get any better,so the longer you wait the longer you’ll try to fool everyone that you can actually hear what they are saying,always smiling and shaking your hear yes.lyrics are by far the best answer for most people with moderate hearing problems.also,did I mention that my 75 year old wife wears them too at setting 2,I’m a 5 at 77 years old.
I had my Lyric 3’s fitted 24 hrs ago. With a size change at the initial fitting to eradicate the feedback i first experienced (The first ones fitted where too small.)
Yes all of a sudden the world is really loud…
That’s the first conversation I have had with my girlfriend ever where I have not had to say anything like:
Say that again
Sorry I didn’t hear you
Pardon, or anything similar.
So far so good 🙂
Hi Everyone,
I have been wearing Lyrics for more than a year now and have very much liked them. However, I have now the upgraded version, the 3.0, and I dont like them so far. It’s like all the time I spent to adapt my brain to the Lyrics 2.0 has to be done again. Does someone has experience similar issue? We have tried several adjustments with the audiologist, but I cant find my previous feelings. I use to be able to go to noisy places without any problems with the version 2.0, but with the 3.0, it is very noisy and I cant distinguish voices. Any idea?
First off I want to state that I am no paid shill, what you are reading is a 100% real and honest testimonial from someone who has had moderate hearing loss their entire life. There seems to be some suspicion by others who have posted to this forum so I want to alleviate that suspicion in regards to my post.
Being a young male, visibility is important to me as I did not like the way people treated me when they knew I was wearing hearing aids. People talked to me much louder than they needed to and overenunciated, as I was obviously wearing hearing aids. They had no way of knowing what my hearing was like with hearing aids, but I found it demeaning and did not like being talked to in this way unnecesarrily. I can appreciate people accomodating my obvious disability, but my hearing loss was not severe enough to warrant this treatment even with my behind-the-ear hearing aids in. I was never quite treated the same as my ‘normal’ peers since I wore hearing aids and, well, you know how young people can be cruel and judgemental. This led to me putting my hearing aids in my pocket when I left for school, then putting them back on when I got home. Once I got to a new school, none of the kids had any idea I wore hearing aids so I was given a fair shake. By this time I had become exceptional at lip-reading and pretending like I knew what somebody was saying whe necessary to avoid excessive HUH, WHAT?. I made a lot more friends than I did as ‘hearing-aid boy’. I felt like I fit in, like I was one of the ‘normal’ kids though there was embarrassing incidents caused by not hearing the teacher correctly, or not being able to hear other kids sitting too far away from me. I was not willing to sacrifice this acceptance so that I could hear normally, and this followed me into adulthood.
Of course, you spend enough time around people and they are bound to eventually catch on to the fact that you can’t hear right. It was still a lot better than being talked to like near-deaf Aunt Bethany in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation just because I wore hearing aids, and dealing with the social stigma.
Along comes the Lyric hearing aid which I discovered online one day, and I was immediately intrigued. 100% invisible you say? I can wear them 24/7 even with a young man’s active lifestyle? In the shower, at night while sleeping, or even on an airplane, 3-4 months at a time? I looked up a local audiologist that carried Lyric and went in for an evaluation to see if I’m a candidate. I was told my ear canals were problematic because they curve upwards and towards the front of my head but I wasn’t about to let that stop me from at least trying them. After a hearing test, a measuring tool was inserted all the way into my ear canal until the tip touched my ear drum. It was unsettling, but did not hurt at all.
Next, a sizing version of the lyric was inserted all the way into my ear canal to check the comfort and fitting. Using my hearing test, the audiologist programmed the Lyrics to fit my needs and inserted them slowly into each ear. The initial sensation was like I had something stuck in my ear as you might expect, but the world seemed to come… alive. I could hear the air conditioning, paper rustling, people chatting in other parts of the office, traffic going by. It was an emotional moment. I had not been able to hear like this since I was a child, and the hearing aids are 100% invisible. I paid $3200 for a 12-month subscription, but it was the best money I have ever spent in my life. There was a period of getting my ear canals to adjust to the presence of the Lyrics, and I even developed a sore in my right ear canal that required healing and no Lyric in that ear for a week or two. I stuck through it though, I had to do everything I could to try to make these work. Eventually my ear canals adjusted and my brain got used to everyday background noise to where I barely notice it unless I consciously decide to do so.
I am now on my second year of wearing Lyrics and it has profoundly changed my life. It is exhilarating to be able to have a normal conversation with people and hear every single word, every syllable in crisp perfection and they have no idea that I’m moderately hearing-impaired. Lyric uses the natural shape of the ear which gives you the ability to sense which direction a sound is coming from and everything sounds more natural. It used to be impossible for me to make out words from a distance, but Lyrics allow me to hear people talking from quite far away and I can hear the TV at the volume people with normal hearing set it at. Sometimes it is amazing just to go outside and hear the leaves rustling in the wind, the grass crunching beneath my feet, birds chirping, far-off traffic noise, neighbors talking in their yards. It gives me an appreciation for modern advances in technology that allows for me to hear these things.
I have not had any reliability issues, I typically get about 3 months out of each Lyric. If I’m coming up on 3 months and I know I’m going to be out-of-town or otherwise have difficulty accessing my audiologist, I get the replacement done a little early. I do take care to maximize the life of my Lyrics by wearing plugs in the shower to prevent moisture/water exposure, and setting them to sleep at night time. I wore my Lyrics while snorkeling in Hawaii with a set of plugs and water-proof head-band setup my audiologist got made for me, and I was incredibly grateful to have a hearing aid that allowed for this (did not do any diving, that is very much advised against with Lyrics in). It is also highly inadvisable to insert Lyrics yourself (they sit about 4mm from your eardrum when inserted correctly), and I did not want to go on this trip without my Lyrics in or miss out on the great snorkeling areas right off the beach from where we were staying, so I was ecstatic that my audiologist came up with a way to make it work. Do not wear Lyrics in a body of water without consulting your Lyric-trained audiologist first, they may be able to set you up with some custom-fit plugs and a waterproof headband to prevent water damage to your Lyrics like mine did.
If you are looking for a hearing solution that is invisible and offers great, natural sound quality including directional sound, with no batteries to mess with, that you can wear 24/7 for months at a time, I strongly urge you to get evaluated for Lyrics and go for the 30-day trial and make your own judgement.
If you have a hearing-impaired child that is worried about the social stigma of wearing visible hearing aids, Lyric may be the solution. I know I wish I could do the last 20 years over with Lyrics so I could have avoided some of the embarrassing or traumatic experiences of being a hearing-impaired child.
They are expensive. Very expensive. Long-term it’s like having a car payment but if you can at all swing the money there are few things that would so profoundly improve your quality of life as Lyrics if you are at all as worried about visible hearing aids as I am.
Well, that is the 100% real story of how Lyric changed my life and I would be happy to answer any questions you might have. I sincerely hope you are all able to find something that works for you, Lyric or otherwise, as I know from experience being hearing-impaired can be a real P.I.T.A to you and everyone around you!
I have used Lyric Hearing Aids for over two years now and I can say that this is the very best money that I have ever spent. The first time the audiologist put them in he ask me to close my eyes and then he walked away. As he walked away he kept talking to me after a few seconds he told me to open my eyes, he was about thirty feel away and sounded like he was right next to me. It was such an emotional feeling that I got tears in my eyes. WOW
I have extra large ears and wear the extra large lyric.I just started on lyric # 3 and they are 50 % stronger?it took a couple of days to get use to the new sound but after a couple of adjustments they are great ,onthe old ones I was at a 4 and 5 setting ,now I’m at 2 in each ear.my only problem with any of my lyrics over 5 years was feedback because of my large ear canal ,my wife also has the#3 small and they work perfect at 1 or 2 for moderate hearing loss.I also figures out how to put her’s in with a small tweezers and cue tip,you need a steady hand.when I get feed back I insert my little finger and try to move the lyric around alittle if it has slipped,then a cue tip to push it back in.if I’m away for a long time my audiologist ,Andrew Resnick in NYC ,gives me a extra pair,otherwise you have to pay $100 .00 fee for another guy to put them in,$50 bucks if you have the lyrics with you.nothing comes close to these hearing aids and the subscription deal allows you to get the new model at no cost.actually,at$3500.00 per year it comes out to$9.60 a day,not bad for near perfect hearing,no batteries 3 to 4 months in your ear and no concern about losing them.i also put them on sleep mode at night,which increases the battery life.still not great in a noisy room,but no one has solved that problem yet.
I had the 3.0 installed yesterday and I am having trouble with them as well. I loved the previous version – and have worn lyrics for four years now. They changed the software and how the device is configured – it is just not the same. Everything is very loud and harsh sounding.
Walter
I had the same problem and had the program adjusted after a week and now the sound is great
It might take awhile for your brain to get used yo the different sound
But # 3 is the best lyrics I have ever used
I’ve had a Lyric in my left ear for almost a year, and I think it is great! I’ve been using hearing aids for about 20 years, and my experience is that they last about 3-4 years and then need replacement, so the cost of the Lyric isn’t really all that much more. My loss in the right ear is too severe, and after the 30 day trial we decided it wouldn’t work on that side, but it has made a big difference in the left ear. My son is very soft spoken, and for most of his life our relationship was strained by constant requests for repetition even after I started wearing an aid. I can hear him now in normal conversation.
The only negative I can offer is that the battery is supposed to last 4 months and they schedule you for replacement after 3. My experience is one battery died after 2 1/2 months and another just died this afternoon after 2 months. However, the dispenser happily replaced the aid the first time and will do so again tomorrow. The inconvenience of having to replace them so often is a bit of a pain, but otherwise the $1,600/year is well worth it to me!
My 90 year old mother recently started using the Lyric. It has helped her hearing significantly. However, she now sometimes has trouble on the telephone. It appears that the magnetic field produced by the phone (a regular land line phone) can turn the Lyric on and off.
Has anyone else experienced this problem, and found a solution.
Thank you.
Yes, I’ve had this problem,specifically with PABX systems. I didn’t find it a problem with Lyric2, but it certainly is with Lyric3. My audiologist advises it is a known problem which is being looked into. It helps if you hold the phone a little away from the ear (not something I usually think of until it’s too late).
Three thousand plus dollars a YEAR for something that is STUCK in your ear and you don’t have autonomy over?
How gullible do they think people are? That’s absurd.
Its apparent that Allen Kent is a Lyric representative duhhh
When they send flyers..they do not disclose the price..That itself tells you about their conning ways..typical American sleaze. No wonder the world calls them a nation of gangsters and salesmen.
Preying upon old , hard of hearing, simple folk. Shame on these lowlifes.
I’m three days into my trial with Lyric and am trying to be patient with the soreness and plugged feeling. However, I’m experiencing something different than others with music. When I’m listening to the radio with any decent volume, music will distort like it does on cheap/bad speakers. Was wondering if others have had this and if there are some adjustments the audiologist can make? I will follow up next week with him but was curious in the meantime.
I have been using Lyric for 2 years and absolutely loved it, though the providers only had one computer between them and I had to track them down when i needed them replaced. The absolute best thing about them is it stops the tinnitus and I can sleep. For the first time in years I could actually hear silence. Now Lyric has discontinued Lyric 2 and have upgraded to Lyric 3 and my voice sounded like I was talking from a tunnel. The Lyric rep was in the office when they replaced them about 2 weeks ago – they did not have mediums in stock and the rep said I probably needed to upgrade to large anyway. I was doubtful, but needed to hear and get on my way. BAD decision They were too large, inserted too deep into the canal and now I’m in a mess. My right ear canal is raw from the improper size and insertion. They loaned me the traditional hearing aids and I hate the scratchy sound when my hair moves, trying to adjust glasses, etc….plus I can’t sleep because of the ringing. I live by myself and hearing at night is a big deal to me – I like to hear all the time. I am hopeful Lyric will rethink their strategy and bring back the Lyric 2 – they should have spent more time in R&D to perfect them, rather than coming up with an improved model that does not work well.
Lyrics 2.0 were really great. Lyrics 3.0 are s***. I really hope they will move back to Lyrics 2.0 or soon propose a 4.0 that would correct all the problems with 3.0. I cant eat normally in a restaurant with 3.0, even after 4 months with them, while I could handle every situations with 2.0.
Really bad upgrade
To all who are having problems with the Lyric 3, don’t give up. I started with Lyric in January 2014. Upgrade to Lyric 2 after a few months, then in August 2014 Lyric 3. This year has been a roller coaster. Each upgrade seemed worse than the original. Lyrics 3 was a nightmare. It’s all about getting the settings right. Work with your audiologist. As them to explain the settings. Ask to see the reference cards. There was a program to convert my lyric 2 settings to lyric 3 which are different. There was a high frequency boost on 2 but not 3. The results were not close to perfect. I have been going regularly for adjustments, as I am determined to make this work. My last visit we adjusted the slope control, compression and HF gain. I am good now. I would say better than ever.
No one wanted Lyric to be all it claimed more than I did. I’ve worn hearing aids for 21 years and can’t say any of them are great. My experience with Lyric is that I visited my ENT office more in the 30-day trial than in any two year period prior. The hearing aids kept dying after a week or so. The one in the left ear was replaced every week; the one in my right ear died after 3 weeks at which point I ended the trial. For the most part I liked the sound quality and convenience of them but found no reason to sign up given the lack of quality in the design and/or manufacturing. I’ll likely try them again at some point to see if the quality issue has been resolved, but for now sticking with the tried and true BTEs.
I have been wearing hearing aids for about twenty years. I am really tired of weekly battery replacements and dealing with wax build up. I also have loud tinnitus which is very irritating. What I really need to know is the experiences of others with regard to tinnitus reduction. In a previous comment, Carol indicated that her tinnitus stopped while she was wearing the Lyric devices. I find this really hard to believe. If it is true, then I would be willing to pay the extra price over regular hearing aids.
It’s true. The hissing in my ear vanished when I got my Lyric. Still have occasional ringing. Doc says the hissing is created by the inner ear struggling to pick up sound. Mine works great. Battery life about 3 month. Just got Lyric 3. Jury is still out on whether or not I like this version.
I am hearing impaired .i want lyric hearing aid but which fits me
I have read all the recent submissions to this blog. I would really like to “hear” more about people’s experiences with tinnitus reduction (or not).
Ken, do you like Lyric 3?
Are people getting used to the Lyric 3? I keep hearing about an update/fix for Lyric 3…Does anyone know when it is suppose to be released and what changes they are making?
I’ve had my Lyric for nearly a year now. (I have no hearing in my left ear, so I use only the Lyric only in my right ear.) I began with the Lyric 2 and was changed to the Lyric 3 a few months ago. Except, perhaps, for sensing a little more occlusion, I’ve noticed no significant difference between. My experience with the Lyric has been terrific. Hearing clarity in my “good” ear is greatly improved. The convenience factor is a major plus to say nothing of the cosmetic advantage. (No one knows I’m wearing a hearing aid unless I brag to them about how wonderful it is–as I often do.)
I’m 71 and wear my 2nd pair of Resound Behind the Ear (“BTE” ) with thin wires to my ear canal for the speakers. I also wear small sports retainers which gives me invisible security
These are the top of the line digital model
Work super well with tons of quick and easy control of the 3 modes and the volume
I am intrigued over the naturalness of the Lyrics and have really learned a lot from this blog but thanks to you all – I will stick with my current hearing aids until the manufactures of the Lyrics make some improvements
Here are the advantages I enjoy with my Resound BTEs:
1. Cost: $2,000 (+ $400 for some great accessories) – Total cost + $30/year for batteries
-My Blue Cross gives me $2,500 every 2 years – so they cost me ZERO
-And the 2 year period covers the usual upgrades
-Huge difference (ZERO is hard to beat) since they will last for well past the 2 years
-Happily I can easily afford the $3,200/year for the Lyrics – but why throw it away?
-These are the 2nd pair I have worn this year since I 1st hooked up with a local provider who let me try their Resound model (2 levels below the top of the line) for a “mere” $6,000
-So happy they were not skilled enough to tune them to my ears in the 3 months trial period (extended from original 1 month to see if they could adjust them properly) – so I had the time to look around for a provider who had more skill…
-I not only found a far more skilled provider who adjusted and set up 3-modes perfectly the 1st time – but sold the top of the line for 1/3 the cost!!!
-These hearing aid companies and unskilled providers are really ripping us off on cost!!!
-Why reward them or anyone for tripling the cost? Clearly that applies to the Lyrics
-I am going to save a lot of controversy and rebuttal by not detailing where I found this dramatically better price & professionalism – because it would look like I was a shill for them – when the truth is they simply charge a realistic price and practice a level of professionalism that allows them to fully meet the laws and rules of all 50 states since they are a nation-wide provider – that means a major increase in testing and tuning procedures as well as training and experience – and it will be easy to find them online so we can dispense with a lot of chatter. BOTTOMLINE: Look before you leap! $ZERO!
2. I have no problem with the discipline needed to ensure I always store my hearing aids in their small carrying case each night before retiring. Never cheat – so never worry. And my BTEs are coated inside & out with nano technology water-proofing -so no worry there.
-Lyric is clearly investigating a similar nano technology – but not yet
3. As if the huge cost savings isn’t enough, the really BIG difference is the ability to listen to TV and music (anything electronic) with a wireless digital streamer ($250) capability that allows me to give my sweetheart and everyone else in the house a noise break by being able to watch or listen in perfect sound clarity throughout the house – yet in total silence for those around me who have normal hearing. With the “Streamer” activated, I can listen without disturbing her or anyone else by muting the system or turning the amplifiers down to zero while listening by streaming the sound directly to my hearing aids. This is a major break since I have been slowly turning the volume up over the last few years, using closed captions, and pausing movies to ask “What did they just say?…”
-That huge advantage is simply not available with the Lyrics – YET!
-My life and all around me would dramatically regress without the Streamer capability
-When that is available with the Lyrics system – I may well switch – Till then – no way!
4. Another huge advantage is my top of the line BTEs totally cured my years of really annoying Tinnitis!
-Some bloggers above have said the Lyrics “reduced” Tinnitis – but not sure how bad their case was. Mine was a loud very annoying Roaring noise that I have had to mentally sublimate since my flying days in Vietnam (1966-67). F-4 jock. Until you have experienced that level of noise (like a fire alarm ringing 24/7/365 – for years) you have no idea what a relief it is to have that loud noise stopped – permanently. In only 2-3 months of wearing these great little hearing aids. When I wore the cheaper older models tuned by people who claimed to have been trained on how to “reduce” Tinnitis (One with Dr in front of her name) they only succeeded in making my bad Tinnitis – significantly worse! While charging me 3 times more for an older less advanced model.
-IT PAYS TO COMPARISON SHOP!
-There is a big difference between “reducing” and “curing” – keep looking for a REAL pro
-I have no doubt the Lyric makers will also learn & develop a cure profile for Tinnitis
-In the meantime I can have full tilt silence – NOW – for the 1st time in 48 years
-Love this new high tech world we live in theses days
5. Vanity/invisibility?: I’m too old to care and most can’t tell I’m wearing these BTEs even after I tell them & I rarely notice that someone has noticed by chance – so not bad
-BUT if I was still working – Had a high-pressure position as a Project Manager for global satellite and electronic systems – and spent a lot of time in vain & highly competitive places like NYC, CA, DC, Geneva… Where competence & professionalism – was everything. I clearly would trade off the cost & lack of wireless streaming… For looking good. A real advantage in that situation. An easy cost analysis advantage. Thank God my hearing was good enough to get by then.
6. So it depends on which trade offs work best for you – not to mention cost -As always:
-Do your homework
-Demand & find the BEST – never settle for just good on competence & knowledge
-Do a serious cost vs benefit analysis for your personal situation/environment
-Lyrics has some major advantages – but doesn’t cover some of the technology advances like wireless streaming, curing Tinnitis, nano tech waterproofing…
-Clearly they are still struggling with implementing improved versions & provider training…
-I can afford to wait until they catch up the tech/training & gain control over their costs
-But, of course – the vanity issue and really advanced age can easily trump all others
-Just some thoughts from an old fighter pilot – FYI – jim
Jim (Dec. 10, 2014 posting) I am most interested in which hearing distributor you went with and also which of their models you have. I’m thinking the distributor is Avada — am I right??
I’ve been wearing Lyric hearing aids for about 6 months and love them. Yes, they are expensive ($300 per month) but they are worth it.
My trial month with Lyric (2) was so good I was boasting about them to people I had never told that I was deaf (tho they must have guessed) I thought they had truly changed my life. Two years later, however,each replacement has been worse than the last and now I am about to cancel my contract and go back to the NHS ones. I have also been made redundant and can no longer afford the astronomical price of the Lyric. I feel bereaved!! They are no longer miracles and they are too expensive. boo hoo.
Corrected Text:
Since I first noticed that some decimals of sounds with my hearing in the range of my high frequency was suspect when around my wife,and went to havemy hearing tested. Sometime after I tried the invisible hearing aids.
I soon discovered that my hearing got worse by having this invisible hearing aid inside the ear canal, not to mention that my ears rejected this device. Therefore I started to get ear aches, so much so I had to remove them. Also I found that I could not use the phone without listening to a very sharp squealing sound that was very discomforting. Lastly the small hood that helped prevent ear wax build up from clogging the microphone, keeps getting blocked with wax. So much so that it made it near impossible to clean. After so much frustration with this I took them back thinking it was broken. If these hearing aids are as good as the manufacture claim and selling them at an out of mind price, why then does the user become fedup with something this expensive. That brings a person to a boiling point when it was very difficult to clean !!
Much later my both $2,500.00 apiece hearing aids kept breaking down and again required to be sent away leaving you without nothing. What should be remembered by the manufactures when making claims about invisible hearing aids. That is of the design is not all what is cracked up to be!! If the invisible hearing aids were as good as the outrages price, then you wouldn’t be reading this comment. Further study must be carried out to see as I said, this device is indeed not robbing you of the hearing you had before wearing them. As it has been said regarding “Air Flow” being natural is where Invisible Hearing Aids fail completely. The very small “Air Vent” in the device is too small and prevents the natural flow of air into the ear canal. This to must be seen as a major draw back in design and could be one of the reasons why additional hearing loss is occurring. Boasting is one thing, but reality is another and more studies are required before there is a class action law suite by user, claiming greater hearing loss.
I do not think the above poster is talking about the Lyric hearing aids, he is describing another type of in the canal hearing aids, not Lyric. His comments really are not relevant to Lyric as the design is completely different from what he describes.
My experience with Lyric 3 has been good. I used behind the ear hearing aids for several years but didn’t wear them often enough because I found them annoying (scratchy sound whenever my hair moved over the microphone, feedback when I put on a winter hat, falling off and almost getting lost, etc). None of these things happen with Lyric. I love that I can hear all the time, put on a hat, walk in the wind without fear of losing my expensive hearing aids, etc etc. At first I felt my hearing wasn’t as good as it had been with the BTEs, especially in noisy crowds. But my audiologist made some adjustments and ultimately I’m able to hear very well. My only complaint is they aren’t great in noisy crowded situations but even that has improved with time. It’s very important to have an audiologist who is skilled with the Lyrics specifically, so they can get the settings and angle right. I never had Lyric 2, only Lyric 3 so I can not compare the two. But I am very happy and for me its worth the money (but I can afford it)
Hello,
I am a Lyric representative. I understand the concerns people have when it comes to price and, NO, the cost of the Lyric devices is not a dark, hidden secret.
First off, the Lyric will run between $1700 and $2000 per ear. I have seen the prices go below this range, but never above it, and like to quote on the high end to be safe. The reason it ranges is because our providers are all independently owned and have their own pricing. We also check you insurance to see if it has a benefit that will help, as well as most offices offer payment options.
Secondly, a Lyric provider will check your hearing and your ear canals to make sure you are an appropriate candidate for Lyric. If everything looks good, the Lyric provider will program and fit you with Lyric. You get to wear Lyric risk-free for 30 days. After 30 days, you can decided if you want to proceed with a Lyric subscription. We allow this so that our patients can see if this is beneficial for them and if it is something they wish to pursue. There is no obligation.
Third, Lyric can be worn while swimming if a custom swim plug is worn. However, Lyric has to be removed when deep sea diving. The pressure changes experienced when deep sea diving can potentially cause the Lyric to shift and discomfort, trauma, and/or feedback can occur. This is something a patient should inquire about at their appointment.
Fourth, you are correct. Lyric is an analog hearing aid. Traditional hearing aids benefit from digital programming to help fit a variety of hearing loss, suppress feedback, reduce background noise, or help users determine where sounds are coming from. Lyric can accomplish all of this without digital programming. The deep ear canal placement means the ear filters sound the way it would in a person without hearing loss to give wearers a more natural sound quality.
Fifth, Lyric is a disposable hearing aid. A lot of patients complain about the batteries having to be replaced with their traditional hearing aids, but the battery is built in to the Lyric. Once the battery depletes, the patient will get brand new devices placed at no additional charge. There is no more fiddling around with batteries frequently, or having them fall out and your pet or couch eating them. Animals love hearing aids! These are extended wear, and the only extended wear hearing aids on the market today.
Just thought I’d share my two cents. If anyone would like more information on the new Lyric 3, you can download the product information brochure in .pdf format at the following link:
http://www.phonakpro.com/content/dam/phonak/gc_us/Documents/Product/Lyric/june_2014/Lyric3%20Product%20Information%20Sheet_027-0152-03.pdf
Thanks!
I have enjoyed reading all the input from Lyric users. I have just recently been wearing HA’s and after 5 yrs of a BTE, my Pups decided they were going to see what all the fuss is about.
That said, I have been trying the Lyrics the past week or so, before I decide to replace my BTE’s. My evaluation is summarized below:
1) Lyric is analog whereas most of the BTE’s I am considering are digital. Yes, the Lyric is placed close to the drum, but I am finding that background noise, like on the TV, is so pronounced that it masks any voice, and I may as well give up trying to understand the conversation. This was not the case with my previous Digitals
2) I don’t think my wife slurs all her words, but since I have gotten the lyrics, my wife comes across as having a permanent lisp.
3) according to the literature, one should not be swimming, submerging your head in water, without special ear plugs. If I have to remind myself to put in the ear plugs, I may as well remind myself to take them out.
4) according to the literature, I am now, at 66 years old, supposed to start sleeping on my back. The concern is putting pressure on the ear by sleeping on your side. Whereas I am not gunna do that, when I DO sleep on my side, the additional pressure on my ear canal does indeed result in a discomfort that keeps me awake. If indeed this is something that I would get used to and be able to sleep on my side, I can “suck it up”, but if indeed I am supposed to start sleeping on my back, I would rather just take the BTE’s out and sleep like I have for 66 yrs.
5) with BTE’s if an aid fails, I can validate it by a) pull it out and verify that when re-inserting the battery, I get positive feedback, b) make it squeal by cupping my hand over it c) remove them and sense whether it is doing anything for me.
My hearing is only moderately disabling, so there are times when I THINK the aid is not working but cannot be sure that it is just “not me”
Since one cannot remove the lyric, and one cannot positively determine that the battery is not malfunctioning, I tend to be concerned. In addition to the analog vs digital concern, the Lyric will NEVER integrate blue tooth connectivity. The pool in our back yard will be problematic, sleeping will be uncomfortable, digital tends to be a better representation of sound and more capable of handling background sound.
The cost is substantially higher for the Lyrics, which I could live with if I could convince myself that it was better. As others have said, if I am paying premium prices just to have it “invisible” is not proper justification. at 66, I am not that vain.
Hello again to Lyric inquirers. This is an update to my post of 10/24/11. 3 ½ years later, I’ve now had Lyrics for almost eight years at age 78, and my experience is still very good. I’m still wearing Model 2, and I’ll keep that model until they run out of them.
They’re not for everyone, and they’re not cheap, but, if they fit and you’re patient with the necessary adjustments (physical and technical), you will never go back to external hearing aids. It helps to be highly motivated, and my hearing with them is virtually normal, despite severe loss.
I should mention that one of the reasons for my success with Lyric is the provider I chose, which was one of the Lyric pioneers, Northern Valley ENT in Westwood (also Englewood) NJ, Michael Sherl, MD, and audiologists Lori Roses and Donna Szabo. First class folks, and they specialize in the Lyric. Thanks to their patience and support (and vast experience with Lyric), my ‘experiment’ in the new technology has been a great success.
Well Ive been wearing lyrics for 2.5 years and although there is an adjustment period and frequent visits to the Audiologist they are my preferred hearing aids. My backups are siemens carat binax at $7500 for the pair. I prefer the lyrics . I simply have them changed whenever they get uncomfortable and at least every 30 days. I take them out a day or so before my appointment and use my backups. Go to office and 5-10 minutes later Im on my way. The only concern I have now is a little bit of ringing due to new home (electronics). Think the new version will fix that.
In spite of the cost ($3400per year for both ears + other costs during the year, when I bought the Lyric system. My audiologist was and still excellent but from the start the system had flaws that could never besolved. 1. it does not work in a crowded room, or in some rooms and in very large area unless I am lucky enough to sit directly in front he speaker. 2.I barely hear the voices of anyone sitting more than a few feet behind me. No matter where and when, I clearly hear voices but not distinguish the words that would make them comprehensible. At least twice if not 3 or4 times a year, the Lyric had to be removed and left out at least one week and sometimes two weeks due to [infection?] or scratches when they were removed. Last Fall I began experiencing a balance problem. The volume had been increased during each hearing test. This year, the volume was amplified in May and then in October. I did not associate my increasing balance problem with my Lyric. I try to join my friends in an exercise class and when I told the coach that I could no longer get up from a sitting position without something to lean on and I could not get down steps without a handrail. He immediately asked: Do you use “inside the ear hearing aids?” I was stunned, and he said that is a side-effect from them. When I went for my check-up I asked her to lower the volume as she had done in during my last visit because it was really too loud, and I mentioned the question asked by the coach. She said that she had never heard of this, but that she would check. She removed the system from my right ear “because it did not look good” and will replace it on the 23rd.
I am really considering switching with a different system. nmentioned this yest.
I was fitted with Lyric hearing aids in Dec 2015 after years of telling myself that my hearing was not that bad, people just mumbled way too much… But my co-workers were starting to get annoyed with me and I knew I had to do something. One evening I went to the movies and couldn’t make out any of the dialog… and for the first time and probably like many folks before me, I finally admitted that I needed to have my hearing checked.
Yup, my hearing was bad and at 55 my denial period finally ended. I keep in great shape, I work the audio industry (who would have thought) but when you can turn the volume up – you can hear just fine… the thought of behind the ear aids just freighted the heck out me. I know it vain, I know its wrong, but there it is… the truth.
When my Audiologist showed me my first options, I grew nervous as I did not want to be seen with hearing aids; especially working in my industry.
Then when the Lyrics were shown to me it – – became a no-brainer decision. I said “stuff those bad boys in” and I was just amazed at what I had been missing and how well they worked. I don’t know what version they are, but I’ll find out my next visit.
It took me two days to get used to the feeling of them in my ear canal – but I was motivated and then got used to them and I don’t notice or feel them at all.
I had a few adjustments in the trial period and in one ear they failed twice, right way (in less than an hour) but it turned out to be one of the adjustments and that has since been remedied and they both work great.
I voice speakers, headphones, concert amplifier/sound systems at work and found that all I have to do is place the Lyrics in Stand-B and the sound quality is natural and full with I get no distortion unless I’m testing at full volume!! Plus when I work around the house with power tools, I turn them off and they work like hearing protectors.
My trial period ended and my two pair will run me $3,200 for a year with all the replacements that I might need. Best part is my insurance picked up the entire tab. But truth is I would gladly pay the difference or even the full price out-of-pocket if I had to. The convenience, quality and ease of use – not to mention stroking my vanity all are well worth it.
Working in the audio industry and seeing the technology changes, one day we will have comfortable in-ear canal aids that will be perfect, automatically adjust to keep our hearing at optimum volumes with clarity and tone perfection. They will be self-cleaning and charge overnight with cords. You will be able to stream Bluetooth music/phone to them, even hear dog whistles – kinda like the six-million dollar man.
Don’t laugh – it will soon be hear, I mean here. Look how silly movies are where the actor needs to find a phone and you thing – don’t you have a cell phone, with Skype and instant messaging?
Who is your insurance company that picked up the tab?
I have been wearing Lyrics for about 8 months and find the pluses to be substantial (no maintenance, wear around the clock and they will replace as often as necessary). The minuses include a big one – reliability. Their quality control is non-existent. I have had numerous Lyrics go dead within a week and a bigger number of Lyrics that had serious noise problems. Right now it sounds like I have a cricket in my ear. Talking on the phone is nearly impossible. I would gladly pay the $3600 per year if they worked all the time and not just once in a while. I was recently out of the country and needed the hearing aids to work throughout a one month period. Thank god my trip was cut short because the Lyrics acted up with loud noises. If my trip had lasted as planned I would have been faced with 1) Tolerating the noise – not an option; 2) Finding someone to take them out so I could hear something though poorly; 3) Turning the hearing aid off which would leave me totally deaf in that ear. None of these solutions is acceptable for a $3600/year product.
I’ve had a nightmare of a situation ever since I tried Lyrics for a trial in October of 2015. I wonder if anyone else has had this problem and am envious of all of you for whom the Lyrics works so well.
On the first day they were inserted, I called within minutes saying that I couldn’t possibly remain with something this loud. I watched on the screen as she lowered the volume in both of my ears, telling me that this was quite a difference from what would be my “prescription strength” and that I’d ultimately be working up to it. I was very uncomfortable with how they felt but she assured me that this was typical. It hurt. A lot.
Three days later, after tremendous pain with my left ear, I returned to see the audiologist and she adjusted the Lyric in my left ear and reset the volume. I left her office and truly struggled through the weekend. It was so loud again that I tried to not go out because I was so disturbed by environmental sounds. Sleeping was miserable.
On Monday, I returned again to the audiologist and begged her to lower the sound and to adjust the tones. I had done a lot of reading about the Lyric over that weekend and read about adjusting the sound and tones. She told me on Monday that she knew, in retrospect that the hearing aid was too loud on Friday and lowered the sound for me. However, she stated that the tones were absolutely correct for me and that they did not need to be adjusted.
I endured two more days more of excruciating sound and noise in my ear (and a horrible headache. Moving my head on the pillow was so loud that it kept me up at night, running water unbearable, rustling paper sounded like I was standing in the middle of an 8 lane- highway) until I returned to again Wednesday.
On Wednesday, when I returned (third visit in a week) the audiologist pulled the left hearing aid out and saw that my left ear looked red and decided to wait before inserting another one in. She also took out a laminated chart and used that to adjust the tone in the right ear. Initially it felt fine although I told her that I was feeling a strange feeling still from my left ear—as if the Lyric was still in it. She told me that this was normal and it would go away.
That night, maybe five hours later, I felt a horrible piercing and stabbing feeling in my right ear. It went away after 20 minutes or so, although it frightened me a lot. The next morning the hearing aid started to malfunction and my ear had a dull pain in it. What would happen is that the hearing aid would get much louder and then all of a sudden would get much softer (and would alternate doing this) and when I went to work on Thursday I absolutely had no ability to hear anything in classrooms (I am a teacher) because all of the sounds were equal and incredibly loud. It was horrible. I put the hearing aid into a sleep mode because it muffled the sound and called the office, spoke with the audiologist about the pain and made an appointment to her the next day.
The next day in the morning prior to returning to see her, morning, the right hearing aid stopped working all together. It acted like an earplug. I was deaf, essentially, although it would occasionally turn on. I could not get the wand to work, either.
I returned to see the audiologist on Friday afternoon, she pulled out the right hearing aid and when I saw how much blood was on it, I think I was in deep shock.
Between the pain I was having that moment, the incredible headache, and the pressure in my ear and the loudness of the hearing aid for this trial period and the blood, I was truly upset. She told me to return on Tuesday so she could take a look at my ear.
I returned to the audiologist on Tuesday as directed, and was told that she had concerns about my eardrum and thought I should visit my ENT doctor.
I made an immediate appointment. My physician is on the staff of Mass. Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston, MA, which is where I live.
I saw the doctor on as soon as possible and she said that there was a considerable amount of dried up blood stuck onto my eardrum. She could not see if there was a hole in my eardrum and she prescribed an antibiotic drop for me and then I followed up seeing her the week after for a hearing test with the audiologist and a visit to her. The sense of feeling fluid in my ear had lessened which was good. However, the feeling of pressure was still there and the ringing was also present.
My follow up hearing test was not remarkable at all so that lessened some of my anxiety. The doctor was able to remove the blood on my eardrum and said that she thought that it looked okay. She was unsure about what the sustained presence of pressure in my ears was about. However, she was concerned about the ringing in my ear and felt that being exposed to such loud noises with the Lyric caused it.
So I was l left with an all-the time-loud ringing in my ears and a horribly uncomfortable pressure in both ears. Whereas I had noticed a slight soft whining sound in my ear prior to this it was never anything like this.
My hope was that this would go away. It did not. Instead I began to hear a clunking sound in my right ear. The ENT examined me again and could not find any reason for this clunking sound. On a “second opinion” visit to the leading audiologist on this in Boston who explained that he did not know what the clunking was. So I lived with it.
In April 2015 I flew from Boston to New Orleans with a stop in Dallas. When I landed in Dallas I could not get my ears to clear. Maybe a half-hour later I felt an enormous pain in my ear, heard some strange sounds and then my ears cleared.
I boarded my flight to New Orleans and when I landed I absolutely had no hearing in my right ear and it felt clogged. This persisted for the entire time that I was in New Orleans. I took Claritin and Sudafed, but nothing seemed to clear it up. and when I returned I called my ENT immediately.
She had me come in and diagnosed me with Idiopathic Sudden Hearing Loss.
I was treated with steroids by mouth as well as steroids given in injections in my ear. I followed the course of steroids as directed. And I was given loaner hearing aids.
The hearing improved a little bit, but not much. In June (2015) I was given tubes for my ear with the hope that they would lessen any possibility that I’d have another problem with flying as I was flying for business during the summer. They did not work for me, so they were removed a week later.
My hearing was quite compromised. The audiologist said that it often could take many months to improve.
Sadly, a year has passed.
I am profoundly deaf now and have never recovered my hearing in my right ear.
I continued with the hearing aids, have read a lot about this condition, and tried acupuncture, but to no avail.
I have followed up on this and in a consult this fall with my audiologist’s partner at Massachusetts. Eye and Ear Infirmary who specializes in Sudden Idiopathic Hearing Loss he told me that I appears that I have a genetic condition that makes my ears more fragile (seen by an MRI). Moreover, he said that trauma from the insertion of the Lyric could have certainly been a contributing cause to the hearing loss that I now suffer from. That injury on top of the pressure from the airplane might have tipped the balance and left me the way I am now.
Would the Lyric audiologist have known this prior to inserting them? They do not require any information about the formation of an ear prior to being fitted for the Lyrics.
But the loudness was a problem and the copious amount of blood and the pain should have been a tip-off to them that something was wrong beyond the typical. When she removed the Lyrics, the audiologist said that she often saw this kind of blood. I find that pretty scary now, in retrospect.
I am quite convinced that Lyric contributed significantly to my present condition. Prior to that time I was challenged with my hearing and knew that I would need hearing aids, which is why I went to learn about them. However, I could hear from my right ear and it was my left ear that needed the true amplification as I had hearing loss in that ear since I was a child. I knew that my right ear was starting to not be as strong as it was, which is why I went to find out more about wearing hearing aids.
I’m very upset, of course. The hearing aids hurt a lot, were much too loud for me and the tone was off and this was something that I pointed out at the very beginning. Like I’ve said, the pain was intense.
A year has gone by. It is clear to me that my ears were damaged from this little experiment and that this is something I will be living with forever and wonder if I am alone in this. I would welcome your replies or thoughts as this forum seems to be a wonderful place for this kind of information.
My lyrics short out in a week or two. I use them because they’re invisible and other devices short out as well. ENT’s / Audiologists have yet to figure out why devices short out so quickly in my ears. Very frustrating. Til I have a better option, I reluctantly stick with lyric. Other issues include itching, feedback, etc.
There seem to be very conflicting opinions over the effectivness of the so called lyric hearing aids. Could I receive documented, scientific reports on the real pros and cons of such device? I’d be most grateful
Noemi Ruggeri de Egerstrom.
Hi Noemi:
I don’t think the information you want exists. The manufacturer has reports of course–but they are biased. To find truly unbiased studies, you’d have to find some independent researcher that will do a study–and who is going to fund such a study?
So anecdotal reports seem to be the best that you can expect, such as people report here.
Cordially,
Neil
For me, simply the best but that is after 10 yrs of trying all the other high end brands. Started them in 2012 and used for 3 solid years. Awesome in every respect until i moved to Florida. The humidity creates havoc with them. I usually got approx. 3-4 months from one aid. In Florida that has dropped to 4 weeks if lucky. Had to switch back to other brands and i’m so disappointed. I hear Lyric is working on a humidity issue.
Andrea –
Wow I feel for you! I had very little problems with mine. My ears were a bit uncomfortable for a few days and it likely took a few months before I got to the point where I didn’t even think about them anymore. There is also some getting used to hearing things that you likely haven’t heard for some years like the high pitched sounds. Things like the sound of water drops hitting something in the shower and paper crumpling. I evenually got so use to them that a couple of times I even went swimming and forgot to remove them. The time I went in the ocean surf, the salt water did kill one of them but they usually survive a mild dousing but it may take a few hours for them to dry out enough to start working again. I was given some soft wax ear plugs to use if I was going to swim under water. You can swim all you want with them inserted as long as you don’t swim under water. I could jump feet first into the pool with no issues as long as I surfaced right away, but I just preferred to take them out and re-insert them myself. Never had a problem doing that though it might take a couple of tries to get it right. I only got one in backwards once but it was easily retrieved with a tweezers. One great thing was the ability to shut them completely off when I go out cowboy action shooting. They are much more effective in blocking the bark of the gunfire than ear plugs and I don’t like to wear a headset type of hearing protection. As far as the cost I can see where it could be an issue. When I was working my insurance covered the lion’s share of the expense but now my retirement income makes thing a little tougher. I recently got remarried and after the wedding costs, the honeymoon, and redoing the house to her specs I have had to do without the Lyrics till we get caught up. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now and am looking forward to being able to wear the lyrics again. They also help most of my tinnitus disappear. Really looking forward to that. BTW, yes she is worth every minute of having to do without. She is amazing!
Barry
I just completed my first year with the 3rd Generation Lyrics and love them! Better hearing, can locate sound, talking on the phone is much better, and nobody knows I’m wearing them. I have to be careful in the shower…I rinse my ears with wet hands instead of running shower. I have also found that they move outward with time and this creates some feedback. Pushing them in a little with a Q-tip resolves this – best done after a shower. I highly recommend them!
Maybe do you know something about it: http://www.deviceinformed.com/medical-devices-global-directory/primary-care/pediatrics/pediatric-hearing-aids/phonak-sky-v-ric I red in one article that these pediatric hearing aids are really goods, but maybe do you know are they are?
Hi Banjamin:
I don’t know any more than you do about these pediatric hearing aids. Why shouldn’t they be good? They’re made by Oticon. What I want to know is why you think they’d be better for adults than standard adult hearing aids?
Cordially,
Neil
On my third left ear Lyric and dies within in days ! Why ????
Had the same issue. Wore them for about a month..replaced each one once during that time. Also the lyric got stuck and it was very painful to replace. Anyone else have that issue?
My husband is hard of hearing and has alzheimers. He has lost all of his hearing aids. he needs a hearing aid but his alzheimer’s assisted living asks that the residents do not bring hearing aids as they can not be responsible. Does anyone know whether the Lyric would be a good solution for this dilemma. My husband is very outgoing but because of his hearing loss withdraws more than he would if he could hear better.
Hi Anna:
In your husband’s case, I’d say the Lyric’s could be a good solution. If he can’t take them out, he can’t lose them! It certainly is worth a try.
Cordially,
Neil
Does Lyrics work for someone who only has high frequency hearing lost?
Hi Doug:
Actually, the Lyrics were designed for the typical high-frequency loss most hard of hearing people have–so they should work for your hearing loss–assuming you like them.
Cordially,
Neil
I was told I was a candidate for the Lyric. I have been in several times since the middle of October to have different sizes, adjustments etc… It seems like moisture keeps getting in them and then they plug up and I can’t hear. I’ve taken sinus meds and nasal sprays to try to clear it up. My ears and skin are healthy. It’s very frustrating because I really want these to work. I’m not sure what is causing it. Any suggestions? I have a very small ear canal and have tried the xs and the xxs. I try to keep my ears dry in the shower and always use a Qtip when I get out and the hair dryer for a bit for any water that has gotten my ear. This last time I went a two and a half days before I had to take them out since I couldn’t hear my clients at work. 🙁
I have had a Lyric in one ear for six months, and are experiencing very short life – maximum 4 weeeks. Although I have the custom made earplug, water still gets in and affects the device. I can’t see how the makers claim you can shower normally when this hearing aid clearly can’t cope with water. Apart from that, as a first time user, I am very happy with the performance. I just want it to last 6-8 weeks.
I am on my 2nd year of using Lyric, I pay $1600 per year for 1 aid. You pay for a yearly subscription–this price covers all visits, up to 8 aids per year I think. I have crystal clear hearing now and I love this thing. When very first placed I had itchiness and tenderness, then it went away; I feel nothing now. I shower and swim (but don’t submerge my head) Only once has it “died” earlier than expected. One thing I would recommend you ask your provider, that I learned the one and only time that my Lyric died 11 short days after being placed: how many providers are certified to place the Lyric and what is the availability for short notice appointments. I learned that only ONE audiologist of 18 at my clinic is certified to place Lyric and she only works part time. This is not a problem if all works as expected, and you make regular appointments every 2 months to have your aid changed preemptively before they die–but it is a problem if your device fails early and you have paid a hefty $1600 to hear and you can’t get an appointment (that takes literally 5 minutes!) for another 2 weeks.
I’m on my 3rd year wearing Lyrics, after 2 years with BTE aids. They are GREAT, I wouldn’t use anything else. I can talk on the phone, hear directionally, not be affected by windy days, and they’re invisible. I heartily recommend them. The author of the this article has provided a real service by creating a forum for discussion of this excellent product.
Yes, $3300 a year is expensive, but IMO they’re worth it.
Clearly, the author of this commentary it’s not well informed. First, the Lyric is not replaced every 3-4 months. It is recommended to be replaced every 8 weeks HOWEVER, this is a SUBSCRIPTION program and there is not a limit to how many you can get per year. Therefore, if you schedule your Lyrics to be replaced every two months or even every six weeks, it doesn’t matter because you are paying for a yearly subscription and not PER Lyric or per set of Lyrics. So, if you make sure your “big convention isn’t at the two month mark (that being if you turn your Lyrics off at night, which I LOVE because I then do not have to wear foam ear plugs, which I used to do every night., you don’t have to worry at all about having them go dead during the convention or whatever event you may have coming up. Yes, they are not digital but, frankly, I love this, too because things sound NATURAL and not like they are going through a microphone. Invisible…this was a must for me. I’m 43 and lost 50% of my hearing due to a sudden medical condition. I was embarrassed and didn’t want my hearing aids to show to ANYONE. I see no issue with them being in constantly but, if you really wanted them out, you or your Audiologist could remove them for you. Next, there’s NO reason to take the Lyrica out when going for a swim or even snorkeling. Simply put in a swimmers earplug, which swimmers use all the time to prevent “swimmers ear” and you can swim away with no need to take them out or have an audiologist put them back in. Are the Lyrics more expensive than regular hearing aids over the years but in my opinion, they are with EVERY SINGLE PENNY.
Hi Lanissa:
That article was written 11 years ago. What I wrote back then was true at that time. I was NOT misinformed like you seem to think. There have been a number of changes made to the hearing aid and to the replacement protocol since then. You need to take that into consideration before running me down.
I agree with most of your points. I’m glad you are so happy with you Lyrics. Others are not. This article was intended to be an open discussion of the pros and cons of these hearing aids so people back then were not sucked in by the hype of the manufacturer without knowing the other side.
Cordially,
Neil
I have had Lyrics for 4 years. I am trying other hearing aids because of the swimming pool where most of the time my head is under water. I love swimming. I am currently trying Phonak now (Marvel and another one, inside the ear, both top of the line). So far, my experience is that I will keep the Marvel as a back up (inside the ear is terrible for the music) but the Marvel is totally inappropriate for piano playing. And I love playing the piano even more than swimming. The Lyrics are, for me, perfect for piano playing (like going from an upright to a concert grand–I have a Steinway L). Audio for playing, (especially the piano where the time profile of a note is so complex), is much more subtle than just for listening, Interactions between the ears, the brain and the physical feel of the action of the keys, the pedal, etc… My problem is that I don’t dare using the Lyrics in the pool even with the protections. Some people on this blog claim to put them back without a specialist? Seems extraordinary to me.
From my experience, the Lyrics are not the best for everyone. There can be problems: blood in the ear, especially for people under blood thinning medication, heavy sweating in physical effort that generate moisture behind the hearing aid that stops working, and probably other issues. But for piano playing, they are a gift from heaven.
For listening to say, a speech in a church, the Lyrics are clearly inferior to the best digital (like the Marvel, but there are others). But tweaking the adjustments in a digital will not match an analog like the Lyrics for the music.