Starkey Hearing Aids

When I purchased my current hearing aids, I experimented with the AI model, but decided they weren’t useful for me because I do a fair amount of exercise and perspire enough that the perspiration always kills the batteries. Accordingly, I would not get any accurate reading of my exercise level since the batteries would die just shortly into my exercise sessions. If I were to pick my biggest complaint about the hearing aids (which may be true of all hearing aids), it’s that I can’t use them while I exercise because the perspiration gets to the batteries and they stop functioning. I, therefore, unfortunately, don’t use them in my group exercise classes (all, of course, on hold during the Covid-19 lockdowns).

I would like to use my hearing aids to better hear the TV I have in my home exercise room, but the perspiration always causes the batteries to stop working in the middle of a workout. I don’t know if rechargeable hearing aids will be better or worse for exercise. My main concern is that the perspiration will destroy the hearing aids. Anyway, I think Starkey makes a terrific hearing aid, but would prefer one that wasn’t quickly affected by perspiration.

Only minor I have the the connectivity towards Android. I used my phone as mp3 player when walking around. I read streaming music would be possible to the hearings aids, but it seems very hard. I am using an Samsung S8. It connects easily to the Starkey, but playing music through bluetooth is not possible, unless I buy an extra microphone. Seems not that handy carrying an extra item just to listen to music when moving around. An android app that allows you to play music without extras is something we need. The iPhone seems to work well, just android users are left out. Also the live translation sounds awesome and I would have much use of it, but it doesn't work on my android. Hope to see this fixed.

I take my glasses off and put them on again many times per day, always careful to make sure the hearing aids are in place. But recently, I keep finding the left hearing aid dangling from my ear! I worry that it might fall out, unnoticed, onto the street, into the garden, into a toilet... Perhaps the cable (which connects the aid to the receiver) is the problem--it's bent sharply where it touches the external auditory canal. Or has the plastic retention lock has become deformed a bit? I hope to get an appt this week and perhaps this problem will be resolved. So there are three parts to this review. 1) I love my hearing aids; 2) one keeps trying to fall out; and 3) be sure to find an experienced and caring audiologist who will answer all your questions.

Mr. Austin has always had a vision, and he came out with the first CIC, and that was a major boom to our industry because everybody wants the hearing aids not to show. And with this artificial intelligence that he's doing in making it healthable besides just helping you with your hearing is a big, big thing for the industry. He goes all over the world fitting people who can't afford hearing aids, and a little bit of every hearing aid that he sold goes to promote that program, and I have participated in that. It is just a wonderful thing to be able to give people the gift of hearing. They couldn't afford it and wouldn't have it any other way. He runs a program that if you can't afford the hearing aid, if you meet the qualifications, you fill out the application, and you get brand new hearing aids for $125 each. So for $250, you can get top-line technology if you qualify for this program, and lots of companies do that.

Their newest product have helped in making speech more intelligible particularly in background noise and have been rated very high in those situations. So I like that feature and how they help the person hear better. I have good relationships with all of my representatives. They're very helpful, and they'll bend over backwards and go that extra mile for you. They're a great company.

Now new city and new audiologist. Finally there was scam from Starkey that INR 3,00,000 (3975USD) hearing aid selling for INR 50,000(~665USD). And my audiologist just sat on throat to purchase new one. She'll advertise like super cheap, better hearing quality and blah blah blah. My old Starkey hearing aid were getting worn out, so thought to upgrade them and purchased a pair.

First problem is that susceptible Model number. I was using Soundlens IQ 11 and IQ 9, now this is Soundlens Synergy 2400, note IQ is missing. So that made more confusion whether Starkey is selling cheap product under a different Model number. And believe me till today my audiologist wouldn't explain where is IQ model, all she'll say IQ is obsolete model, Synergy is new model. If it is obsolete why IQ is still displayed on Starkey website? Moving on, the day I received these new hearing aids, I could feel there is a lot of amplification, but voice quality is compromised. Then she told me another theory that it will take time to adjust. Making simple phone calls were so impossible using those hearing aids. So paid a huge amount, got brand new hearing aid and all you got is disappointment.

I refused to accept the hearing aid as those were unusable during office hours, so we did 3 times back and forth from Starkey to my audiologist. Mind it new ones!!! And finally we called Starkey folk to the place where I bought, but he is of no use. Since Starkey employee itself gave up, all I had option to buy it forcefully. I was lucky that I had not paid the full amount. Just for sake of the audiologist and her genuine trying to fix it, I decided to buy only one and refused to buy the other one. That went on another drama where she forced me that customized hearing aids cannot be returned, which is another lie. I learned from another audiologist that all hearing aids comes money back warranty for 10/15 days. So after a series of heated argument, she asked me to pay INR 7,000 for shelling and return it.

Unfortunately, my old IQ 9 gave up after a week and had to purchase the one I had returned. She lied to me again, and charged 7K for return + 50K for hearing aid + 7K for shelling), so literally I purchased the same hearing aid that I returned with additional 7K. After spending so much, these Starkey Synergy 2400 would always need a repair in every 6 months now. They would just shut off without any reason at any fine day. I remember that horrible day when I was returning from another country, both of the hearing aids were just dead in the same morning and I had a flight to catch. I just did an oversea travel without any hearing aid with immigrations and check-ins to be done :(.

Now I get a very common reason that "humidity" is the real culprit and dumped me a dehumidifier for hearing aids for few grands again. Note I never had humidity problem in IQ 11 and IQ 9 hearing aid. To summarize, after spending nearly 8000USD (so far) with Starkey, I am using my 2nd hearing aid which is 10 yrs old and that costed my around 300USD. So take away from my story and for Starkey is:

5. While making an IIC product, didn’t you know that humidity could be a problem and place right parts for them? Starkey Synergy 2400 IS “NOT AT ALL” WEATHER FRIENDLY, STOP MANUFACTURING THEM IN INDIA.

After 2 years they finally admitted that there was an issue with my aids and replaced one. This did not fix the issue it was still the same. They the tried to fix both of them but on return nothing had changed. They still had the same problem. This was extremely frustrating, first because I use the phone to talk with my clients, second because in order for me to talk on the phone I had to take the aid out of my ear so at least I could hear something all while driving. To this day I still do this at no time where the aids corrected it took them two years of complaining before they even recognized there might be a problem. I was finally told that it was my iPhone and there was nothing more they could do. I paid big dollars as you know for aids that have NEVER worked as they should.