So here’s where things stand now.  I tried the Widex hearing aids and they were better than I ever dared to hope.  But I wanted to make a careful and informed decision so I took them back to try the Siemans. Well, let the confusion begin!  There were many things about the Siemans I liked, but I kept thinking the Widex might have sounded better.  But the Widex don’t have custom user programs – they’re on or off and I could make them louder or softer, but they didn’t have specialized programs to take out background noise and enhance voices. 

It occurred to me that I might have been romanticizing the Widex in my mind because they were the first hearing aids I’ve had in 2 1/2 years that made sounds come back for me. Was I in love with them becuase they were great or because they gave me back my hope?  Can you see the lightbulb go on here?  Darling Hubby called Wonderful Audiologist and asked, “Is it possible for her to have them both at the same time so she can compare them in the same situations?”  Wondeful Audiologist agreed and I then had both the Widex and the Siemans.

The Widex sound was a little more clear, but the Siemans blocked out background noise. More and more I found myself putting in the Siemans and putting the Widex away.  If I could have two sets of hearing aids, I’d have taken them both, but alas, I can only have one.  Well, Wonderful Audiologist did some programming magic and made the Siemans sound more like the Widex.  Abracadabra! I was in heaven.  And I gave back the Widex and I’m keeping the Siemans.  There is still more programming she can do, but these last few weeks have been the best hearing weeks I’ve had in years.

I’m not knocking the Widex by any means.  I loved them and the time may come when I’ll go back to them, but for now, I’m thanking my lucky stars to have the flexibility of the Siemans.  Before I go, here’s a funny story and I swear it’s true.

I was driving and waiting to make a left turn when I heard a knocking sound in my car.  “Oh noodles,” I thought. (Ok, it wasn’t actually “noodles.”) Something is wrong with the car.  I was thinking I better call Darling Hubby in case it wasn’t safe to drive, when I noticed the knocking sound seemed to be in sync with the turn signal light.  I turned off the turn signal and the knocking stopped. I turned it back on and it started again.  And then I realized I’d never heard the turn signal in that car before.  Wow, it’s loud!