 Love this hearing aid! |
| Review Date: March 6, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Leslie Gordon, |
My daughter ordered these for me a few weeks ago, and I love em! It's made a huge difference in my life - to be able to follow a conversation clearly now, and not have to constantly ask people to repeat themselves. Siemens really put out an excellent product with these hearing aids.
After much prodding and cajoling from my husband and kids, I finally went for a hearing test a little while ago. The doctor recommended a pair of either the Siemens Centra Actives or the Cielo Actives. She quoted me a price of $2,200 for the Centra Actives, and $1,500 for the Cielo - that's for EACH hearing aid! I never knew hearing aids costs that much - quite a sticker shock!
I really liked the Centras, but being on a limited budget, they were really out of my price range, so I was all set to purchase the Cielos, when my daughter did some shopping online and came across these offered by Amazon. That's quite a price difference, but still, I was a little nervous at first, spending this kind of money online. But we did email the seller, Express Hearing (these are not actually sold by Amazon - I guess they just handle the transaction) a couple of times with questions, and they seemed very knowledgeable and professional, so we took the plunge, and we ordered a pair of the Centra Actives. A few hours later, I received an email from Express asking me to select my color choice, and to fax them a copy of my hearing test results so they could program the hearing aids for me.
A few days later, I received my package. I was surprised at how much was in the box. There were the hearing aids themselves (these things are tiny!), 2 different size domes (that hold the speakers in the ear canal), a battery recharger (the hearing aids uses rechargeable batteries), a remote control to adjust the volume and programs, a hard case for the hearing aids, a soft carrying case for travel, even a pack of regular batteries so I could try them on right away, instead of waiting a day to charge the batteries (according to the instructions).
As I mentioned in the beginning, these hearing aids have made a tremendous difference in my life. I'm hearing things I haven't heard for years - like the sound of my fingers hitting the keyboard as I'm typing now. I guess that's the thing about hearing loss - it's usually gradual, so you don't really realize all that you're missing out on.
To top it all off, these things are practically invisible when worn (yes, my vanity is showing!) The main unit fits behind my ear, and a thin clear tube with the speaker on the end wraps along the top of my ear and into my ear canal. When worn, the only part you can see is the thin clear tube. This behind-the-ear design definitely helps to overcome the stigma attached to hearing aids. Kudos to Siemens for putting out an excellent product, and many thanks to Express Hearing for making this purchase painless, and of course, for saving me a LOT of money!
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Hearing aids that actually work
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| Review Date: December 13, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Dane E. Ericksen, Sonoma, CA USA |
I have had my Siemens Centra Active hearing aids for about two months now, and they are wonderful. Finally, hearing aids that actually work.
If you're like me, you've tried conventional in-the-ear analog hearing aids in the past, and found them to be more trouble than they were worth. And why so ridiculously expensive? My prior in-the-ear units weren't too difficult to insert or extract, but just try to make a loudness adjustment for suddenly changed conditions: you're trying to find the serrated top loudness control on each hearing aid, by touch, without looking too ridiculous. Oh yeah, then there was the feedback squealing when inserting and extracting.
So, you quit wearing the darn things (I am being polite here). But your hearing hasn't improved over the years, so understanding others, and particularly telephone conversations, is becoming an ever more annoying problem.
I therefore re-visited using hearing aids. First an updated visit to an ear doctor, then an updated hearing test by an audiologist. The hearing test was interesting: in addition to the usual tones in each ear, they did what I can only describe as a "pressure test" in each ear. A somewhat unpleasant experience, but I am sure that there was a good reason for the test. Surprise, surprise, the hearing test showed that I still had my hearing loss, and that I was still a candidate for hearing aids.
I had researched available modern-day digital hearing aids using the power of the Internet, and found the Siemens Centra Active hearing aids to be the most attractive. First, the easy to apply/retrieve behind-the-ear mounting, using a nearly invisible clear plastic tube to a dome shaped transducer that fits in your ear canal. The dome sizes are 6, 8 and 10 mm, and come "open" and "closed." The "open" dome has five holes in the dome, and can be used for mild to moderate hearing loss situations. The "closed" dome doesn't have any holes, and must be used for more severe hearing loss situations, where higher hearing aid gain is needed, and this requires the additional isolation provided by a closed dome to avoid feedback squeal. My Siemens Centra Actives have the 8 mm open domes.
Second, these are digital rather than analog hearing aids. Once the incoming audio is digitized it is possible to do filtering that would simply be impractical in an analog device; for example, suppression of the infamous audio feedback squeal.
Third, these hearing aids use low level radio frequency (RF) signals to communication with a small remote control, and with each other. So if you do encounter changed conditions warranting a manual loudness adjustment, it's easy to do and both hearing aids get adjusted at the same time.
The remote control allows three modes for the hearing aids: Mode 1, where both the directional and omnidirectional microphones in the behind-the-ear portion are working, and with moderate noise reduction processing. Mode 2, where only the front-looking directional microphones work, and the noise-reduction algorithm is at its maximum. And Mode 3, where both microphones are again used and the noise-reduction is turned off.
Mode 1 is for normal situations, and you'll probably find that you will have your Centra Active hearing aids in that mode 90% of the time. Mode 2 is for noisy situations, like a busy restaurant. Mode 3 is for quiet situations, like a concert hall.
I ended up buying two extra remote controls: one for my office, one for home, and one for my car, so as to avoid having to carry even a small remote control around all the time. But, these hearing aids work so well that I find I don't need to use the remote control very often, although I don't regret buying the extra units.
In addition to adjusting the hearing aid's overall loudness, and switching modes, the remote control also has a small liquid crystal display (LCD) that shows the gain setting in a bar graph format, and the charge condition of each hearing aid's battery.
You get both two nicad rechargeable Size 13 button cells and a recharger, and all a supply of conventional Size 13 hearing aid batteries. To re-charge, you simply place each aid in the two available wells inside the charger and close the lid, which then starts a five-hour charging cycle. The charge cycle status is indicated by two green LEDs on the outside of the charger: blinking for an in-progress charge cycle, steady for a completed charge cycle. The manufacturer indicates that you can expect the nicads to last between 18 and 24 months. A replacement pair is somewhat pricey, at $60, but not unreasonable if you only have to buy replacement batteries every two years or so.
I discovered that vendors vary of the length of the manufacturer's warranty: some offer two years, others three years. Of course, I went with a vendor offering the three-year warranty.
These hearing aids are so comfortable sometimes I forget that I am wearing them, and try to scratch an occasionally itchy ear canal, only to be reminded that there is a hearing aid dome in place. On a very few occasions the itch has been enough to momentarily remove the hearing aid to relieve the itch (and this is not a new problem for me). I then pop the hearing aid dome back in. Really, quite a minor issue.
The Centra Actives are turned on and off by simply opening or closing the swing out battery compartment. This is easy to do, and the battery compartment holder seems quite robust, so I don't understand another reviewer's post regarding Siemens Centra Active hearing aids and repeated battery compartment breakages. With any reasonable care in opening and closing the swing-out battery compartment this shouldn't be a problem.
There is one quirk, though: when you drop your Centra Actives into their charging wells, and then close the charge lid to start the charging cycle, the charger automatically turns off each hearing aid. Then, when you retrieve your hearing aids once the charging cycle has been completed, you have to cycle on each aid by momentarily opening and closing the battery compartment. Not a big deal, once you understand this requirement, which is mentioned about half way through the user instructions for the charger.
Now, here's perhaps the most important part of my review: local hearing aid vendors outrageously mark up the price of hearing aids. I obtained my Siemens Centra Active hearing aids through [...], which turns out to be located in Colorado Springs, CO. The PreciseHearing price was less than half of what my local audiologist had quoted. So while these top-of-the-line, digital hearing aids still aren't cheap, at around $1,470 each, don't get suckered into paying more than double that.
You will need to provide PreciseHearing with a copy of your audiologist's report indicating that you are candidate for hearing aids, and PreciseHearing will then use that report to properly program each aid for each ear. You will also be required to sign a statement that you will personally visit an authorized Siemens dealer once you have obtained your hearing aids. PreciseHearing explains that you should expect to pay for this visit, and that you should avoid announcing that you obtained your Centra Actives via the Internet. However, there is no time limit specified in the agreement for how quickly you have to make your visit, so if your Siemens Centra Active hearing aids are working wonderfully, there is then no rush in booking the required visit.
Before spending $3,000 on hearing aids, I checked out PreciseHearing for complaints, and found none. I also discovered that they are a Better Business Bureau (BBB) member (always a good sign) with zero complaints (quite an accomplishment, given that some complainants can be unreasonable). Finally, before purchasing, I also sent a few query e-mails and in each case received quick and responsive replies. So not only am I thrilled with my Siemens Centra Active hearing aids, I can recommend [...] as a source.
One final comment: see [...] for an excellent commercial by Siemens for their Centra Active hearing aids. It is beautifully done and says it all about what a difference hearing aids can make in your life. This commercial is of the stature of the 1984 SuperBowl Apple computer commercial-- it's that good. |
Yes, You Can Buy Hearing Aids Online
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| Review Date: July 24, 2009 |
| Reviewer: L. Rizzo, USA |
The Siemens company is known for high quality products and engineering, and their hearing aids are no exception.
A family member with severe to profound hearing loss purchased two of the Centras to replace outdated aids. The Centras work perfectly, and come with more options than most people would use. They are also one of the easiest for a local audiologist to adjust, should adjustments or options require tweaking. If you prefer, you can send them back to Express Hearing to be adjusted.
This Amazon price is the lowest I could find after considerable online searching. The price is about half of the going rate.
And nothing is sacrificed or compromised by buying them on-line. I would give Express Hearing the very highest ratings for support and speed. |
Pleased and satisfied.
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| Review Date: June 27, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Charles D. Buren, Peterborough, NH |
I have been using the older Siemens amps (my designation for the politically correct designation "hearing aid") for 8 years and recently I started getting indications one was ready for repair. I could "hear" the thief scanners as I would exit a store and the high tension power line would "hum" as I walked underneath. It was like a ground connection inside had come loose or something. It was time for an upgrade. Anyway, I have been very pleased with the reliability of my Siemens amps. So I choose the Centra Active, because I am very active, it's water resistant to sweat and an outdoor downpour and I trust Siemens.
I had to visit an audiologist for the hearing evaluation and the hard copy test results, which is needed to order online. I trusted Amazon and their guarantee of customer satisfaction, because this was a large investment indeed. I ordered a pair of amps and shortly after I got an email from Amazon advising me to contact Express Hearing Systems. I had checked their reviews (all positive 5 star) and was greeted with very clear prompt service. I scanned the test report and emailed it back I was quite impressed actually. From the time of the initial order to having the units operating in my ears was 4 days. They were top notch IMO.
I patiently read all the literature and instructions which took discipline as I usually look at the directions last, if at all, and I must say that it was especially nice not to have to sit through some audiologist giving a 30 minute "how to" lecture as if I were some kind of senior retard. My final savings....$1500.
A short word about the Centra Active. I has a remote with 3 programs; Universal, Noisy environments, Music/video, and a volume adjustment. I use it in the "high" position but experiment with the 3 programs. Last night we ate out in a noisy restaurant and the differnce was impressive. I keep it in Universal mostly. Also, the two units "talk" to each other. On one occasion I switched programs and the one unit heard the command but the other didn't, since the remote was in my pocket. Several seconds later, the other unit beeped in response the the command. The first unit clued it in. The charger unit is very well designed and makes for a good overnight storage. You don't have to remove the batteries, just pop the amp into the charger |
best purchase if my life
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| Review Date: May 18, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Kenneth Lasota, south Barrington,IL |
| The seller was very helpful and I recievd the goods in 3 days.They worked perfect and all the instructions were easy to follow.The product was the best and I saved about $4000.00 over what my local audiologist wanted,the warrany is the same and so far they work great.I would definetely buy them from the seller again. |
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