I've had one in my one yr for over a yr and was told probably would need one in the other ear in a yr or two. I can not use the in the ear due to a whole in my ear; its been there for yrs and actually acted as a relief valve for when pressure would build up. So even though it helped in that area now it has made my hearing worse. When I go to get the one for the other ear I should be able to do the one inside. I went to an ENT that also has an audiologist who did the actual hearing test. They have to have this to determine what type of aid you need and to get the settings correct. My insurance didn't cover it and even though they have a plan thru this one group it was cheaper to stay with my current doc. I don't have the lowest grade and they told me that the highest grade was an over kill. It has 5 settings, one for all around hearing, one for when I'm talking to someone and I can filter the noise around me, one for when I'm on the phone, one to just filter out noise in general, I work in a computer room and could hear the motors etc so this allows me to adjust it and of course one to shut it off. Plus I have several different volumn settings; which can be adjusted by the doc if the settings won't go high enough. They came out with a new one right after mine was ordered and it was around 1200 which saved me 1000. I do know that some areas have special programs for elderly but your ENT should be able to tell you what options you have. Can you get a recommendation from your PCP if you have one; that's what I did and he's never steered me wrong with recommendations. Good luck.