I've worn hearing aids for about 15 years now. I'm on my third set. I got my first two from my doctor. The last ones I was NOT happy with. The doctor basically sold one brand and they didn't work well for me. When I needed this last pair about 3 years ago, Blue Cross Blue Shield has sent out an email thru their Blue365 service about discounted hearing aids thru Tru Hearing. I called them and they had an office in my area (about 3 miles from my house). It is not a doctor's office, but they do have certified audiologists (which is all I ever saw for my hearing aids at the doctor's office) who did a great job. I got my hearing aids for about 50% of what I had expected to pay. They were still expensive but much less so than in the past. I plan to go get another pair in a month or so. Expected life on hearing aids now is something like 6 to 8 years so I'm about half way. I've gotten to where its very hard for me to function at work without them. This way if one set has to go in for service, I still have a set.
I answer your question about brands. My first were analog made my Siemens and were excellent. I wore them for over 8 years with some repairs along the way. The second pair were Oticon. If you want to wear the ones the slip behind your ears Oticon is probably fine. I'm way to active to wear those aid and the Oticon in the ear were not that good. I never liked that pair. The pair I have now are Unitron and I've been very happy with them. Whatever you decide on, I would recommend buying the best pair you can. Also, so check with your insurance. While insurance doesn't cover hearing aids normally, they do have alliances like the one Blue Cross Blue Shield has with TruHearing that make them considerably cheaper. You might also call Tru Hearing. I don't know exactly how they work. It might be worth checking out.