I am currently wearing Jabra Enhance Pro 20 hearing aids fitted at Costco. Soon to be two years old, I think. The current model is the Pro 30. $1600 a pair.

I've been wearing hearing aids going on 10 years. This is my third pair and the best yet.  First two were Kirkland KS7 then KS10 (Costco store brand made by major manufacturers). Costco no longer does private-label hearing aids because the manufacturers will give them high-featured brand name models that sell at Costco's desired prices.

In my experience, these rechargeable hearing aids do everything you ask. They use AI to differentiate between speech and noise. They do fine in the general listening program tailored to my specific hearing loss. Even then, I can use the Enhance Pro app to add (with one touch) more noise reduction or more speech clarity.

Plus, the app has room for three more listening programs. The Jabra "Hear in Noise" program is popular. It greatly reduces background noise, making it good for resstaurants or other noisy situations. My other two spots are occupied by a Music program and a second copy of "Hear in Noise" in which I had the Costco tech add back in a user control (removed by Jabra as a standard feature) that allows adjusting the listening cone from very narrow (straight ahead) to very wide.  I renamed this program "Cone Adjust" (because its default name is "Hear in Noise" and I didn't want two of the same name). 

And if that's not enough control, the "Sound Enhancer" button available in every listening program opens a screen where you can adjust EQ (bass, middle, treble) and increase or decrease noise reduction, wind noise reduction, and speech focus.

The aids run all day on a charge. I think only one time have they run out on me after midnight. They charge extremely quickly. And the charging case itself is rechargeable, able to charge the aids three times (I believe) before it needs to be plugged in. So this would work for a weekend camping or attending a bluegrass festival. I assume a power bank would also do. Of course, so would a car's USB port. The charging case is USB-C.

I tend to take my aids out to practice my banjo at home alone. At jams, I turn the listening volume down a bit. I have to admit I no longer know what my banjos really sound like and at jams I'm no longer sure when or if I'm playing too loud.

The only negatives to me are that rechargeables tend to be bigger than replaceable battery hearing aids and the wire from the body of the aids to the receiver that goes in your ear canal is short so that for the wire to sit close to my ear (and be nearly unseen) the aids have to sit far forward on the back of the ear. They don't play nicely with glasses.

I have Phonak Paradise Audeo 7s and from reading Ken's description above, mine seem to do pretty much what he says his brand does. Different terminology but sounds similar in function to mine. I control mine from an app on my Phone that keeps me informed of battery life status, etc. Mine run on default program, which was determined by my hearing test, but I can switch from several different presets based on environments I find myself in. Can also create 3-4 custom programs to meet whatever need I have outside of the presets. I do have a program for my electric guitar and one for my banjo. The EQ helped for the banjo setting and I read here on the HO that cutting down the aid's mikes to a narrow range will help the banjo sound more like a banjo and I concur. I also concur with Ken that I know what I am hearing might not be exactly what my banjo is saying but at some point, you have to trust a quality instrument to do its thing.  I do practice with my aids on but turn down the volume a couple of clicks to help preserve what hearing I have left.

Good luck with whichever way you go as far as new aids are concerned.

Bobby

Like you, I have upper frequency hearing loss. I've been wearing Oticon Real aids with rechargeable batteries for the past two years and they have worked well for me. I use only two programs--general and music. The music program removes all the noise filters and works well in jams as well as playing solo. Another feature of Oticon that I like is that they are very stable. After the initial adjustment with my audiologist, they have not needed further adjustment. Recently, the battery died on one of the aids. I took it to my audiologist, expecting to spend 50 bucks on a new battery. Instead, Oticon took them back and sent me a brand new pair.

I will add that the aids are only half of the equation. I proficient audiologist or audio tech who can adjust your aids to meet your needs is just as critical. I took my banjo to my adjustment so that the audiologist could pull all the right levers to make them work right.

Hi
I live in the UK, and noticed my hearing failing about 4 years ago. I've been playing banjo 50+ years, and suspect that the extended exposure to high volume, high frequency sound has exacerbated the loss. I initially tried the hearing aids provided by the UK National Health service. They were a big help in hearing speech, but although they have a 'Music' program, they just can't cope with the sound of a banjo. I managed by leaving my HAs out when playing banjo or guitar. Quite recently, I wondered whether high-end aids would be worth the cost, so booked an appointment and assessment with an independant (non-NHS) audiologist. What a difference in approach! The NHS are understandably only interested in helping HA users to cope with normal life. They don't have time or resources to deal with the special needs of musicians. The independent audiologist (after conducting a far more thorough hearing test) wanted to discuss in depth what my precise individual needs and expectations were. I decided to go with her recommendation of Oticon Intent hearing aids and I have been delighted with their performance. They are very expensive, but (for my specific needs) they really do the job.

I've used Oticon devices since 2013; Alta models until recently, now the current Intent behind the ear models. I have moderate to severe hearing loss on the high end, with some tinnitus. I like these devices, although they are expensive. They do well at controlling background noise so I can hear conversations in a busy environment, they reset to the base program when put into the charger (the Intents are rechargeable units) and I've had no issues with them cutting off (although I've not worn them in a wet or sweaty environment). To echo previous comments, my audiologist plays an important role in tailoring the program to my audiogram and recently to make a repair. Good luck with your search.

Thanks for the experienced users replies.
At weekend festival called Starvey Creek and jamming mornings only because of heat.

Life span, lost of use when replacing batteries and cost of rechargeable batteries a concern.
Have only used reg. batteries.

Hi Phil
Because I've used my Oticon Intents for only a few months, I can't yet vouch for their long term reliability. Also, here in the UK we don't (normally) experience high temperatures and high levels of humidity. The Oticons are of course covered by a manufacturer's warranty and on the Oticon users' Facebook page I've read of users buying a drying device into which they put hearing aids temporarily affected by exposure to sweat and/or rain.
The Oticon Intent uses a rechargeable battery, and charging couldn't be simpler. Mine have a run time of about 22 hours (depending on how they are used). Charging to full from zero takes about 4 hours. I place my aids in the charger overnight, and next morning they're ready for use.

I'm going to weigh in, even though I am also in the hunt for a new pair, and haven't yet settled. My current pair (Resound GN, 2nd highest range) are coming up on 7 years old, and initially worked brilliantly - I could hear myself and everyone else in jams, better than ever.. Then I had issues with amplifier failure, usually just before I was going to a festival! This happened several times, the first 2 while they were still on warranty, then a couple of times they were repaired for a reasonable service charge. Since the last time they have been just OK, but they won't service them any more.

So far I have tried Widexes and Oticons. Didn't like the Widexes at all, the Oticons were OK, but not decisively, and I didn't get to wear them long enough to adjust. I'm going to try a pair of Phonaks next, then probably decide between them and the Oticons.

I fully agree that working with an audiologist that's willing to spend plenty of time with you is critical. Yes, they have a financial interest in what you buy, but a good one also wants to make you happy. The whole hearing aid industry is maddeningly complicated (I believe by design), so a simple comparison between brands is impossible.

Find an audiologist that you like, and that will let you try a few different brands. I'm not sure that the highest level of tech is optimal for playing live music, since the "Music" programs remove most of the processing anyway. I'm a little skeptical of anything labelled "AI" myself. Remember that it takes a fair amount of time for your brain to adjust to any new pair. At least here in OZ the standard is a 2 week free trial, then a 30 day money back guarantee and a 5 year warranty. The industry is absurdly competitive, and you can use that to your advantage.

Good luck - I will be interested in any follow up or further discussion on this topic.

Thanks for all verified usage answers.
I carried Blue Cross/Blue Shield into retirement and did not get Medicare B.

BC/BS at this point will pay $2500 every five years.
The largest company locally has audiologists in my town and Costco is 250 mile round trip. I will be on my 3rd pair of Sharkey (sp) soon. Trouble is if I get top of the line they want $5,000 to $7,000 for the new dual processors with speech enhancements. Costco brands are I think under the $2,500 cap.

Rechargeable batteries seem to have a lifespan of 3 to 5 years and when warranty runs out cost close to $500 to replace and have to be sent to manufacturer with a loss of 2 weeks or more of usage. Same problem with outright failures with shortage of warranty for $2,500 cost. Lifespan of last 2 units seem to be 3 to 5 years. I had to purchase a used replacement at about the 3 year mark on 2nd set.

Overall an expensive investment for us retired folks.

Would really like to know of a brand available in the US that has good speech enhancement, jam music that sounds normal, and background noise blockage in a crowd. Especially if worn for awhile. Am I expecting too much for $7,000.