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Hearing Aids
19 Answers
Had a hearing test recently - not too deaf but seem to need TV wee bit louder now and often ask my wife to repeat things - more a nuisance.
Think i should ask Doc to refer me to audio dept. at hospital and try an aid.
Any recommendations?
thanks
jacklee
Think i should ask Doc to refer me to audio dept. at hospital and try an aid.
Any recommendations?
thanks
jacklee
Answers
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How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?
Places like Boots and Specsavers do free ones in larger stores (hearing tests) if you want a quick initial idea before you speak to your GP about it and a referral - they do try to flog you expensive hearing aids if they think you need one but there is not obligation at all.
Some GP surgeries will do audio testing. Not sure how common it is, and I'm guessing not very, though when I lived in Leeds they did it at my surgery there.
I have fluctuating hearing loss though I tend to find that the version of things I hear is always more interesting :) It is a nuisance though.
Places like Boots and Specsavers do free ones in larger stores (hearing tests) if you want a quick initial idea before you speak to your GP about it and a referral - they do try to flog you expensive hearing aids if they think you need one but there is not obligation at all.
Some GP surgeries will do audio testing. Not sure how common it is, and I'm guessing not very, though when I lived in Leeds they did it at my surgery there.
I have fluctuating hearing loss though I tend to find that the version of things I hear is always more interesting :) It is a nuisance though.
I was fitted with hearing aids recently. In many areas of UK, the fitting of hearing aids has been contracted out to Specsavers for over 55s with age related hearing loss. You can choose any convenient Specsavers store (I went to one near where I work rather than here I live) and they fit them then and there. They are very discrete over ear ones - my husband didn't realise I had mine in.
Well worth doing - I should have had mine years ago!
Well worth doing - I should have had mine years ago!
I have slight hearing loss,and tinnitus.It is a pain,causing a lot of muffling,if a programme on TV does not have sub titles,I dont bother watching.OH bought me a very expensive hearing aid,and I was not impressed by the quality of sound that I was hearing,so I bought me a cheap one from Amazon,even though it is not as hidden,I prefer it to the expensive one for the quality of sound.
I am going for another hearing test soon,and will be going down the NHS route,so I am interested in what people have to say too.
And if I say 'what?'to my OH again when he is talking to me there will be trouble.
'Put that bloomin hearing aid in'is something he says so often he will be saying it in his sleep!
Good luck
Aya
I am going for another hearing test soon,and will be going down the NHS route,so I am interested in what people have to say too.
And if I say 'what?'to my OH again when he is talking to me there will be trouble.
'Put that bloomin hearing aid in'is something he says so often he will be saying it in his sleep!
Good luck
Aya
jacklee.....just a few comments on hearing aids:
Up until about 10 or so years ago NHS aids were analogue and bulky and it was always said that there were many more H.A's in the bottom draw (discarded as useless) than in peoples ears. They were just sound amplifiers increasing both wanted and unwanted sound.............not a great success unless you were on a one to one conversation with another person in quiet surroundings.
Then came the digital ones, slimmer and more selective in the amplification of the frequency loss ( age related deafness is a high frequency loss).
Even so, you hearing will never feel normal and as far as i know, on the NHS you will be offered an aid to only one ear, despite having a loss in both ears.
NHS aids can be helpful or basically useless........Private aids can be exactly the same, excellent or useless.
My advice:
Try a NHS aid first and ir it is fine then stick to it, but if it does not match up to what you expect, then try a Private Hearing aid ( they will normally give you a trial period to assess it).
Make sure that your hearing test is conducted by a trained audiologist in a properly constructed sound proofed booth.
Up until about 10 or so years ago NHS aids were analogue and bulky and it was always said that there were many more H.A's in the bottom draw (discarded as useless) than in peoples ears. They were just sound amplifiers increasing both wanted and unwanted sound.............not a great success unless you were on a one to one conversation with another person in quiet surroundings.
Then came the digital ones, slimmer and more selective in the amplification of the frequency loss ( age related deafness is a high frequency loss).
Even so, you hearing will never feel normal and as far as i know, on the NHS you will be offered an aid to only one ear, despite having a loss in both ears.
NHS aids can be helpful or basically useless........Private aids can be exactly the same, excellent or useless.
My advice:
Try a NHS aid first and ir it is fine then stick to it, but if it does not match up to what you expect, then try a Private Hearing aid ( they will normally give you a trial period to assess it).
Make sure that your hearing test is conducted by a trained audiologist in a properly constructed sound proofed booth.
-- answer removed --
Sadly, at least here in the U.S, no hearing aids are manufactured in-country. All are imported and the best ones seem to be made in Switzerland. After taking an older friend to the heraing specialists, which resulted in a hearing test and recommendation for a Phonak brand, said friend is very happy with the device.
It is a BTE (behind the ear) model, but is practically invisible, since it's so small. A clear plastic tube runs from the device to the transmitter, which is in the ear. He reports little if any of the feed back other, less expensive models report and the device is easily re-programmed by computer (from the Dr.'s office) to accomodate changes in hearing.
The friend reported considerable tinitus prior to using the aid but none at all while wearing it. He says he still experiences it at night with the instrument removed. Cost was about $2,000 total, of which $1,000 was paid by insurance and more by our Medicaid, leaving about $300 out-of-pocket...
It is a BTE (behind the ear) model, but is practically invisible, since it's so small. A clear plastic tube runs from the device to the transmitter, which is in the ear. He reports little if any of the feed back other, less expensive models report and the device is easily re-programmed by computer (from the Dr.'s office) to accomodate changes in hearing.
The friend reported considerable tinitus prior to using the aid but none at all while wearing it. He says he still experiences it at night with the instrument removed. Cost was about $2,000 total, of which $1,000 was paid by insurance and more by our Medicaid, leaving about $300 out-of-pocket...
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