Hearing Aid advice/experiences

The wife has decided to upgrade from her NHS hearing aids due to increasing problems in work meetings and social situations.

She's had a couple of consultations with local audiologists, Boots and Hidden Hearing and, given the improvement on offer, is comfortable with the prices of up to £5000 per pair.

She's reluctant to use cheaper online services because they can't offer the aftercare she needs but is also uncomfortable with using suppliers Boots/Phonak Hidden Hearing/Oticon who push the brands they are tied to. In the case of Hidden Hearing the product is £2000 more expensive than online providers.

Has anyone else been through this process? All the suppliers seem to offer a trial period with the promise of your money back if you don't get on with the product, but i wonder how easy it is to exercise in reality?

Some of the hospital audiologists run private businessses and offer an impartial recommendation, often based on your NHS results. Lee James Hearing, although not local to you, might give you some helpful advice.

The record shows I carry no torch for the National Death Service, but in reality the only improvements over NHS issued aids are cosmetic and feature set (eg Bluetooth streaming). The NHS now issues pretty good current generation digital aids programmed to your audiogram with ongoing support, and — as you live in Newcastle — an excellent audiology service at Freeman. Hard to see where £5K’s worth of benefit is going to come from getting privately sourced ones.

Has she been back for an audiogram/consultation recently? The NHS will upgrade her hearing aids if her hearing has deteriorated and/or she's had her current ones for a long time.

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Originally Posted by Seamaster73

The record shows I carry no torch for the National Death Service, but in reality the only improvements over NHS issued aids are cosmetic and technological (eg Bluetooth streaming). The NHS now issues pretty good current generation digital aids programmed to your audiogram, and — as you live in Newcastle — an excellent audiology service at Freeman. Hard to see where £5K’s worth of benefit is going to come from getting privately sourced ones.

Has she been back for an audiogram/consultation recently? The NHS will upgrade her hearing aids if her hearing has deteriorated and/or she's had her current ones for a long time.

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She's had excellent service from the Freeman for many years but the Siemens Teneos that she is currently prescribed, whilst fine for face to face conversation, aren't up to round table meetings when the speaker is beside her or a social event with a lot of background noise. It seems that this type issue can be addressed in software and with processing power but the cost is more than the NHS will bear.

The aids she has tried do make a huge difference in that respect and the £3000 she will probably end up spending on something that lasts 5 years is not significantly different to keeping up to date with iPhone versions over the same period

Frustrating part is that most brands are tied to high street chain its hard to get an unbiased opinion or an objective comparison. And whilst it is clear that what is being demonstrated works well in conditions that the audiologist controls its not so clear how they well work in real life.

Hang out here for a while:
https://forum.hearingtracker.com/

It’s predominantly American in focus, but lots of info and user experiences.

If she's an iPhone user, she’ll want a brand that supports iOS natively via Apple’s MFI programme:
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201466

Live Listen is brilliant for meetings.

As someone who has worn a nhs hearing aid regular for about 40 odd years and whose lugs are totally f**ked, l don't really see the point of spending circa 5k on one when nhs is available.

l have just received a newer model, and had it fitted this morning it is a huge improvment over the older models and no more of that shitty brown colour either.

I was offered about 7 diffferent colours but the best thing about it for me is the audio which I'm aready finding a massive improvment on the older version it seems a lot clearer. l've yet to really try it out doors and you'll never get shut of background noise altogether no matter how much you spend.

Clear voice on this one seems so much more natural, the old ear peice used to be a hard plastic which could at times be quite uncomfortable, but the new is a soft type silicone feels a lot more comfortable, and if i'm not thinking about it could quite easily forget about it altogether and that for me is a big deal just need to remember not to jump in the shower with it in.

I would'nt really be intrested in the apple apps and such for it unless I could play music through them but that would mean wearing two aids and that's not really an option for me as I find wearing 1 is enough and refused a second but each to there own, but the bottom line is I'd deffinatly recommend she try the nhs aid before spending circa 5k on one.

I know a couple of people who have severe hearing impairment and have been really happy with the products manufactured by 'Cochlear'. Try them perhaps? :)

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Originally Posted by the big fella

As someone who has worn a nhs hearing aid regular for about 40 odd years and whose lugs are totally f**ked, l don't really see the point of spending circa 5k on one when nhs is available.

l have just received a newer model, and had it fitted this morning it is a huge improvment over the older models and no more of that shitty brown colour either.

I was offered about 7 diffferent colours but the best thing about it for me is the audio which I'm aready finding a massive improvment on the older version it seems a lot clearer. l've yet to really try it out doors and you'll never get shut of background noise altogether no matter how much you spend.

Clear voice on this one seems so much more natural, the old ear peice used to be a hard plastic which could at times be quite uncomfortable, but the new is a soft type silicone feels a lot more comfortable, and if i'm not thinking about it could quite easily forget about it altogether and that for me is a big deal just need to remember not to jump in the shower with it in.

I would'nt really be intrested in the apple apps and such for it unless I could play music through them but that would mean wearing two aids and that's not really an option for me as I find wearing 1 is enough and refused a second but each to there own, but the bottom line is I'd deffinatly recommend she try the nhs aid before spending circa 5k on one.

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Look like she will be spending half that. The main issue for her is that she is regularly in meetings with a group of people sitting around a table or around a large room . The NHS aids combine with a bit of lip reading to make sense of people directly in front of her, but when they are behind or beside her she can’t make sense of the sound she hears.

The ones she is buying are meant to sense where voices are coming from and focus on that point. There is also a phone app that can force the aids to look for sound from a certain direction.

I went with her to one of her tests on Saturday and was amazed at what I could hear in the test but she couldn’t and at how much more quietly she spoke when the new aids were fitted.

It’s a tough issue, she’s very much in favour of the NHS but accepts that would be too expensive to give everyone with hearing loss the sort of specific enhancement she needs for work.

A couple of her friends have already told her she’s an idiot for spending money she doesn’t need to, so I think she is going to approach the trial critically. She can return them and get her money back if they don’t work for her.

Hi

I've worked for the last 38 years in a heavy foundry and for the two years previous, A machine shop that undertook centreless grinding, Bar peeling (Centreless turning) and reeling (Straightening), My lugs are shot too!

I had an NHS one in my worst ear (Left) and have to say, It was pretty useless, I overtook a bus on the way home when I picked it up and that sounded very loud but other than that I never noticed any kind of improvement!

On saturday I visited a private company and tried a pair that were really superb!!, The bit that goes behind the ear was half the size of the NHS one but when the chap was speaking to me his voice sounded much fuller and tonal, It had a trebley edge to it, Without the aids in he sounded dull and mumbly, My son went with me and would have told me if the fella had changed the tone of his voice himself to make them appear OK!!

I've no idea what make they were but they were black in colour and £1,400 in price!

I'll be going back and ordering them for after Chrimbo, The only downside is that I won't be able to plead deafness when I don't listen to 'er indoors!! :grief:


John :eagerness:

My father is very happy with the ones from Costco and also the service he gets there - I know he would never pay 5000 for some so may be worth trying (I am pretty sure he had a 30 day trial or something too) he has had them for a few years now.

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Originally Posted by raysablade

It’s a tough issue, she’s very much in favour of the NHS but accepts that would be too expensive to give everyone with hearing loss the sort of specific enhancement she needs for work.

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If needed for her work, any chance her employers could contribute? Might set a precedent I suppose or it's something that employers just don't do?

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Originally Posted by Kingstepper

If needed for her work, any chance her employers could contribute? Might set a precedent I suppose or it's something that employers just don't do?

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I think a big problem is that the NHS do provide a very good basic service. For most hearing impaired people the expensive step up to the most modern kit provides only marginal benefit from the employers perspective.

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Originally Posted by Kingstepper

If needed for her work, any chance her employers could contribute? Might set a precedent I suppose or it's something that employers just don't do?

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Same as spectacles I'd imagine. Unless for use solely and specifically for work (ie not general use), highly unlikely to contribute.

My son wears hearing aids and we spent £2800 on them about 2 years ago.
The problem with NHS ones was that they don't do the in the ear type ones,they only do the externally placed ones.
He lost one when out on a bender after about a month and luckily the insurance covered it.
Every weekend is now a tightrope as to whether the hearing aids make it back from the night out.
We went for a make the same as the nhs ones he had so that the tone was similar to what he was used to.
The mark up on these things is massive so it would be worth phoning around a few independents and asking for a price.
He found the Bluetooth connectivity a bit gimmicky so I would tend to base my decision more on the straight quality of the sound.
On the American websites a lot of the get theirs at Costco for a fraction of the price- obviously she would need fitted if she wanted in ear ones though.

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Originally Posted by Hood

We went for a make the same as the nhs ones he had so that the tone was similar to what he was used to.
The mark up on these things is massive so it would be worth phoning around a few independents and asking for a price.
He found the Bluetooth connectivity a bit gimmicky so I would tend to base my decision more on the straight quality of the sound.
On the American websites a lot of the get theirs at Costco for a fraction of the price- obviously she would need fitted if she wanted in ear ones though.

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She went with Boots in the end, they were around 10% more expensivethan an independent but she felt more comfortable with their approach and the long term support on offer. The branch is beside where she works and they gave her a range of accessories on trial. In her mind the whole package justified the higher cost.

Interesting too that a big part of her decision was that the pair she is getting are rechargeable. Knowing that they only give 24 hours service from a charge and that she has to charge them every night is better that never knowing when a batteries will run out.

Hearing aid batteries last ages (up to a fortnight in my experience, and that's in a powerful Cochlear BAHA) and cost pennies. Apple MFi certified aids show battery life remaining on your iPhone. I prefer being able to carry a couple of spares in my pocket that I can swap in a moment than having yet another device to worry about charging.

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Originally Posted by Seamaster73

Hearing aid batteries last ages (up to a fortnight in my experience, and that's in a powerful Cochlear BAHA) and cost pennies. Apple MFi certified aids show battery life remaining on your iPhone. I prefer being able to carry a couple of spares in my pocket that I can swap in a moment than having yet another device to worry about charging.

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Her argument is that she already puts her hearing aids in a box by the bed every night and charges her phone there. The huge issue for her is not knowing when the battery will run out during the day. Rechargeable might have a shorter life than a separate battery but it is guaranteed to last all day and the point it runs out is thus controllable.

Seems too that the processing requirements of the most sophisticated aids only give 3 to 4 days of life on a battery.

The audiologist tried to steer her to an option of batteries and a rechargeable adaputor but her desire to leave batteries behind won out.

If I heavily use Apple MFi streaming from my iPad/iPhone, I can still get 4 or 5 days from a 20p battery. I'd rather be caught out without one of those (I always have one in a pocket, or I can nip to Boots) than be caught out without a charger. But in reality you don't worry about "not knowing when the battery will run out during the day". You pretty quickly figure out how long they last based on your usage and swap them accordingly. Apple MFi aids show how much life is left on your iPhone (three clicks on the Home button brings up Apple's accessibility menu below); all the rest have an audio alert that you're running low.

http://i67.tinypic.com/2pjiw.jpg

But I can sort of understand her thinking. It's certainly better for the environment than chucking away all those little batteries.

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Originally Posted by Seamaster73

If I heavily use Apple MFi streaming from my iPad/iPhone, I can still get 4 or 5 days from a 20p battery. I'd rather be caught out without one of those (I always have one in a pocket, or I can nip to Boots) than be caught out without a charger. But in reality you don't worry about "not knowing when the battery will run out during the day". You pretty quickly figure out how long they last based on your usage and swap them accordingly. Apple MFi aids show how much life is left on your iPhone (three clicks on the Home button brings up Apple's accessibility menu below); all the rest have an audio alert that you're running low.

http://i67.tinypic.com/2pjiw.jpg

But I can sort of understand her thinking. It's certainly better for the environment than chucking away all those little batteries.

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She managed to pack a packet of duds waiting for recycling before our two weeks away in the summer; I think that was the last straw.

I would echo much of what others have said. My experience consists of six years with NHS hearing aids and just under two with private ones (through Age UK)

The thing that made me jump was the made for iPhone features, specifically the fact that calls come through to both of my hearing aids, which has been quite transformative. I can also stream music/podcasts etc, which is a neat trick.

There are down-sides, however. Having never had a problem with the NHS ones, these newer, mfi ones have been back three times in less than two years for repair/replacement of the in-ear component, which is inconvenient and will no longer be free after two years (soon) unlike the endless free repairs on the (unfairly maligned) NHS.

The battery life on these newer ones is way shorter too. This is a minor issue, since I just make sure I always have a packet in my pocket. It's also no surprise, since the batteries are smaller and they are connected by bluetooth to my phone all day.

I don't know if the privately available hearing aids will be able to resolve the OP's wife's problems of hearing multiple voices in meetings etc. I have exactly similar problems - face to face conversations are easy in a quiet environment, but as soon as others talk, or there is background noise, I'm sunk. Only a test will answer that question. I'd be a little bit dubious however.

I hope this is of some help, and good luck!
Martyn.

My wife had her Phonaks for over two years now, and still loves them. She still keeps hearing things that she had forgotten make a sound.

One thing to bear in mind is the support you receive post purchase. She has very narrow ear canals and Boots have been fantastic with the adjustments to the hearing aid itself and manufacture of the specialist tips she requires. This has all been included in the initial purchase price, so whilst that was high she beleives that she has had great value overall.

I doubt this would be available with an online purchase however large the initial saving might be.

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Originally Posted by raysablade

My wife had her Phonaks for over two years now, and still loves them. She still keeps hearing things that she had forgotten make a sound.

One thing to bear in mind is the support you receive post purchase. She has very narrow ear canals and Boots have been fantastic with the adjustments to the hearing aid itself and manufacture of the specialist tips she requires. This has all been included in the initial purchase price, so whilst that was high she beleives that she has had great value overall.

I doubt this would be available with an online purchase however large the initial saving might be.

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While not hearing aid related per se. While they are many online options available, I continue to use bricks and mortar opticians for my spectacles for similar reasons. Although I do have a hideously strong and complex prescription.


Dave

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread but today I find myself in a very similar situation. Apparently, I’ve lost a lot of my mid-range frequencies, making it difficult to follow conversations in social settings, telephone calls with noisy backgrounds and much tv/film dialogue. I had a “free” hearing test at Hidden Hearing today and afterwards they plonked some hearing aids in only to then tell me that they would cost me the best part of £6k (including as many consultations/hearing tests allegedly for my lifetime). I was told that the older tech of NHS aids would mean I would not get as much benefit where there was significant background noise. I wasn’t expecting the cost to be anything like that and I left feeling they were trying to fleece me.

I’ve made an appointment to see my GP and two further private appointments to assess what they would charge.

I’ve read the rest of the thread but does anyone have any additional pearls of wisdom?

I’m not sure the ‘old tech of the NHS ones’ is correct, different situation I guess, but my lad (13) picked up his new NHS Bluetooth ones this morning and is very happy with them. He has some frequency loss too and is scheduled for perforated eardrum repair surgery but the entirety of children’s ENT surgery has been on hold for the last three months due to staff shortages.

Manchester NHS provided new bluetooth hearing aids to my mother last year and they have been very good (custom earpieces and a comprehensive testing and tuning procedure). One of the technicians said each hearing aid was about £2Ks worth. I'd try the NHS and see if you can get bluetooth aids. Good luck.

I mentioned higher up in this thread (a few years ago!) that I went for private hearing aids after years of satisfaction with the NHS ones, purely to access the new (at that time) MFI - made for iPhone - technology.

This is wonderful and means that calls are easier, and streaming music/podcasts a joy. I've not really used the 'Live Listen' referred to above but of course that's another advantage of MFI hearing aids.

Since then, my hospital has changed to newer models which also offer this and I collected a pair recently. When my private ones die I'll simply use the NHS ones - they're just as good and the service I get from the audiology department is superb.

I would strongly recommend at least starting with free NHS ones. If nothing else it means you have a spare pair to fall back on if you lose one or it stops working.

Good luck!
Martyn.

I've found that like a lot of services the operator is a big part of the job, the young lady(NHS) who set up my new aids was very thorough and made multiple adjustments until I was happy, I looked into a new private shop in town recently who quoted £2.5k ish for a pair he recommended, biggest difference, in ear models and so less wind noise when out in the car. I'll pass then
and stick to the external freebies and be uncool.

I have had completely in ear ones for the last 3 months, private from liverpool hearing centre. I must have had them for 2 months on trial before paying, they weren’t pushy at all.

I have two at £1400 each, with lifetime battery and aftercare. They are tiny, and very hard to spot. I could have got away with one, as one ear is much worse , and most of the time one works for me. I could have returned my left device, but I’ve opted to keep it.

Signia Silk 7x


If anywhere near Liverpool, I would recommend them

Dave


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My free NHS ( Oticon ) bluetooth aids work fine and can be adjusted using my android phone. They replaced my old NHS aids which were obsolete. Vast improvement.

My mother had Costco Kirkland aids. Bluetooth enabled and remote control for the volume

Costco also offers everything in one place

Behind the ear models. Think they also offer full in ear models by Phillips

https://aginginplace.org/wp-content/...o-kirkland.png

DON

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Originally Posted by docd

Manchester NHS provided new bluetooth hearing aids to my mother last year and they have been very good (custom earpieces and a comprehensive testing and tuning procedure). One of the technicians said each hearing aid was about £2Ks worth. I'd try the NHS and see if you can get bluetooth aids. Good luck.

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They really are not that much.
I used to run an NHS purchasing/procurement hub and we used to pay about £85 for a really good spec oticron or Phillips aid. I have had 2 aids since I was 5 and these are the type I still use for my complex needs.

I know that the tech has moved on but Bluetooth is not an expensive tech, there is no way the aids cost that much. The tuning, mould making and setup will cost more than the aid but nowhere near that amount.
My audiologist confirmed they were still as cheap when I put one through the washing machine last year, he just rolled his eyes and programmed a new one from the plentiful stock on his shelf.

That's more like a full lifetime cost for a patient.