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?