Hearing Tests and Appliances

[Manoverboard]

Went to the Docs about something totally unrelated to this topic but during our little chat he sensed that I was occasionally finding it a tad difficult to hear what he was saying. He advised he would refer me to the audio suite at the Hospital .... so

Is it best to go NHS or Privately for the tests and / or the appliances ?

My thoughts presently are that the NHS may, or indeed may not, be free but they will not be as technically advanced as the private sector.

What is the experienced view, please ?

[david63]

Because my mother was hard of hearing I was concerned that I might be going the same way so I had a hearing test at the doctors a couple of years ago. This was actually outsourced to a hearing aid company. I was found to have a slight hearing loss and was prescribed hearing aids which were totally free (including replacement batteries for life) on the NHS.

Whilst these hearing aids did help a bit they did not do what I wanted. The hearing aids are the behind the ear type which are great for listening to conversations behind you but hopeless for listening to people in front of you. When Covid came along I gave up with them, partly because I was not meeting people but also there is a limit as to what you can get behind your ears (mask, glasses, hearing aid - something had to go!).

The NHS hearing aids are reasonably good but they are definitely at the lower end of hearing aid technology.

My suggestion would be to start off going down the NHS route and take it from there - going privately, especially at the start, is a very expensive road to go down.

[Onelife]

Hi Mob…my wife keeps telling me that I need a hearing aid...little does she know

Not that I have any experience in such matters but what David has suggested seems the way to go, especially so if you’ve only just noticed some hearing deficiencies. (You will need more than paracetamol if you go down the private route) I know a couple of friends (yes, I do have some) who get on very well with NHS hearing aids, they’re not the big chunky things you used to carry round your lug holes, indeed the ones I have seen are quite small and hardly noticeable.

[Stephen]

I had a hearing test for my tinnitus recently at the hospital as an NHS patient. Found it very thorough. Being a tight bu99er why pay a fortune for basically the same test just because their machine might be a bit shinier.

[Stephen]

Hi Mob…my wife keeps telling me that I need a hearing aid...little does she know

Not that I have any experience in such matters but what David has suggested seems the way to go, especially so if you’ve only just noticed some hearing deficiencies. (You will need more than paracetamol if you go down the private route) I know a couple of friends (yes, I do have some) who get on very well with NHS hearing aids, they’re not the big chunky things you used to carry round your lug holes, indeed the ones I have seen are quite small and hardly noticeable.

I'm doing a nice line at the moment Keith in hearing trumpets if your interested.

[Gill W]

I have some hearing loss in one ear, and I went to the audiology department at the local hospital for my hearing tests, and they provided me with a hearing aid on the NHS

My experience was very similar to David's. The first time I wore them was in a cafe, and I could hear every word of the conversation happening behind me! The thing I really didn't like was that it picked up every rustle of my clothing - it was a real reminder that I was wearing it. Also, the little 'withdrawal cord for the part that goes in the ear would never stay in place and I was constantly having to fiddle with it.

As my other ear is fine, I gave up with them in the end. Also, as David said, wearing a mask, glasses and a hearing aid would be a lot of ear furniture. However, if had hearing loss in both ears, I think I would have persevered, as I'm aware that I sometimes miss things if someone is talking to me on my 'bad' side.

But I think the hospital is a good place to start, and you could always go private later if you didn't get on with the NHS hearing aids

[Onelife]

I'm doing a nice line at the moment Keith in hearing trumpets if your interested.

No thanks Stephen, the last one you sold me still had the earwax attached to it….cheap but tacky as always!

[Whynd1]

My father has had hearing aids for the last few years. Went privately to Boots chemist. Aids cost £1000 each, and that was about 5 years ago.

He finds it difficult to get on with them.
He only wears them about 30% of the time.

Boots are very good at sorting him out and ensuring they are working correctly.

Lindsey

[Manoverboard]

Thanks guys ... that was extremely useful and certainly a tad amusing

Our (ex) daughter in law wears the NHS ones on both ears and thinks they're ok but armed with my new info I will have to ask our grand children if they talk about her behind her back

I would share the mask / glasses / hearing aid difficulty with Gill and David, add to that the vision of having to walk backwards everywhere leads me to the conclusion that I will probably go private. The cost would not be insignificant of course but it would doubtless be less than one cruise and as we haven't had one of those since 2017 it would still make good economic sense.

The ideal device for me would be one that can pick up Mobietta asking me questions with her head in the cupboard under the stairs ... any suggestions ?

Any other experiences would still be much appreciated.

[Onelife]

Yes! While Mobietta has her head in the cupboard under the stairs you could give give her a little shove then you won’t see or hear her

[kaymar]

My wife says I never listen to her - at least I think that's what she says.

Realising that I was finding it more difficult to hear, particularly some poorly enunciated TV programmes, I took up the offer of a free hearing test at a private clinic. After a thorough test, it seemed that it had nothing to do with volume, but that I had difficulty distinguishing between "soft" sounds - "s", "f", "th" etc, but was assured that this could easily be overcome by the purchase of two fairly small, unobtrusive, state of the art, behind the ear hearing aids. Just in from the USA and mine for only £5,000. I think that may have been each but I was out of the door without bothering to clarify.

I went to the audiology clinic at the hospital. Had an equally thorough test, reached the same conclusion, was offered the same solution with appliances identical in appearance and completely free, with a card to get new batteries whenever required, also free, from any local supplier.

At first, I wore them all the time but soon found out how and where I needed them most and now, to be honest, I probably only bother putting them in a couple of times a month.

So, my unqualified advice is NHS everytime and only if that fails then try elsewhere.

As for my wife, the clinician kindly gave us some guidance in communication, e.g try to make sure you are in the same room, or at least the same building so that you can be sure that the person to whom you are speaking has a fair chance of hearing what you are saying. It worked for a while.

[Frank Manning]

I have hereditary otosclerosis in my right ear, for which I was forced by the NHS to obtain a private hearing aid. £1000 (half price). I used it for the first time on a cruise. It amplified the conversation on the table behind us however it was useless for the rest of its range. Now I have Kaymars's problem in the left ear, and I have to have the subtitles on the TV. I'm going to take his advice and go to the Doctor.

[Manoverboard]

My wife says I never listen to her - at least I think that's what she says.

Realising that I was finding it more difficult to hear, particularly some poorly enunciated TV programmes, I took up the offer of a free hearing test at a private clinic. After a thorough test, it seemed that it had nothing to do with volume, but that I had difficulty distinguishing between "soft" sounds - "s", "f", "th" etc ,

As for my wife, the clinician kindly gave us some guidance in communication, e.g try to make sure you are in the same room, or at least the same building so that you can be sure that the person to whom you are speaking has a fair chance of hearing what you are saying. It worked for a while.

We obviously live in a parallel universe

Thanks for that ... Kaymar

[Stephen]

Thanks guys ... that was extremely useful and certainly a tad amusing

Our (ex) daughter in law wears the NHS ones on both ears and thinks they're ok but armed with my new info I will have to ask our grand children if they talk about her behind her back

I would share the mask / glasses / hearing aid difficulty with Gill and David, add to that the vision of having to walk backwards everywhere leads me to the conclusion that I will probably go private. The cost would not be insignificant of course but it would doubtless be less than one cruise and as we haven't had one of those since 2017 it would still make good economic sense.

The ideal device for me would be one that can pick up Mobietta asking me questions with her head in the cupboard under the stairs ... any suggestions ?

Any other experiences would still be much appreciated.

You need one of these Moby

A3406E13-FFE2-4AD9-B0E1-9C1870FFB518.jpeg

[allatc]

I had hearing aids from specsavers for several years but decided I need new ones which I got from the NHS.
They are just as good as the Specsavers ones.
The difference is that the Specsavers bit that goes in your ear is on the end of a thin wire whereas the NHS ones are at the end of a thin tube which periodically needs cleaning (using a kit supplied with tjem).
So, in summary, save yourself some money and get NHS ones.
If you find they don'e suit you you can then splash out large sums of money.

[Manoverboard]

... So, in summary, save yourself some money and get NHS ones.
If you find they don'e suit you you can then splash out large sums of money.

Your advice, thank you, seems to be a re-occurring theme

Add to that an omen in the guise of a letter from the NHS confirming my referral.

[Kendhni]

My hearing issue seems to come from spending too much time on the firing range. I can hear reasonably well but not when there is significant background noise (I cannot separate the conversation from the background noise). I got an NHS test and they said I was struggling with the hard 'C'/'K' and the 'E' sounds. The doctor assembled a small over the ear device there and then and there is no doubt it helped but I found it to be very hissy/treble in sound. Unfortunately about 3 months later I accidentally stood on it ... ironically on my way to a SpecSavers appointment ... and that was the end of that.

A friend of ours had a similar device and she sad it was OK, but after a few months she splashed out on a privately made in-ear device (no idea how much) and she said it was like chalk-and-cheese ... much better.

[Manoverboard]

I raised this Topic way back in June ... It is now November !

I had the referral confirmation followed by an appointment which unfortunately I had to axe because of the crass parking facilities at their chosen Hospital and a heatwave. I was however able to attend the re-arranged appointment. We will let you know when your new ears are ready ... right, thank you

Yesterday was the BIG day, they had arrived albeit with two right ears and no left one. I politely enquired how many people have both ears on the same side but was assured this doesn't happen very often. I asked for a compo form but couldn't hear his reply.

So ... armed with my new ears ear and a warning not to drive and to only wear them it for a short period of time to give my brain time to get used to them it we set off for home

Unbelievable, what are all these new sounds

Pre my new ears ear Mobietta liked the TV volume set at about 20-25 whereas I was inching towards 40-45 plus subtitles , Now I could hear the TV very clearly at volume level 12, I will need to turn the volume down a tad and in truth would like a little more bass and less treble, perhaps the audiologist could do this for me when I go back for my left ear.

[Stephen]

Sounds to me like the left ear doesn’t know what the right is doing