Can I ask a question. Does anyone have any experience with hearing aids, either in a professional capacity or as a user? You get absolutely bombarded with adverts all claiming to have the worlds smallest, loudest, clearest etc etc. I am aware that for years now I have had poor hearing stemming back to the 80’s when I spent too many hours working in night clubs. I can hear, just not as well as I would like! So, can anyone share their experience or advice please?

Rather than look for advice on the internet, you need to be assessed professionally, either by making an NHS referral through your GP or by making an appointment with a local private audiologist. Ignore the ads, and ignore any other well meaning advice - until your hearing has been properly assessed any advice or recommendations are valueless.

And don’t watch youtube videos either. Remember the influencers. 🤪

Gagaryn So would you day GP referral rather than go to one of the ‘experts’ like Boots? Most equipment associated with the NHS used to be more bargain basement……

dfk41 Like I said, your choice. My advice is simply to see someone qualified to make an assessment of your hearing rather than listen to randoms on the internet. Even an assessment of your hearing with bargain basement NHS equipment will be more use than that.

dfk41 My mum had a hearing test, got them free on the NHS, very small very advanced. So definitely don’t go buying them from spec savers etc.. Free batteries too. Just get a GP referral.

Gagaryn Of course, that is exactly what I will do! I trust advice from the internet as much as I do going to bed at night thinking the moon is made of cheese. I had hoped someone would retort I went to Specsavers and found the service **********(fill in at will) whilst another gave their opinion regarding Boots.

DavecUK Am seeing my friendly GP this Friday for a Cortisone injection! Must write it down or I will forget!

@dfk41 at the grand age of 41 i have now had hearing aids for around 11 years albeit i only use them at night if im watching TV. In the Navy i was issued with some really nice aids, annoyingly not long after leaving the service the originals failed and i was then at the mercy of the NHS, whilst the service has been faultless the hearing aids themselves are rather basic. The ones i have now make everything loud, including ambient noise….so i find them frustrating. If i was wearing them during the day them 100% i would be going private and investing in some good quality advanced ones, the medium-top end are very good now at localising noise to focus only on the subject you are listening to, TV,person etc etc. no harm in trying the NHS route first, each trust is different so you might end up with some great aids. Worse case is the NHS ones dont suit and you go private anyway

Arron24 That is sound advice matey. We seem similar in our needs. TV is a particular problem for me. If I was alone I would just put sub titles on! In a sentence, I can usually hear the first few words but the latter ones I miss, so I end up having to try and guess it! Sometimes you get it right, more often wrong!

dfk41 100% much to my wifes annoyance 🤣 I lost 2 of the 3 bones in my middle ear during surgery but married with 3 kids i quite enjoy being hard of hearing!

Hearing Aids

dfk41

DCJ Thanks very much. Like many things in life, nothing is straight forward!

JHCCoffee

I’ve had many brands of hearing aids over 15 years. Best for hearing clarity is Phonak. Best for adjustability via Iphone app is Jabra Resound. They also sell a “multimike” that I connect to my PC for direct PC to hearing aid audio (MS Teams calls, etc.). But Phonak wins hands down for speech clarity. And I’m betting I can now get Jabra style tech from Phonak. Fyi, I buy from Costco Canada at ½ the price of other private retailers. My insurance plan pays $1,000 CDN, the government pay $1,000 CDN and I kick in $500 to $1,000 depending upon what accessories I buy. Read up and come armed with lots of questions. Its amazing what they don’t tell you. I have lost count of the “I wished had known” topics.$

dfk41

JHCCoffee It is a whole new topic for me. I am going to see my doctor this week and explore that route first. My hearing issue has been around for 30 years so I guess that’s I have proved I can live with it, but on the other hand I also accept that a hearing aid could make life simpler. I do not know if over here the government chip in if you do not go down the NHS route. There is some good info coming out folks, thanks.

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