Hearing Aids - how goes it?
Discussion
Today was the fitting day (clever tech). Really nice Audiology team at RPH in Preston
Things that are 'too' loud
...
My voice
My breathing
scratching my head
X3 Indicators
Tyre noise
Nylon coat
Man talking 2m away...
Boots shop assistant
jangling keys in the front door lock
Water tap
Microwave platter
Happy though! Just need to get used to them.
Things that are 'too' loud
...My voice
My breathing
scratching my head
X3 Indicators
Tyre noise
Nylon coat
Man talking 2m away...
Boots shop assistant
jangling keys in the front door lock
Water tap
Microwave platter
Happy though! Just need to get used to them.
Update:
Had my ear micro suctioned
and my HA went into full on meltdown mode, whistling, feedback, it was awful 
My hearing has improved fractionally so it was back to the audiologist for a full test and setup again (six trips since October).
It's working even better now, probably more useful than my good ear. I was in a noisy pub yesterday waiting for my Mrs to arrive from the shops and I nipped for a pee. Through two doors and against all the hubbub I could hear her voice, I *knew* it was her with certainty
Persist, they get better with time and attention...
How's everyone else getting on?
Had my ear micro suctioned
and my HA went into full on meltdown mode, whistling, feedback, it was awful My hearing has improved fractionally so it was back to the audiologist for a full test and setup again (six trips since October).
It's working even better now, probably more useful than my good ear. I was in a noisy pub yesterday waiting for my Mrs to arrive from the shops and I nipped for a pee. Through two doors and against all the hubbub I could hear her voice, I *knew* it was her with certainty
Persist, they get better with time and attention...
How's everyone else getting on?
It’s been a learning curve. I don’t like the wind and road noise in the car. I do like that I can hear in a crowd. The tv is easy to hear now and the wife is grateful for the volume drop. That’s the biggest difference - being able to hea the dialogue on the tv. I am using bass domes with two holes and found my voice muffled. Like a cold. I tried open cones - a little better but very trebly and sounded like they were on the verge of feedback all the time and gave me a headache! I’ve persevered with the bass domes. Batteries last 9 days or so.
At work it had only helped with hearing a very quiet team member. It was very interesting that two people came up to me and said they have hearing loss and were afraid to get hearing aids and seeing me helped them. All good so far. A new world opening up!
At work it had only helped with hearing a very quiet team member. It was very interesting that two people came up to me and said they have hearing loss and were afraid to get hearing aids and seeing me helped them. All good so far. A new world opening up!
Having had my NHS HA's tweaked and tweaked, I have almost given up with them. Feedback, small improvement with TV, answering the mobile is a b
h, noise in the car is terrible; everything I don't want to hear I hear, things I do want to hear I can't; noisy environments are terrible. Started to leave them out and revert back to lip reading and saying pardon 
Off for a look at the expensive end, bluetooth to phone and TV, programmable for different environments.
h, noise in the car is terrible; everything I don't want to hear I hear, things I do want to hear I can't; noisy environments are terrible. Started to leave them out and revert back to lip reading and saying pardon Off for a look at the expensive end, bluetooth to phone and TV, programmable for different environments.
I suffer from one duff ear and just general hearing loss in the other. I use coping methods - I'm getting quite good at lip reading - and telling people I am deaf in one ear. The main problems I have are in crowded areas with lots of people talking and, rather oddly it seemed to me, cinemas. It is a cacophony in both situations.
For reasons I won't bore you with I tried ear plugs, the little foam ones, in the cinema. Counter intuitive I know, but it made the audio so much clearer. It really is quite remarkable how it is improved. Lots of suggestions have been put forward, mainly that as no one else is talking there's an advantage.
I was at my very noisy rugby club. As I was working I stuck in the ear plugs in order to allow me to concentrate. The speech was clearer. Not totally clear but a significant improvement. I could hear those near me but the background hubbub was reduced.
My wife reckons that it is obvious I can hear better because I turn to those talking.
I've tried only putting in a plug on my deaf ear and only on my good (poorish) ear in both the club and cinema but if there is any improvement it is too small to notice.
No idea why. However, I was talking with a mechanic at a racing circuit who wore ear plugs and he said it wasn't just to reduce sound but to be able to understand people talking. That was years ago. I should have listened, but then I didn't have any ear plugs.
It works for me, to a limited extent it is true, but the improvement is noticeable.
For reasons I won't bore you with I tried ear plugs, the little foam ones, in the cinema. Counter intuitive I know, but it made the audio so much clearer. It really is quite remarkable how it is improved. Lots of suggestions have been put forward, mainly that as no one else is talking there's an advantage.
I was at my very noisy rugby club. As I was working I stuck in the ear plugs in order to allow me to concentrate. The speech was clearer. Not totally clear but a significant improvement. I could hear those near me but the background hubbub was reduced.
My wife reckons that it is obvious I can hear better because I turn to those talking.
I've tried only putting in a plug on my deaf ear and only on my good (poorish) ear in both the club and cinema but if there is any improvement it is too small to notice.
No idea why. However, I was talking with a mechanic at a racing circuit who wore ear plugs and he said it wasn't just to reduce sound but to be able to understand people talking. That was years ago. I should have listened, but then I didn't have any ear plugs.
It works for me, to a limited extent it is true, but the improvement is noticeable.
Update to the update:
Just when it's going well I got smacked in the ear last night (A girl went to give me a birthday smacker, grabbed my head and accidentally smacked me right in the HA)
Off to the GP in a min, can't get the bugger in this morning and when I do it's a whistle-fest.
Oh well, persistence is a virtue...
Just when it's going well I got smacked in the ear last night (A girl went to give me a birthday smacker, grabbed my head and accidentally smacked me right in the HA)
Off to the GP in a min, can't get the bugger in this morning and when I do it's a whistle-fest.
Oh well, persistence is a virtue...
Had an appointment today (full test) with Specsavers. Said I needed an aid in each ear. My hearing is bad enough that I don't mind throwing some pennies to improve but, having indulged in some additional research (searching PH), maybe I should get down the NHS.
Chap today said I'd have to be referred to hospital (rather than NHS thru specsavers) as I'm too young(!) for their funding in this area, but there was an element of a restricted choice/style/capability of the NHS offering.
Chap today said I'd have to be referred to hospital (rather than NHS thru specsavers) as I'm too young(!) for their funding in this area, but there was an element of a restricted choice/style/capability of the NHS offering.
22 said:
Had an appointment today (full test) with Specsavers. Said I needed an aid in each ear. My hearing is bad enough that I don't mind throwing some pennies to improve but, having indulged in some additional research (searching PH), maybe I should get down the NHS.
Chap today said I'd have to be referred to hospital (rather than NHS thru specsavers) as I'm too young(!) for their funding in this area, but there was an element of a restricted choice/style/capability of the NHS offering.
I'd get referred by the NHS first. Private ones might be a bit better in terms of sound quality, but a Specsavers hearing assessment is nothing compared to a proper one done in a quiet room.Chap today said I'd have to be referred to hospital (rather than NHS thru specsavers) as I'm too young(!) for their funding in this area, but there was an element of a restricted choice/style/capability of the NHS offering.
22 said:
Had an appointment today (full test) with Specsavers. Said I needed an aid in each ear. My hearing is bad enough that I don't mind throwing some pennies to improve but, having indulged in some additional research (searching PH), maybe I should get down the NHS.
Chap today said I'd have to be referred to hospital (rather than NHS thru specsavers) as I'm too young(!) for their funding in this area, but there was an element of a restricted choice/style/capability of the NHS offering.
I really hate having to thump this tub, but “private” hearing aids are NOT inherently better than NHS hearing aids. You can easily get, say, a Phonak, via the NHS, and equally, get the exact same hearing aid from a private supplier. Does that mean the privately sourced aid is going sound better than the NHS one? Chap today said I'd have to be referred to hospital (rather than NHS thru specsavers) as I'm too young(!) for their funding in this area, but there was an element of a restricted choice/style/capability of the NHS offering.
There only real difference going private makes is that you tend to have access wider range of aids on the market, as opposed to a narrower range on the NHS, for obvious reasons – and even at that, the range will differ between NHS trusts depending on contracts. Most private clinics will still be only be able to offer you aids from certain manufacturers, unless you get a completely independent audiologist who is happy and able to procure anything you want.
Hearing is exceedingly fickle, and hearing aids are like cars in that they all do the same basic thing. However, like cars, they all do it differently, some subtly, others not so much.
You could very easily take a “money no object” approach and buy the very latest, most expensive hearing aid on the market, and it could still sound sh*t to your ears. So going private does not in any way guarantee that you are going to walk away with hearing aids that work perfectly for you.
My advice, as always, is to exhaust NHS options first, then if no dice, go private.
Also, getting a really good audiologist is every bit as crucial to the whole thing as the hearing aid itself.
TheJimi said:
22 said:
Had an appointment today (full test) with Specsavers. Said I needed an aid in each ear. My hearing is bad enough that I don't mind throwing some pennies to improve but, having indulged in some additional research (searching PH), maybe I should get down the NHS.
Chap today said I'd have to be referred to hospital (rather than NHS thru specsavers) as I'm too young(!) for their funding in this area, but there was an element of a restricted choice/style/capability of the NHS offering.
I really hate having to thump this tub, but “private” hearing aids are NOT inherently better than NHS hearing aids. You can easily get, say, a Phonak, via the NHS, and equally, get the exact same hearing aid from a private supplier. Does that mean the privately sourced aid is going sound better than the NHS one? Chap today said I'd have to be referred to hospital (rather than NHS thru specsavers) as I'm too young(!) for their funding in this area, but there was an element of a restricted choice/style/capability of the NHS offering.
There only real difference going private makes is that you tend to have access wider range of aids on the market, as opposed to a narrower range on the NHS, for obvious reasons – and even at that, the range will differ between NHS trusts depending on contracts. Most private clinics will still be only be able to offer you aids from certain manufacturers, unless you get a completely independent audiologist who is happy and able to procure anything you want.
Hearing is exceedingly fickle, and hearing aids are like cars in that they all do the same basic thing. However, like cars, they all do it differently, some subtly, others not so much.
You could very easily take a “money no object” approach and buy the very latest, most expensive hearing aid on the market, and it could still sound sh*t to your ears. So going private does not in any way guarantee that you are going to walk away with hearing aids that work perfectly for you.
My advice, as always, is to exhaust NHS options first, then if no dice, go private.
Also, getting a really good audiologist is every bit as crucial to the whole thing as the hearing aid itself.
I have plenty of private choices locally (retirement area) but went NHS - couldn't be faulted. Even though I have private health insurance and my BiL is an ENT Consultant who said pretty much as above.
just as someone that bought hearing aids for his father back in the day, I found a company selling them quite a bit cheaper then most private firms, the audiologist came around and did the tests at home etc which was good.
He did say that one of the problems was that lots of things appeared too loud when you first got them, since you were so used to not hearing them, many of the things mentioned above, so the first instinct of people was to ask to have them turned down a bit, totally defeating the point of them. My old man hated the sound of himself eating, so whenever he ate, he took them out...
Depending on which models you have, take a look and see if any ancillary devices are sold for them, for my dads (Widex) i bought a phone which when he put it to his ear streamed directly to the hearing aids, and also a tv streaming device which beamed it directly to the aids.
He did say that one of the problems was that lots of things appeared too loud when you first got them, since you were so used to not hearing them, many of the things mentioned above, so the first instinct of people was to ask to have them turned down a bit, totally defeating the point of them. My old man hated the sound of himself eating, so whenever he ate, he took them out...
Depending on which models you have, take a look and see if any ancillary devices are sold for them, for my dads (Widex) i bought a phone which when he put it to his ear streamed directly to the hearing aids, and also a tv streaming device which beamed it directly to the aids.
Is there anything out there for someone (i.e. me) who has total hearing loss (dead nerve) in 1 ear?
I manage fine 95% of the time but struggle in noisy environments. A normal hearing aid would be no use for me as it doesn't matter how loud the noise is, I still won't hear it in the 'bad ear'. (Assuming most normal aids just amplify the sound for that ear).
I manage fine 95% of the time but struggle in noisy environments. A normal hearing aid would be no use for me as it doesn't matter how loud the noise is, I still won't hear it in the 'bad ear'. (Assuming most normal aids just amplify the sound for that ear).
How good is the good ear? One option would be a pair of aids that transmit the sound from the "bad" side to the other. So you still get mono but don't miss so much.
Or a cochlear implant. But the funding can be tricky.
FWIW I've just got NHS aids at the ripe old age of 47, having first noticed an issue in my 20s. And my son had bilateral cochlear implants last year aged 10 which are next to miraculous, frankly! Absolutely amazing things.
Or a cochlear implant. But the funding can be tricky.
FWIW I've just got NHS aids at the ripe old age of 47, having first noticed an issue in my 20s. And my son had bilateral cochlear implants last year aged 10 which are next to miraculous, frankly! Absolutely amazing things.
And I've caught up with the thread. I've had a fairly similar experience, although it's gone smoother than some here. I'm now three months in...
Hearing my feet in the carpet took a bit of getting used to and it occasionally takes me a while to realise I'm listening to change in my pocket. Wind noise is my main bugbear but I think I'm getting used to it.
And the occasionally startle myself by being too loud.
Hearing my feet in the carpet took a bit of getting used to and it occasionally takes me a while to realise I'm listening to change in my pocket.
Wind noise is my main bugbear but I think I'm getting used to it.And the occasionally startle myself by being too loud.
Bill said:
How good is the good ear? One option would be a pair of aids that transmit the sound from the "bad" side to the other. So you still get mono but don't miss so much.
Or a cochlear implant. But the funding can be tricky.
FWIW I've just got NHS aids at the ripe old age of 47, having first noticed an issue in my 20s. And my son had bilateral cochlear implants last year aged 10 which are next to miraculous, frankly! Absolutely amazing things.
Good ear is perfect. Just wondering how much benefit I'll get from having one that transmits sound to the good ear. Will noisy environments still be difficult etcOr a cochlear implant. But the funding can be tricky.
FWIW I've just got NHS aids at the ripe old age of 47, having first noticed an issue in my 20s. And my son had bilateral cochlear implants last year aged 10 which are next to miraculous, frankly! Absolutely amazing things.
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