Hearing aids, how much!
Discussion
eldar said:
A couple of neighbors have recently said they reall need hearing aids, but they appea to cost between 4 and 6 thousand pounds.
Two top end iPhones per ear, seems very expensive.
Are they really so pricey, or are they being ripped off?
It dependsTwo top end iPhones per ear, seems very expensive.
Are they really so pricey, or are they being ripped off?
https://www.hearingaidknow.com/hearing-aid-prices-...
The NHS will provide free hearing aids.
If you want something different you will pay £500 - £3500 from a private provider.
Facts about hearing aids here
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/hearing-...
If you want something different you will pay £500 - £3500 from a private provider.
Facts about hearing aids here
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/hearing-...
sparkythecat said:
The NHS will provide free hearing aids.
If you want something different you will pay £500 - £3500 from a private provider.
Facts about hearing aids here
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/hearing-...
My dad paid over the top end of that for his. They were crap and he now has nhs ones that he rates much more highly.If you want something different you will pay £500 - £3500 from a private provider.
Facts about hearing aids here
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/hearing-...
Our neighbour went to a hearing aid presentation in a local hotel and signed up for some for £3500.
A guy came to his house to fit them, they send batteries (which I gather is no small expense) and they come to the house on call to deal with any issues, breakages etc. Last time they guy arrived in a new Merc GLE Coupe.
Neighbour says he's amazed by the business case that allows this as he's never paid anything beyond the initial £3500. The profit margin must be absolutely immense.
A guy came to his house to fit them, they send batteries (which I gather is no small expense) and they come to the house on call to deal with any issues, breakages etc. Last time they guy arrived in a new Merc GLE Coupe.
Neighbour says he's amazed by the business case that allows this as he's never paid anything beyond the initial £3500. The profit margin must be absolutely immense.
I'm sure none of the hearing aids sold in the UK look like these, oh no...
https://www.made-in-china.com/productdirectory.do?...
https://www.made-in-china.com/productdirectory.do?...
The NHS have provided me with hearing aids for the last 35 years. The staff in audiology departments have always been friendly, helpful and efficient, and the devices excellent. If they go wrong, they are instantly replaced. Batteries are supplied free of charge on request.
I have never understood why anybody should even momentarily consider paying for hearing aids in this country. If they think that privately supplied aids may be smaller and less conspicuous (which I doubt) then they are fools to believe there is something shameful about being deaf that needs hiding.
The whole market in commercial hearing aid supply simply baffles me.
I have never understood why anybody should even momentarily consider paying for hearing aids in this country. If they think that privately supplied aids may be smaller and less conspicuous (which I doubt) then they are fools to believe there is something shameful about being deaf that needs hiding.
The whole market in commercial hearing aid supply simply baffles me.
Roofless Toothless said:
The NHS have provided me with hearing aids for the last 35 years. The staff in audiology departments have always been friendly, helpful and efficient, and the devices excellent. If they go wrong, they are instantly replaced. Batteries are supplied free of charge on request.
I have never understood why anybody should even momentarily consider paying for hearing aids in this country. If they think that privately supplied aids may be smaller and less conspicuous (which I doubt) then they are fools to believe there is something shameful about being deaf that needs hiding.
The whole market in commercial hearing aid supply simply baffles me.
If ever I need hearing aids I intend to have bright blue ones to publicise that I have them and that there's no shame in it. I wear glasses to help me see and occasionally use a walking stick to help me get around when my arthritis is bad - what's the difference?I have never understood why anybody should even momentarily consider paying for hearing aids in this country. If they think that privately supplied aids may be smaller and less conspicuous (which I doubt) then they are fools to believe there is something shameful about being deaf that needs hiding.
The whole market in commercial hearing aid supply simply baffles me.
Roofless Toothless said:
I have never understood why anybody should even momentarily consider paying for hearing aids in this country. If they think that privately supplied aids may be smaller and less conspicuous (which I doubt) then they are fools to believe there is something shameful about being deaf that needs hiding.
You can get in ear ones or thinner tubes, and presumably some more functionality like music streaming but I agree. I have been asked whether I'd considered something more discrete so it is a consideration for some.I basically said they were rude for asking
and no, because I don't give a s
t.I have considered trying the in ear ones because wind noise is an issue, but a hat is much cheaper.
The NHS do supply very good hearing aids but I believe the model varies from region to another. I have been very pleased with the service I have received from the NHS at no cost at all and as was said the staff are friendly and properly trained. I got an MRI (?) scan as part of my treatment to make sure my hearing loss couldn't be reversed.
That said a friend has been profoundly deaf from a very young age and he thinks he has just got excellent value for money on his £3k aids as they really do perform better than the NHS ones. He has the money and perhaps more importantly possibly more experience than the salesman. He now hears better than he has ever before. It's mostly down to sophisticated software I think.
You pays your money etc.
Me? I'd go NHS as they are real experts.
That said a friend has been profoundly deaf from a very young age and he thinks he has just got excellent value for money on his £3k aids as they really do perform better than the NHS ones. He has the money and perhaps more importantly possibly more experience than the salesman. He now hears better than he has ever before. It's mostly down to sophisticated software I think.
You pays your money etc.
Me? I'd go NHS as they are real experts.
Get them to go to Boots.
I recently helped a hard of hearing relative purchase two in ear canal aids.
I was quoted £4495 by the first private hearing aid seller.
Went to boots. Was quoted £2995 for exactly the same aids and they had a deal going with an extra £500 off (it ended January 31st though I believe) so £2445 all in with follow up appointments, back up, warranty etc and they even gave us a Boots card and stuck £2445 worth of points on it.
Service was great and we saved £2000.
I recently helped a hard of hearing relative purchase two in ear canal aids.
I was quoted £4495 by the first private hearing aid seller.
Went to boots. Was quoted £2995 for exactly the same aids and they had a deal going with an extra £500 off (it ended January 31st though I believe) so £2445 all in with follow up appointments, back up, warranty etc and they even gave us a Boots card and stuck £2445 worth of points on it.
Service was great and we saved £2000.
Bill said:
Gameface said:
I know you believe that to be cutting edge satire, but it's not.
You're a childish idiot.
So am I. I do the same pretty much every time the subject of my deafness comes up, and my wife regularly falls for it. You're a childish idiot.
He wouldn't make fun of someone with hearing loss to their face, but thinks it's hilarious on the internet.
Roofless Toothless said:
The NHS have provided me with hearing aids for the last 35 years. The staff in audiology departments have always been friendly, helpful and efficient, and the devices excellent. If they go wrong, they are instantly replaced. Batteries are supplied free of charge on request.
I have never understood why anybody should even momentarily consider paying for hearing aids in this country. If they think that privately supplied aids may be smaller and less conspicuous (which I doubt) then they are fools to believe there is something shameful about being deaf that needs hiding.
The whole market in commercial hearing aid supply simply baffles me.
You get what you pay for.I have never understood why anybody should even momentarily consider paying for hearing aids in this country. If they think that privately supplied aids may be smaller and less conspicuous (which I doubt) then they are fools to believe there is something shameful about being deaf that needs hiding.
The whole market in commercial hearing aid supply simply baffles me.
In some regions the NHS ones are OK but never the very latest tech.
The tech is moving very fast.
There are many kinds of hearing loss and different tech is used in each type.
It’s not a question of making noise louder. Most people have lost a particular range of frequency and only need those frequencies boosted.
Hearing aids are like cars, the more you pay generally the more they do but each improvement step gets less and less.
The improvement steps are about making your hearing as “natural as possible” and making the aid smaller and smaller, making the bit that goes inside your ear “custom made”, making the aids rechargeable (no battery change), making aids (L&R) work together via blue tooth, making your aids settings adjustable via your phone, improved noisy room performance etc etc.
These are all useful enhancements and have different value to different people. Also these enhancements can be maximised by your practitioner taking time to set them up exactly for your needs. This takes more than a 5 minute hearing test. Also needs to be adjusted every year.
I don't think that joke was disrespectful, just a bit tired. You do hear it a lot, and as with a lot of these things, people think we're all hearing it for the first time.
For what it's worth, my sons have a habit of creeping up behind me and softly whistling, just to see me make a grab for the volume controls on my aids!
It's nothing to be ashamed of. About one in ten people have hearing problems. Some folks go for contact lenses and corrective eye surgery to avoid wearing glasses. On the other hand, Elton John makes a living out of them.
Perhaps I have been lucky to live in a 'good' area for audiology services. I have chatted with the technicians I see there to remark how their department has a much more pleasant atmosphere than the rest of the hospital. I suggested it was because it was staffed with people who didn't spend their days up to their elbows in blood, watching people in pain and dying, anxious and scared. (Nobody dies of being deaf - except if you get knocked down crossing the road.) And by and large, people walk out after a short time, feeling better and with their problems solved.
They didn't disagree.
My own NHS AIDS are digital models, and are personally tuned to my hearing loss pattern. They make two charts that look like graphic equaliser displays on your hi-fi, and adjust the devices to amplify more in the low parts of the curve than in the highs. Do you get better than that in the high street? I have asked how much they cost the NHS and have been told sums in the same range as those advertised. They are by Oticon, which I believe is a premiere brand.
I wonder if the people who go into shops and buy them actually realise the NHS will supply the same thing. The TV adverts never make comparisons with NHS supplied services. Perhaps they just want people to think buying them is what you have to do.
For what it's worth, my sons have a habit of creeping up behind me and softly whistling, just to see me make a grab for the volume controls on my aids!
It's nothing to be ashamed of. About one in ten people have hearing problems. Some folks go for contact lenses and corrective eye surgery to avoid wearing glasses. On the other hand, Elton John makes a living out of them.
Perhaps I have been lucky to live in a 'good' area for audiology services. I have chatted with the technicians I see there to remark how their department has a much more pleasant atmosphere than the rest of the hospital. I suggested it was because it was staffed with people who didn't spend their days up to their elbows in blood, watching people in pain and dying, anxious and scared. (Nobody dies of being deaf - except if you get knocked down crossing the road.) And by and large, people walk out after a short time, feeling better and with their problems solved.
They didn't disagree.
My own NHS AIDS are digital models, and are personally tuned to my hearing loss pattern. They make two charts that look like graphic equaliser displays on your hi-fi, and adjust the devices to amplify more in the low parts of the curve than in the highs. Do you get better than that in the high street? I have asked how much they cost the NHS and have been told sums in the same range as those advertised. They are by Oticon, which I believe is a premiere brand.
I wonder if the people who go into shops and buy them actually realise the NHS will supply the same thing. The TV adverts never make comparisons with NHS supplied services. Perhaps they just want people to think buying them is what you have to do.
Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff