Hearing and hearing aids
Hearing and hearing aids
Author
Discussion

andyxxx

Original Poster:

1,302 posts

245 months

Thursday
quotequote all
There doesn’t seem to be much info on the forum regarding hearing aids.

My hearing at 65 is deteriorating in both ears, but one is worse than the other. I’m not particularly vain, but because I’m bald, would rather have ‘in ear’ – or is this a bad idea? The other reason for in ear is that I do a fairly hands on job and play sports and want the least hassle possible.

I had a test a couple of years ago but didn’t particularly like the tester or the company’s hard sell approach. My hearing has got worse since then so I have to do something.

I have had a quick look at the different manufacturers and of course they are all selling the best product!
The big boys are very expensive (£2500ish upwards.) Is it worth looking at unnamed aids as a quick search brings up loads of hearing aids for a tenth of the price – or am I correct thinking they will be fairly poor in all respects?

Anything else I should consider?

alangla

5,870 posts

199 months

Thursday
quotequote all
Try Boots, I got mine from there. No hard sell (indeed I had a hearing test a few years ago that showed a loss but was told it wasn’t worth doing anything about) and the only thing you pay for is the actual hearing aids. £1500 should get you a decent set. I believe the choice between in-ear and external is often more about whether you can still hear to a reasonable extent or not. Either way, it’s worth making an appointment for the test & then deciding if you want to go further or not.

Vsix and Vtec

1,088 posts

36 months

Thursday
quotequote all
Talk to your GP. My partner has a pair of Oticon hearing aids through the NHS. They're fairly discreet, have the T loop function and can be tweaked via an app on her phone.

andyxxx

Original Poster:

1,302 posts

245 months

Thursday
quotequote all
Vsix and Vtec said:
Talk to your GP. My partner has a pair of Oticon hearing aids through the NHS. They're fairly discreet, have the T loop function and can be tweaked via an app on her phone.
Thank you, It may be worth a call to my Doctors.

If I’m lucky I will get a 10 mins phone slot in two to three weeks and then the doctor will probably refer me – but if I get a consultation within a year I would be surprised. I also understand the NHS prescribe the older technology and no in ear aids.

Hill92

5,036 posts

208 months

Thursday
quotequote all
Try a local independent rather than the big chains: https://www.aihhp.org/find-a-member/

There are different types of "in ear" hearing aids. Depending on the extent of your hearing loss you may have to go with Receiver in Canal (RIC)/Behind The Ear (RIC) model.

Avoid the cheap no-name models and "hearing glasses" sold in newspaper ads.

https://www.hearingtracker.com/

Aim to get a model that supports Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast. If you're an Apple user, also look for Made for iPhone (MFi).

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/106341

The Android equivalent is ASHA.

The key thing when you get aids is that you need to wear them all the time. They're not like reading glasses that you can just put on when needed. Your brain needs to adapt to the new sound.

If you really struggle to understand speech, there are also captioning apps that can be used on your phone.

C70GT

331 posts

105 months

Thursday
quotequote all
My wife has two behind the ear Phonak aids via the NHS. No issues and has good clarity. Fairly discreet - she has short hair and not obvious at all.

Blue M5 Comp

823 posts

177 months

I had an hearing test last week due to having issues with hearing the TV and noisy places and events and lastly on the phone
Went to Specsavers and I have moderate hearing loss but require hearing aids
having these fittind on the 29th of October
https://www.resound.com/en-gb/hearing-aids/resound...
I am 57 and bald but not concerned about getting them fitted and hope they help me with my everyday life
I will keep this thread updated

nordboy

2,564 posts

68 months

Yesterday (07:00)
quotequote all
I'm positive my wife needs hearing aids, she misses so much speech wise and always has the TV loud, or in the last 6-12 months has resorted to having subtitles on the screen to help. If that's not showing an issue, I don't know what would??

BUT, she absolutely refuses to go and get it checked out, probably because she knows they'll tell her she needs HA's, and she's so against having some. Vanity maybe? I have no idea.

I've tried telling her that you'll barely see them these days, and her hair partially covers her ears anyway. It's very odd and I struggle to even mention it these days as she's so tetchy about it.

NDA

23,685 posts

243 months

Yesterday (08:13)
quotequote all
I bought a pair of in-ear ones (Signia) a couple of years ago as I thought they might help my tinnitus.

They were similar (but not the same) as these:

https://www.pockethearing.com/signia-silk-x#!/Sign...

As above, you need to wear them permanently (which I didn't do) and I've stopped wearing them... but I probably will start again at some point. They cannot be seen at all and are controlled by an iPhone app.

They are very good at amplifying the opening of crisp packets (very noisy) and hearing birdsong for the first time in years too.

I would recommend them.


AbbeyNormal

5,646 posts

176 months

Yesterday (08:54)
quotequote all
The most expensive own brand specsavers are £2000, iphone compatible, discreet and have an app which is very good.

I’m not sure about the long-term battery life, but the chap mentioned that they would be serviced and the battery replaced after three or four years. Hopefully, I get at least six to eight years out of them.

They were also offering zero percent finance when i purchased.

the-photographer

4,096 posts

194 months

Yesterday (14:59)
quotequote all
nordboy said:
I'm positive my wife needs hearing aids, she misses so much speech wise and always has the TV loud, or in the last 6-12 months has resorted to having subtitles on the screen to help. If that's not showing an issue, I don't know what would??

BUT, she absolutely refuses to go and get it checked out, probably because she knows they'll tell her she needs HA's, and she's so against having some. Vanity maybe? I have no idea.

I've tried telling her that you'll barely see them these days, and her hair partially covers her ears anyway. It's very odd and I struggle to even mention it these days as she's so tetchy about it.
Not happy reading, but this might change her mind

https://zoe.com/learn/hearing-loss-with-marcelo-ri...

TwigtheWonderkid

47,016 posts

168 months

Yesterday (15:36)
quotequote all
andyxxx said:
There doesn t seem to be much info on the forum regarding hearing aids.
If you put Hearing Aids into the search facility, loads of previous threads with great info come up.