I love my hearing now I have a hearing aid. As soon as I rise I put it in, I think the more you wear it the more able your brain becomes at sound. It is a NHS one. If you turn up the television does it not distort the sound? I did jump in snorkelling in the Red Sea, that put it out of commission for about two weeks but after putting in the airing cupboard and a new battery, there it was functioning again. Please persevere, it is such a joy to be in with the conversations. But you do have to put them in straight away, and all day, if your ear does get a little itchy a smear of Savlon cream inside seems to fix that. Those whose GPs are making them wait, go back, the Practice Nurse does the initial test before the recommendation to the hospital audiology department, she does quite an ndepth set of tests. My partner is a Physicist, if he does not wear his hearing aids, people get the impression he is stupid. If your brain does not hear sounds, when your hearing is improved by aids, unfortunately those sounds will not be recognised again, ouch.