Hearing aids from a well known opticians

Floradora9

Mine aren't.
They're brilliant.
PHONAK
.

I have found my local Boots great for my particular needs. They are wonderful and you cant get them here on the NHS. An excellent audiologist, proper sound rooms, lots of support. They are the lightweight over the ear ones and go well with wearing glasses.

I can wear them for doing yoga like headstand and they dont budge. Cost - yes I had to dig deep, Worth - every penny imo, brand, Phonak. I haven't blue tooth enabled them yet, but already, listening to music -wow. They are tuned I don't know how to help with my tinnitus, don't notice it with them in.

ENT's do work differently up and down the country - we are a black spot, local NHS aids are 16 yr old models.

jakuss

Specsavers supply free hearing aids on the nhs with free batteries for life, I wear them, dont be conned into buying some

Depends on your local health authority having a contract with them, mine doesn't.

62Granny

Would you be eligible for NHS ones? My DH has some that fit into ear cleaning kit was supplied, they are battery ones , which are also supplied free of charge although I think you can upgrade the digital.
If anything goes wrong or you need help they can be contacted . Our Audiology dept is very helpful.

In my health authority there is a 3 year wait for audiology, that's one reason people pay.

My NHS hearing aids are excellent and so is the app on the phone.
They were supplied within three weeks from first contact with audiology at the hospital (no need for GP referral).
Thank you, NHS.

Hi I have NHS PHONAK hearing aids they are fantastic supplied by my local hospital. I only waited four weeks for my first appointment, it does seem really unfair to the lady having to wait nearly three years , could you ask to be referred to another health authority?
Mine are Bluetooth enabled and it’s opened up a whole new world of music, audiobooks, podcasts etc. my Dr advised to try the NHS ones first, glad I did.

A family just couldn’t get on with the tube in the ear sadly so had gone private , astronomical prices though

Good points there Greciangirl. I would add that Specsavers will ask you about your history and you might be asked to go elsewhere for scans etc. I had sudden onset of deafness in one ear so it had to be checked out as to cause. When I was waiting about for appointment, one of other staff commented that there was not much advance in basic technology with the fancier h aids but you were paying for the frills of bluetooth, rechargable etc. I thought that a good point .... As for wearing with glasses, they can adjust the arm of the spectacle a bit to accomodate it resting on the top of hearing aid. I have seen a hearing aid attached to the arm of the spectacle for full time glass wearers. There is also some new fancy one with 'loudspeakers' discretely located in the arms of glasses.

DH paid for some from Specsavers. They gave him a pair of NHS ones as well. When we go away he uses the NHS ones. Carrying a little card of batteries is easier than taking a charger. I asked if he will replace the paid for ones if they ever stop working. He won’t!

Calendargirl

Luckygirl3

I have NHS ones from Specsavers - small, fine, free, connects to an app on my phones, all the bells and whistles, all the follow up and batteries free. I am at a loss as to why anyone pays ...

My DH had NHS ones at first, but his hearing loss was quite bad and he had to have ones that ‘filled up’ his ear, if you can see what I mean. In the hot weather, they got sweaty and uncomfortable.

So he decided to go for private ones, as they were more discreet. Obviously the type he needed wasn’t available on the NHS.

I have to have a mould due to my severe loss but knew I would qualify for the next grade up so insisted I had them on the NHS which I have now, they are totally different and now enables me to hear in most surroundings. I do have a Roger Pen and a loop which enables me to do one to one conversation in very busy places and also to do conference conversations. However the point is that no one needs to go private, it is all available on the NHS you just have to ask and depending on your hearing loss they will prescribe you accordingly. If the prescribve an inferior quality ask again. You need to be persistent to get what you need. Like everything these days we sadly have to push for it.

Luckygirl3

I have NHS ones from Specsavers - small, fine, free, connects to an app on my phones, all the bells and whistles, all the follow up and batteries free. I am at a loss as to why anyone pays ...

I think because people still have awful horrors of the big giant clumsy NHS ones. I too will be using the NHS when my time comes, which according to my family will be very soon!

NHS. Whole range of hearing situations controlled from smartphone. Discreet. Free trouble shooting, replacements and hearing reviews. Free batteries for life. No advantage to the advisor from offering expensive add ons. Simples

Here you cannot get in-ear devices on the NHS, and the over ear ones are a bit of a nuisance with glasses (you get used to it), but the quality of the hearing tests from the NHS is second to none, and they will discuss your particular needs to take with you to any non-NHS purchase if you cannot get in-ear. Mine are app attached too, and I get free batteries.

If you wear specs then you could ask if you are suitable for those in your spec arms too.

Yes, a lot of upselling goes on, but we did our research and found that, like washing machines, computers, phones, there are differences that you may not need, and some "elite" are not necessary. Dh did buy some online and they were really cheap and super sound.

I have private aids from Boots. The joy of them is that I just pop then in a charging box at night - no batteries needed. I have neuropathy in my hands from chemo and couldn’t manage changing the batteries.

dragonfly46

I have private aids from Boots. The joy of them is that I just pop then in a charging box at night - no batteries needed. I have neuropathy in my hands from chemo and couldn’t manage changing the batteries.

Thats the sort I have: it means no fiddling about with batteries, it's great. I just clean them with a baby wipe and every often have to make sure wax doesn't fill the wee holes on the ear piece, but they supply spares that can be fitted -

my hands can still do this, but the Boots isnt too far away if I couldn't do this if you have no one to hand, and the trick is to prevent wax building up so its not necessary.

OH had some hearing loss but needed wax removal. There was no facility in our town or our local health centre, so he had to go to another town for the wax removal. He went to a private hearing centre to have the wax removal. Afterwards, he had a hearing test on NHS He bought hearing aids which are rechargeable and don't need new batteries, , They have a life time guarantee , life time hearing tests and insurance. He has just had new pads and new wires. I also get annual hearing tests. FOC, They ring us up to remind us about annual appointments. There were however, very expensive initially

I have NHS behind the ear aids they are a vast into ement because you can set them using a smartphone for volume tone and environment.

As for vanity I wear glasses so I'm way past vanity, for a woman with longer hair styles it shouldn't be a problem. The big problem with the smaller in the ear aids is changing batteries, and loosing them. If you do loose just one it costs £100 at Specsavers

Improvement

Luckygirl3

I have NHS ones from Specsavers - small, fine, free, connects to an app on my phones, all the bells and whistles, all the follow up and batteries free. I am at a loss as to why anyone pays ...

Mine are free from specsavers

mae13

An ear trumpet would be cheaper.

Not helpful perhaps but it really made me laugh !

Thank you Erica. I've asked my GP if he could refer me to another hospital audiology unit & he said there's no point because waiting lists are the same everywhere. Feeling fed up now. Can't hear my lovely Grandchildren properly when they speak to me & need to have the tv volume on loud. Doesn't just affect me now.

My hearing aids are NHS from Scrivens.
Everything free including batteries, which I have to phone and order through the post.
However my recent order took ten days to arrive so I have bought some from Amazon as a backup. They work out at 20p each on the subscribe and save plan. Each battery lasts about a week and they will arrive automatically, so I think it's worth it for the convenience!

I did also try some private in-ear moulds from Scrivens but found them claustrophobic, so I returned them and was refunded in full.

Did you know if you ask your GP for a referral letter for a hearing test at Specsavers your test is free and if you do need hearing aids you can get free NHS ones from them .

I had a thorough hearing test I have lost some of my hearing in my left ear but because I can hear my heart beat in it a present from having jaundice left me . A hearing aid you only make it louder.

I am not a proud chap as my dad would say and NHS hearing aids would do me fine . So you don't have to pay hundreds + pounds on hearing aids.

The tests at that company are free for us but they are appalling and very inaccurate. Hopefully yours are better being it is a British company. They also try to force you to be tested when you know you don’t have a problem. Money money money. My husband has hearing aids and went to a proper audiologist after experiencing that mob. Chalk and cheese.

nanna8

The tests at that company are free for us but they are appalling and very inaccurate. Hopefully yours are better being it is a British company. They also try to force you to be tested when you know you don’t have a problem. Money money money. My husband has hearing aids and went to a proper audiologist after experiencing that mob. Chalk and cheese.

To which company are you referring, nanna8?
How do they try to force you to be tested?