Hearing aids

I have used NHS hearing aids for many years. Go to the Audiology department of my local hospital. They have got smaller and smaller every few years.
I can remember about 15 years ago, being on a journey with someone who was telling me how pleased a colleague was with his hearing aids which had cost him (back then) approx three thousand pounds for both of them, but felt it was worth it as they were very neat and inconspicuous. At that point I took one of my NHS ones from my ear and asked, 'Smaller than these?'. The person I was with had no idea I wore such things, and then said they looked almost identical to the ones our colleague had paid so much for.
All my batteries are supplied without charge, and if I have any problem with the aids, I just go to the 'walk in' clinic at Audiology and they sort out the problem. Last year, I went to get some new tubes, and the audiologist told me that they were no using evening smaller aids and arranged for me to attend to obtain these.
Not sure about Specsavers, no idea why anyone would go there for NHS hearing help. Sort out your nearest Audiology Clinic, and once these aids are in place, she will quickly wonder why on earth she waiting so long to get them.
May need to get used to them over a few weeks, wearing them an increasing amount of time each day. I put mine in as I get out of bed, and they stay in place until I go to bed.

Nhs aids are fine, up to date and work well. most people use them and there is no reason to spend a fortune on private ones.

There have been a few threads on this lately.

Dh has NHS hearing aids and they are almost invisible. He was able to go back a couple of times to get them adjusted. The important thing is to wear them all the time so your brain adjusts.

There are men on gransnet - not just ladies.

Sorry...and charming gentlemen too; I wasn't thinking, please excuse me!

I believe replacing the batteries is expensive and is done fairly frequently. Another reason to get NHS ones.

An aunt, now dead, used to put her expensive hearing aids in her knicker drawer beside the gadget for outside help if she fell. She used to get very cross because she could not hear any conversation.

I would personally go for NHS ones if they were required..

My DH has NHS hearing aids. He's perfectly happy with them. He doesn't care that you can see them. No one notices (or cares). Ladies can hide them with their hair. DH's were free. If he loses one, they will charge him £50 for a replacement which is fine.

Miepl

I have worn NHS aids for years now, and as far as I am concerned I am happy with them, and have just been for a new test, as the aids I have tend to "whistle" much to everyone's annoyance (I do not hear it!). This time round I will be given an aid for each ear, having in the past depended on just the one aid, hope it works better, as I am aware that I am becoming more and more deaf, although if I am facing someone I can 'hear; what is being said. This test was done by SpecSavers at our local surgery, and I am pleased about that because I was not happy with SpecSavers when I went there for an eye test.

If you have short hair they are visible but does that matter? None of us worry about wearing glasses so why worry about being seen to wear a hearing aid. The GP may have a list of NHS suppliers

I've had terrible problems with getting an appointment at my Specsavers. Well I should say keeping an appointment - they keep getting cancelled and rearranged. Then I disappeared from their records. I'm still waiting! I asked if I could be referred to hospital instead but apparently not now I've opted for Specsavers.

Agree with everything said above. My NHS ones have been replaced every few years by the hospital audiology department as new and better models become available. They are very sophisticated and are programmed to exactly match the type of hearing loss you have. Mended and adjusted for free as necessary and the one time I lost one was not even charged for the replacement. Quite invisible behind my ears and hair.

I now have two new hearing aids, I have only ever had one, and I am deafened by the noise! I will obviously have to learn to control them, but at the moment they pick up every little squeak and tap. Had a friend today, and found it difficult to adjust to hearing her properly. All done by Specsavers at our local doctors surgery.

I got NHS hearing aids from Specsavers a few months ago.
I don't wear them all the time, just for one to one conversations.
On average the batteries last a week. They give you a registration card for free new batteries.

What is even better, if you have hearing aids, (mine are NHS) you can apply for a disabled rail card instead of a senior one! £54 for 3 years instead of £70!

Quite correct grannysyb - all that is required is to send a copy of your brown book to get that Disabled Rail Card. Not sure if people purchasing private hearing aids have such a book.
Disabled Rail card gives you money off rail travel and a disabled one will also give money off for a 'carer' to be travelling with you.

Why go to Specsavers or Boots and spend a fortune when the good old NHS will supply them for free? The audiologist will test your hearing, fit little pieces of soft stuff in each lughole to get the right fit and then call you back in for proper fitting. They make sure that they are comfortable and they aren't huge great things either.
The main difficulty is simply the waiting - a small irritation. The NHS ones may be a little bigger than the private ones but not much. Wear them with pride, I do.

Anybody got re-chargeable ones?

fennel, I think the advice is to wear them all the time so your brain adjusts to them. My dh's batteries last a fortnight.

I agree with you Kitty, I was advised to wear the aids for a short while, and then lengthen the time as they became more comfortable. I still have a little trouble with putting one in, but when once they are there, they are comfortable and "in tune" with everything, I only have to alter them if I have too much background noise. I think I might grow to like them eventually. Should point out I have had just one left side hearing aid for ages, having two has made me a little uncertain on my feet, standing up suddenly makes me dizzy.

I just stumbled upon this post and the pain of finding the right hearing aids is something I have found over the last few years. I tried Specsavers hearing aids but the time spent going back and forth refitting and trying different types has ended up costing me more than I thought.

I looked online and there's this place called yeshearing.com. They sent someone to my house to fit them for me and came back 3-4 times in the first couple of months to make sure it was alright. They are more expensive than NHS (obviously) but so much better than Specsavers I can't explain. I ended up buying the same pair as my husband who bought privately and they are even better.

We are not the wealthiest of folks and these hearing aids have cost me £1000 + However the big name brand ones in the long run are worth their weight in gold I have to say.

I would recommend trying them out or sending them an email I don't have it on me but they were very nice and professional and may be able to help.