In the ear hearing aid or behind the ear hearing aid, which is better?

Was this a hearing test at Specsavers/Boots etc. Are you being provided with your hearing aids by the NHS. In most cases the NHS aids are just as good as those provided by private audiologists. However, you may feel you wish to pay privately to obtain a more "personal" service.

It may well depend on the type of hearing loss you are experiencing as in-ear or BTE (behind the ear) are not always suitable for everyone.

Bluetooth are certainly more convenient as they can be paired to your iphone so you hear directly into your aid. However, not all NHS areas supply them.

Agree with all of the above advice.
With the addition of with Bluetooth hearing aids can also be paired, as mine are, with an Android phone.
I wouldn't be without the pairing. It makes a huge difference when using the phone. My hearing aids go behind my ears. This is because this type allow a little more sound into the ear naturally.

More information! I only need one hearing aid - profoudly deaf in one ear since childhood, but this never prevented me from living a full and active working life - "good ear" now not as clear as I would like it to be, so thought I should take action. Had an appointment with one large company, have booked a second appintment with another for comparison. Have gone private to speed up the process but stil having to wait up to 4 weeks.

I've recently had hearing aids, from Boots. and I was told that behind the ear hearing aids are better for moderate to severe hearing loss as they are more powerful.
I had behind the ear hearing aids and they are hardly noticeable, if that's a concern

I had a referral to Specsavers NHS from my GP and did not have to wait long. I have a behind the ear hearing aid which I’m happy with.

My husband has bluetooth. It great because he does not have to get up to find his mobile phone when it rings. He can just tap his ear and start answering his phone.

Irecently went to NHS for hearing aid. I asked the lady consultant if I should think about going private, and she told me that she does private work as well as NHS and the NHS is as good as the private.. in other words, told me not to waste my money

Just recently had problems with hearing aids however, another check-up with NHS did the trick. I was advised that 'private' hearing aids were def 100% not going to be any better than my bluetooth ones I have now supplied by NHS and were not going to 'enhance' my hearing. Good luck it's a difficult and personal decision, I know.

I have had nhs hearing aids less than a month.In our area in Essex only waited about three weeks for hospital hearing test and was given hearing aids the same day !.They are really good and my friend who paid £3000 for her in ear aids doesn’t wear hers as they sound tinny .
They are very small and hidden in my hair .nobody knows I wear them

I have had moderate hearing loss in both ears for approx 10 yrs. Started with battery BTE hearing aids.
Now got Bluetooth BTE aids from specsavers which cost £2k (my choice) top of range of specsavers own make. Hearing and cochlear test. Very happy with them.
Then few months later, appointment letter from NHS Audiologist. Hearing & cochlear test. Bluetooth BTE aids on order. 6-12 months delivery !! Different style receivers covering ear entrance.
Good job I’ve got specsavers ones to keep me going although bit annoyed I’ve forked out for them.
Bluetooth aids are better than I thought they would be.
Happy Hearing Nana !!🦻

I have had about 6 pair of private hearing aids, then decided to try the new Signia bluetooth NHS hearing aids. They are fabulous, connect to my iPhone and iPad so everything is brilliantly clear. After care is superb too, I have had several specialist appointments as I have reversed hearing loss and can only clearly hear about 5 letters in the alphabet, the rest could be anything. This is the best it has ever been for me. I would highly recommend you go for the NHS ones, which are better than any private ones I have ever had. Free batteries, free new tubes as and when required, free everything and only a very short wait for an appointment with Chime who are the contracted company for NHS. As said above you can adjust the hearing aids from your smart phone, it is all set upper you when you receive your hearing aids and explained again and again until they are sure you understand. Aftercare can be done online as they can set them virtually too. So easy. Good luck

I forgot to say Chime also private work and if you wish to buy any Assessories for your aids you get a good discount through Chime. I have a one to one I can use in meetings, but you can get TV Assessories and so much more to make life easier for you if required.

2016 I paid out a lot of money (over £4K) for private aids. Recently was struggling with the phone and someone advised me to try the NHS as they now provided bluetooth aids. Last October I had a hearing test and left half an hour later with bluetooth hearing aids fitted. Absolutely incredible! - made an amazing difference to my everyday life. My android phone, radio etc etc goes straight to my ears.

Over the years I've worn in the ear and behind the ear. My preference is for behind the ear.

Are you also aware that if you have hearing aids you are eligible for a Disabled Person's railcard? You and A N Other get 30% off fares and can travel at anytime. There has to be some compensation for needing aids

The main thing with hearing aids, whichever type, is to build up slowly to wearing them. So many people don't use them because they pick up a lot of background noise which your brain has forgotten how to filter out. Whichever pathway you choose, good luck.

I am now off to tell my stepfather about bluetooth on the NHS!

I have behind the ear hearing aids, the only problem I have found is that I also wear glasses and I have to choose my frames carefully and make sure they have thin "arms" otherwise there's not enough room behind my ear for both the hearing aids and the specs.
Good to hear that the NHS is now supplying bluetooth hearing aids, as usual different areas supply different types of aid but hope bluetooth ones come to my area soon

If you have a marked tendency to produce ear-wax, the hearing aid you wear in your ear is probably not such a good idea. but your audiologist should be able to advise on which aid is best for your specific hearing loss.

My father had difficulties with wax and hearing aid, but that is nearly twenty years ago. He also, due to stiffening fingers and poor sight found it impossible to replace the batteries himself and had to have the home-help do so. But I imagine the batteries are the same size - very small indeed in both kinds of hearing aids.

I would love blue tooth aids as i cant hear to use a phone. My area doesnt offer nhs bluetooth plus ive been asking for a repeat hearing test for teo years now plus have issues having tubing replaced. It is obviously a postcode lottery.

I have hearing aids but don't wear them as the batteries run out so quickly it drives me insane! Are there any that have longer lasting batteries?

It depends on the size of your ear canal as much as anything else. I have very narrow ear canals and have only recently been able to have a bulb that is small enough on the tubing for my right ear and I have a mould for my left ear as two mastoid operations have meant that this is more effective for me. In the ear aids are too large for me. My NHS bte aids are fantastic. They are very small these days and Bluetooth is amazing. I wouldn’t be without them.

Oh, and I have a disabled person’s railcard. £54 for three years and 1/3 off the fares. My husband is eligible for a senior citizen’s railcard (l have a little over a year to go) but doesn’t need one as he can accompany me, as CrazyGrandma2 mentioned upthread.

I have onesided deafness for over 20 yrs and have worn a hearing aid in one ear for 10 yrs. I went with Specsavers and got a discount for only taking one and later replaced it with two for the same ear so have a 'spare'. I tried the fancier bluetooth type which also had rechargeable batteries but I returned them and got the cheaper one. My phone at the time did not support the model of hearing aid so I could not use the App that might adjust volume. The bluetooth worked nicely but I get few phonecalls so did not rate it for myself. People seem to message thesedays. It was good for listening to podcasts but I have earpods that do that as well into my good ear.

I got my aids from a local optician as the wait for Specsavers was months, and Boots kept ringing my and delaying my appointment.

I have NHS aids, cos I'm a skinflint, my only issue is that whilst they pair with my phone, only for volume control, My Android phone is the wrong model for anything else.

jannipans I wear behind the ear hearing aids which are rechargeable - I pop them in the egg shaped canister overnight and they’re all charged and ready to go in the morning. A small difference but after years of fiddling about with batteries a real joy to use. Generally I was advised that in ear aids are fine with mild loss but behind the ear much better for moderate to severe loss.

Nobody mentions the distortion of music caused by hearing aids ( in my case behind the ear NHS ones.) I am only interested in " "classical" music, including film music but through the aids this sounds muffled and rather crude. In addition, though Volume is no problem, distinguishing speech in any large room with high ceilings as the sound seems to bounce off the walls above the speaker. This is a real problem in my Quaker meeting where many extempore speakers have dodgy or indistinct enunciation. TV and film is only enjoyed and understandable if accompanied by subtitles. Any thing from America does not have these.
It is a great disappointment not to be able to follow the train of thought where the speaker may be explaining an important insight. If in a lecture hall with a speaker at the front, similar problems arise if the lecturer moves around or turns away toward a screen. In my local hospital, they told me I am only entitled to a change of aids every six years. In a smaller room with only a few people, I can hear pretty well as long as they all look at one another.